Information Assistant

Job Title:Information Assistant
Department: University Library and Collections
Grade: Grade 3
Salary range:£20,134 - £21,197 per annum
Working arrangements: 35hrs/week, working 5 days in 7. Expected weekly shift pattern for this role is Sunday to Thursday.
Closing date:Sunday 22nd January 2023

The Role and Department

The Customer Services Team is part of University Library and Collections. We provide all front-line (face to face and virtual) customer, visitor and enquiry services across our department. This includes visitor services at our museums and visitor attractions: Palace Green Library, Oriental Museum and Durham Castle, as well as user services in our Libraries and study spaces, including 24/7 term-time opening.

This role actively contributes to the frontline customer service provision, ensuring that all customers have a high-quality experience, through working on information points, answering queries, proactively providing information and assisting customers. Specific tasks include working on our Help and Information Desk answering queries and assisting customers, user engagement, supporting special events, circulation tasks including book returns and some reshelving, maintenance of the collections, undertaking opening and closing routines and maintaining study spaces.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. For more information on our EDI strategy and values, click here

Further information about the role and the responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.

What you need to demonstrate when you apply

When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role (this does not have to be in a library or museum setting) and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role including:

Essential

Desirable

1. Awareness of accessibility issues.

How to Apply

We prefer to receive applications online. When you apply you need to submit a CV and a statement that tells us your experience and gives examples of how you meet the criteria above.

We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.

Who to contact for more information

If you would like to have a chat or ask any questions about the role or if you are struggling to complete the application process, Katharine Davidson-Brown would be happy to speak to you. Please contact Katharine via email j.k.davidson-brown@durham.ac.uk

Further helpful information about the role

Regular early morning, evening and weekend working will be required according to service need. Bank Holiday working may also be required. The expected weekly shift pattern for this post will be Sunday to Thursday.

The post holder will be required to work across all Library and Collection sites.

This role involves considerable manual handling and physical activity, for example: setting up gallery/exhibition spaces, tidying/cleaning areas when required; accepting deliveries, handling books for re-shelving, pushing trolleys; . Appropriate training will be provided.

Typical Role Requirements

Service Delivery

• Provide a highly responsive and/or frontline service to stakeholders.
• Provide direction to service users about the range of events and activities and how to access them.
• Respond to service users logging and recording queries and information systematically in accordance with procedures.
• Operate a system to record, dispense and distribute resources and information as required.
• Apply skills and techniques to operate and use a range of everyday task or job specific equipment, tools and resources.
• Follow a set of pre-determined tasks and objectives, with some discretion for variation, referring to team members where necessary.
• Gather and collate data and information for others to use for evaluation and decision making.
• Contribute to the tidying, set-up and maintenance of facilities, equipment and resources.
• Operate a range of domestic, office, maintenance tools and equipment efficiently and effectively.
• Monitor and record changes to the working environment and service processes to ensure the safety, security and hygiene of service products and services.
• Follow University identification and security procedures when dealing with stakeholders new to a service area.
• Apply manual dexterity, physical effort and/or sensory skills to carry out work in a defined space or service area.
• A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the University’s values.

Teamwork

• Deliver a frontline service to stakeholders with team members within a defined service area for concentrated periods of time.
• Assist team members where necessary to review and update risk assessments.
• Assist team members within a wider service team with a rotation of tasks and duties or with own small area of day to day responsibility.
• Assist team members to concentrate effort on a more regular basis to achieve common goals.
• Collaborate with team members to identify work flows, timescales and where support is required.

Communication/Personal

• Liaise with representatives from other teams/service areas where necessary.
• Complete necessary skills training to deliver a service in a retail, catering or leisure environment.
• Respond to first-line queries from suppliers, stakeholders and contacts where necessary.

• Any other reasonable duties.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.durham.ac.uk/about-us/governance/information-governance/privacy-notices/privacy-notices/job-applicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.