Senior Library Assistant - Academic Services - 8730 - Grade 4
Senior Library Assistant - Academic Services - 8730 - Grade 4
Employer Active
Job Alert
You will be updated with latest job alerts via email
Share
Job Alert
You will be updated with latest job alerts via email
£ 27166 - 28768
1 Vacancy
Job Description
Position Details
Academic Services
Location: University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range 27166 to 28768 with potential progression once in post to 32145
Grade: 4
Full Time Permanent
Closing date: 15th June 2025
This role is full time on campus only.
Our offer to you
People are at the heart of what we are and do.
The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years andweare equally proud to be recognised as a leading global want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond support them to succeed and celebrate their success.
We are committed to helping the people who work here todevelopthrough our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programmewhichprovides allprofessionalservices staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full almost 5000professionalservices jobs in a wide-range of functionsin Edgbaston andin our campus inDubai there are plenty of opportunities foryou to be able to develop yourcareer at the University.
We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas innovation and warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we areand how we work.
Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees andtothe success of the University and depending on the role we offer avarietyof flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible addition you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 dayspaid holidaya year one paid day a year for volunteering occupational sick pay and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.
The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus including main bus routes and a train station on campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool shopsplaces to eat and drinkour own art gallery museum and botanical gardens.
Find out more about thebenefits of working for the Universityof Birmingham
Role Summary
You will act as a key point of contact for the full range of library customers (internal and external). You will provide advice to colleagues within the Library and the wider University. When senior staff are not on site you will use your initiative and take responsibility for the service. Post holders will usually work in one of three functional areas: Enquiry Services Stock and Circulation or Front of House.
In order to flexibly use resource you may be offered the opportunity to work elsewhere in the department or the wider University.
Work pattern : Monday : 2pm - 8pm Tuesday 8am - 2pm Friday 4pm - 10pm and Sunday 4pm - 10pm. Due to the frontline nature of the role these shifts are fixed.
Main Duties
Generic duties:
- Supporting library procedures for borrowing renewing returning and reserving information resources; dealing with more complex queries which will be referred to them.
- Ensuring that services spaces and facilities provided within the libraries are well maintained and reporting issues as appropriate.
- Supporting and delivering customer relationship activity such as surveys feedback and events.
- Intervening when issues are reported such as noise eating incident reporting and lost property and identifying appropriate referral routes for students in academic or physical/mental distress.
- Providing assistance with navigation in the buildings the use of facilities and appointments with staff working in the building; library equipment support.
- Assisting with user education programmes for library customers and helping to promote the University and the Library to visitors and potential students for example by conducting library tours.
- Training of colleagues within Library Customer Support e.g. staff inductions and casual staff.
- All Senior Library Assistants are expected to participate in rotas which enable Library Customer Support to provide staffed services during advertised opening may include working outside core hours (e.g. evenings weekends and University closed days/bank holidays) both within their usual team and where necessary in other teams within Library Customer Library Assistants will ensure that the evening and weekend service runs smoothly when Assistant Managers are not present by:
- Coordinating the work of colleagues with particular attention to handling queries and transactions.
- Handling difficult situations (such as unhappy library users security alerts fire evacuations etc.).
- Liaising as necessary with University Security and with agency security staff working in the Library.
- Contacting senior Library Services staff as necessary for guidance.
- Undertaking handover to agency security staff during 24/7 opening and supervising opening and closing routines at other times.
- Maintaining cash levels and supervising cash handling procedures.
- Reporting back to the relevant Assistant Managers and informing them of issues and problems which have arisen (or could arise) during evening and weekends.
- Supports equality and values diversity moderates own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.
Post holders will usually be based in one of the following Functional Areas.
Front of House
- Welcoming library users and providing directions to facilities and services; registering new users and visitors to the Library; answering queries regarding access control membership room booking visitor day pass systems handling all issues from initial contact to resolution; providing information regarding other University facilities and events which are taking place on campus; making appropriate referrals to colleagues within and beyond Library Services.
- Maintaining records of external members of Library Services; undertaking administration relating to reciprocal access schemes corresponding with registered external users regarding membership renewal; updating publications and information regarding external access to the Universitys libraries.
