Customer Services Assistant – Wivenhoe Library

Essex County Council; Colchester; On-site; GBP 13,000 - 14,000; Part time

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking a part-time Customer Services Assistant for Wivenhoe Library in Colchester. The role is 18.5 hours per week with a fixed base, including Saturday work. The annual full-time equivalent salary is £25,959, with actual earnings of £12,979 for this part-time arrangement. Closing date: 31 August 2026.

You will assist with book circulation, signpost customers to services, and support across libraries within the North Area, contributing to a welcoming experience.

Qualifications

• IT systems proficiency or ability to learn
• Customer service experience in any area
• Confidence in speaking to customers and signposting Library services

Responsibilities

• Assist with book circulation and issuing; signpost customers to Library services
• Help with stock circulation and shelving; manage reservations and memberships
• Support across libraries in the North Area; contribute ideas for promoting services
• Engage with customers to improve their library experience

Skills

IT skills

Customer service

Communication

Teamwork

Job description

Customer Services Assistant - Wivenhoe Library

Permanent, Part Time

About The Role

Customer Services Assistant - Wivenhoe Library

Permanent, Part Time

£25,959 per annum (full time equivalent)

Location: Colchester

Working Style: Fixed-base worker

Closing Date: 31st August 2026

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

This role is part time, working 18.5 hours per week. Actual earnings based on these hours - £12,979 per annum.

Working days will be discussed at interview, however there will be a requirement to work at the library every Saturday. While this position is based at Wivenhoe Library, the postholder will need to be able to work across all libraries within the North Area as required.

Come and join us in Libraries where we’re starting to reimagine what our libraries are going to be and help our present and future customers have the best experience possible.

You’ll join a service that is undergoing change. Libraries around the UK are evolving to meet the differing demands of our customers. The demands are often different dependent on the location of our Libraries, and this is where your knowledge will be invaluable. You’ll support with book circulation and issuing, signpost customers to different services and be our ears and eyes for what makes the difference to our customers. We want you to feel proud to play your role.

The Opportunity

Our Customer Service team are at the heart of what we do- they are the face of our libraries and our driving force. To join them you’ll need to be confident helping a diverse range of customers, with demands that change daily. We have an inclusive environment – your experience, your age and your perspectives are welcome in our team.

As a Customer Services Assistant, you will be required to work with children to develop and grow our audience in this key area of our business. Part of your responsibilities will be to deliver story and rhyme sessions to groups of parents and toddlers in this library setting. We would therefore like you to deliver a short 5 minute activity at the interview that enables you to demonstrate your ability to engage with children. This could include reading a short children’s story or sharing a children’s nursery rhyme.

Accountabilities

• First and foremost – you like helping people. If you’ve got some IT skills – self-taught or not, that’s ideal. We use self-service equipment, and our customers need your empathy and patience at all time.
• Deliver engaging story and rhyme sessions to groups of parents and toddlers in the library.
• Health & Safety is key to what we do. We’d like you to be the kind of person who sees things that need sorting and help sort them out.
• You’ll help with promotional activities – we generate income in all our libraries and value your ideas. Especially ones that can be rolled out across all Libraries.
• Assisting customers to use the library catalogue and learn to use the full library offer.
• Ensure seamless stock circulation and management, involving sorting, shelving, tidying, and handling reservations, fines, and membership activities.
• Data drives us – you’ll help us look at it in different ways, ensuring that we focus on the customer and staff to improve what we offer.
• Our smaller libraries have less staff, so we’ll ask you to help out with unlocking / locking up, and ask you to be a trusted keyholder.

The Experience You Will Bring

We welcome candidates with a diverse range of experiences and qualifications. Here’s a sample – what we’re interested in is if you are brilliant at the basics which include:

• Demonstration that you know how to use IT systems, or have the ability to learn
• Customer service experience in any area
• Confidence in speaking to our customers and signposting them to Library services, other parts of the Council services and our partner organisations.
• Enthusiasm and ideas
• Enjoy working within a team to make us as brilliant as possible.

We are dedicated to building a team that reflects the diverse community we serve. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.

Together, let's create a welcoming and inclusive library experience for everyone.

To read more about us please visit: Place and Customer

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost.

Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in