About the role
We are looking for an enthusiastic and versatile person to join us in delivering our highly valued and popular library service in the March and Chatteris cluster. Our libraries have seen a combined total of 120,000 visits in the last year; and working in partnership with a range of other organisations and community groups, we are looking to grow this even more.
Our District Library Assistant will lead the front-line team in the day-to-day delivery of the library service. You will report to the library manager and deputise in their absence. You will be confident working with the public, a good team player and have ideas and energy to try new things. Excellent IT skills are essential.
Whilst this role is based at March Library, you will regularly work at Chatteris Library and will need to be able to drive to other libraries within the county for training and staff development on occasion. This role involves lone working at Chatteris Library and includes evenings and weekends on a fortnightly rota.
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.
Interviews will be held at March Library on Thursday 17th July.
If you would like any further information about this vacancy, please contact the Area Library Manager via march.referral@cambridgeshire.gov.uk clearly stating which position you are interested in.
What will you be doing?
As well as delivering a front-line service on the library counter, your tasks will be as diverse as:
- Organising staff timetables
- Delivering a rhyme or story session
- Talking to a local community group about working together
- Inducting a new volunteer
- Carrying out a one to one with a member of staff
- Taking part in local festivals and hosting arts performances
- Planning and delivering events for users of all ages
This role will involve lone working.
Please refer to the attached job description for further details about the role. Documents can be found at the bottom of the page.
About you
The successful candidate will have a flair for working with people and be keen 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 demonstrated 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.
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.
Our benefits
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
Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.
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.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.
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, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Some examples of adjustments could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.
Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.
Attached documents
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