East Ham Library Supervisor 12 months Fixed Term

London Borough of Newham; Greater London; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 44,000; Part time

Job summary

London Borough of Newham is seeking a Library Supervisor for East Ham, a busy flagship library within its service. The role leads frontline staff, oversees service delivery and maintains stock presentation while driving improvements and engaging with partners to deliver a wide activity programme.

You will manage a team, develop staff, and ensure high-quality customer service for residents, with emphasis on community focus and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Experience frontline team leadership in a public library setting.
• Excellent customer service focused on residents.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop frontline library assistants, ensuring professional service.
• Manage the team and resources to keep the library running smoothly.
• Provide training and continuous development for the team and self, and drive performance improvements.
• Collaborate with partners to deliver impactful events and activities aligned with DCMS outcomes.

Job description

12 months Fixed Term - Part-Time 18 Hours Mon - Sunday

East Ham is a busy flagship library in the London Borough of Newham. Recently refurbished it has a large children’s library, community area, dedicated areas for public PCs and study and a wide selection of books. It works closely with a number of partners and has a wide and varied activity programme which is gradually being re-introduced as restrictions diminish. It is part of an ambitious and continually improving library service, with 10 libraries, which sits within the Resident Engagement and Participation service.

Job Description

£41,133 - £43,680 per annum pro-rata

The Library Supervisor position is a key role within our service, line managing the frontline library assistants and reporting to the neighbourhood Coordinator. They will ensure that the library runs smoothly and professionally, managing the team and resources efficiently and effectively. They will lead by example, setting the expected standards for the team and ensuring that they are adhered to. They will undertake training and continuous development of both their team and themselves, managing performance and maintaining a culture of continuous improvement.

You will be an experienced frontline team leader, preferably with a libraries background, who understands the importance of excellent customer service and putting our residents at the heart of everything we do. You’ll be able to build, train, support and motivate your team to enable them to deliver a high quality library service. You will take a pride in the presentation of library stock, working with the stock team to ensure that it is representative of and relevant to your customers with exciting and enticing displays. You will have good relationship building skills and will work with a range of partners to deliver impactful events and activities that align with the 7 DCMS outcomes for libraries. You will work well with your peers and be proactive in supporting the wider service when this is required. You will be flexible and be able to problem solve creatively to resolve incidents. Most importantly you will believe in the power of libraries to change resident’s lives and be driven by an ambition to do so.

IMPORTANT: If you are an LBN member of staff and applying for this role as a secondment you should note that secondments are subject to the agreement of your current employing service. Please ensure that you inform your line manager of your intention to apply for the post in the first instance.

Closing date

21st September 2026

Additional Information

We are committed to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all. When you apply for a job at Newham, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you share our vision and values, and you bring the experience and skills we need, that’s all that matters to us.

The London Borough of Newham has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

About Us

The London Borough of Newham is located only 5 miles east of London. It is well positioned with access to all major networks in London and the south east. It is well connected by public transport with, bus, tube and DLR. When the Crossrail service opens it will call at Custom House close to our council offices and also Stratford station and from there to central London. The London City Airport which serves major European cities is located at Royal Albert Dock. Newham has the youngest overall population in the country. It was one of the six host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics and contains most of the Olympic Park including the London Stadium. It has a thriving arts quarter with the Theatre Royal Stratford East offering excellent entertainment for all the family. There is the University of East London which has two campuses in Newham, one in Stratford and another next to the regenerated Royal Albert Dock. It also has a large Westfield shopping Centre in Stratford which has all the major retailers there.