Community Library Assistant

We are looking for an enthusiastic and versatile person to help us shape the future of Cambridgeshire Libraries. We maintain a high-quality public library service, working in partnership with a range of other organisations and community groups. Our Community Library Assistants are the first point of contact for members of the public who are visiting and using our libraries, and consequently the role is varied and allows staff to develop many different skills.

This is a full-time role based at March Library, and you will regularly work at Chatteris Library and will need to be able to drive to other libraries in the county for training and staff development on occasion. This post includes evening and weekend work on a fortnightly basis and requires some lone working as Chatteris Library is single-staffed. Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

What will you be doing?

• Providing friendly, efficient, customer-facing, front-line public services to users of Cambridgeshire Libraries.
• Contributing to and promoting the library offer.
• Supporting library events and activities, including delivering Rhymetime and Storytime sessions.
• Supporting the wider aims and objectives of the service by assisting in delivery of partnership initiatives and outreach work.

About you

The successful candidate will have a flair for working with people, able to create a friendly and welcoming environment for a diverse range of customers. You will be excellent at multi-tasking, be quick and efficient, and enjoy working under pressure. You will be passionate about what public libraries can offer, and able to promote our services. Although there is plenty of routine work, there is also scope to be creative. Training will be given on specific library systems, but an ability to work with IT is assumed. Although library experience is an advantage, we would also like to hear from candidates who have demonstrated exceptional customer service skills in other contexts.

When completing the supporting statement for this position, please tell us how your skills, experience, capability, and potential match each of the criteria in the person specification. Think carefully about the following criteria and provide practical examples of how and when you have used the particular knowledge, skill or experience.

• Demonstrate your understanding of delivering good customer service.
• Interpersonal skills, including patience and listening skills with an ability to establish exactly what the customer requires.
• A pleasant, helpful manner with customers of all ages and abilities.
• A strong team player, able to work with colleagues on projects and contribute to team goals.
• Flexibility and adaptability in all areas of work, including being able to respond to a change of hours or workplace location.
• IT skills are essential for this role and full training will be given on library specific systems and processes.

The role involves standing, bending, carrying books, moving furniture and pushing heavy trolleys.

Please note: all applications must be made online and we cannot accept CVs.

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage:

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family.
• Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances.
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings.
• Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth.
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day.
• Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
• Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards.
• An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes.

About us

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes. Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do. We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities.

If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager to discuss any adjustment needs.