- Ensuring the Training Suite rooms and other spaces where appropriate are all well maintained and prepared in readiness for events; checking layouts of furniture ensuring IT equipment is in place and reporting problems as appropriate; supporting events and ensuring a high quality customer experience.
Enquiry Services
- Supporting researchers students and staff to gain maximum benefit from the extensive range of physical and electronic resources managed by the Library; achieved by understanding the needs of users providing initial advice in relation to different information resources and advising on relevant search techniques.
- Explaining library procedures for borrowing reserving and requesting information resources and identifying improvements to workflows to ensure service quality is continually improved.
- Providing support with basic/intermediate first line IT enquiries relating to password self-service system printing Wi-Fi email Canvas cluster PCs.
- Refer users to specialists within Library Services and other and signposting requests for support(for example from users with disabilities or those requiring additional skills support).
Stock and Circulation
- Welcoming users to the Allport Room; giving them access to material they have requested from the Reserve maintaining a safe and appropriate study environment in the Room offering assistance with copying scanning and printing answering queries about resources and facilities relating to the Research Reserve.
- Mediating access for library users who need to browse and consult material in situ on the shelves in the Research Reserve briefing them on health and safety and access requirements; checking that their requirements can be fulfilled by providing consultation access or by supplying material for loan or use within the Main Library; maintaining a record of those who have entered the Research Reserve and ensuring that the area has been completely vacated by closing time of the service.
- Providing an out-loans service by checking the availability of materials requested and working with Collections Assistants to retrieve material from within the libraries (including the Research Reserve).
- Ensuring such requests are compliant with copyright/other laws/restrictions and communicating any breaches to the requester identifying alternative solutions as appropriate.
- Supporting the work of Collections Assistants in the team; ensuring that material returned via the sortation system is re-shelved in accordance with agreed targets dealing with queries and material which cannot be handled by the Collections Assistants organising the repair and tidying of material held on the open shelves in the Main Library.
Required Knowledge Skills Qualifications Experience
- Educated to A level or equivalent qualification level or substantial equivalent relevant experience.
- Substantial practical experience of customer support.
- Good numeracy literacy and classification skills with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Comprehensive knowledge understanding and the ability to use complex and specialist processes (e.g. for Main Library stock reserve) and systems (e.g. British Library System sortation system).
- Ability to act as the escalation point and source of advice for Library Assistants on many different specialist processes IT systems and databases.
- Ability to work with accuracy to required standards and deadlines and to demonstrate attention to detail.
- Good organisational skills with the ability to plan own work and that of others.
- Demonstrable ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
- Proven ability to work reliably and flexibly in a busy environment preferably in a library or in a busy customer focused environment.
- Excellent and demonstrable customer service skills.
- Experience of receiving and resolving customer enquiries and the ability and willingness to adopt a friendly customer orientated approach in a busy service environment.
- Good communication skills including the ability to ensure action or acceptance by a colleague or customer by listening to and understanding another persons request or perspective influencing and providing a well-reasoned response.
- Good IT literacy including Microsoft office and on line addition the ability and willingness to further develop skills in this area and to learn and adapt to new technologies.
- Knowledge and substantial practical experience of using many different specialist processes IT systems (e.g. library management systems or equivalent) and databases (e.g. for catalogue systems)
- Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.
- Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.
Dimensions
You will have supervisory responsibilities when senior staff are not on site but no budgetary responsibilities.
Planning and Organising
Advice is available but most of your work will be completed independently. You will be responsible for managing your own time planning/anticipating and prioritising your workload to meet deadlines (typically for weeks and months ahead) ensuring you meet the required standard of service and its part of this you will balance the need for accurate and professional work with meeting targets.
Problem Solving and decision making
As a key communications point you will resolve issues that arise. If there are more complex issues you will be able to consult with senior staff for a will suggest service improvements to your manager.
Internal and External relationships
You will have contact with a wide range of staff students and external visitors and ensure the delivery of a quality service.
Informal enquiries to Teresa Jordan email:
View our staff values and behaviourshere
We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyoneon our website.
Required Experience:
Senior IC
Employment Type
Full-Time
