Are you excited by the challenge of delivering excellent library services to diverse communities managing a support team that connects all our branches daily?
Do you have great teamworking skills to work closely with library staff and partners?
Do you have great communication and leadership skills?
We are looking for a manager to be a part of our close-knit library service and it could be you!
Salary: £33,945 to £36,648 per annum
Contract Type: Fixed term contract until December 2025. Final end date will be confirmed with the successful candidate.
Working Pattern: Full-time (37 hours per week) Monday to Friday. Part time hours can be considered for those looking to work at least 30 hours per week.
Location: Power Place, 23 Terminus Road, Chichester, PO19 8UJ
Interview Date: week commencing 21 October
Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.
Our libraries deliver essential community-based support, promoting the benefits of reading for everyone, offering a quality, trusted information service, bridging digital inclusion through supporting safe access to online resources, and curating a programme of events and activities that meet the needs of targeted audiences.
Our library staff and volunteers change people’s lives for the better every day, and being part of leading the service offers huge job satisfaction. Our central hub, located in Chichester, is pivotal in delivering resources to branches on a daily basis and for providing office-based support to all colleagues in the library network.
You will occasionally need to travel independently to other library locations around the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. Pool cars and pool bikes available.
The Opportunity
In this role, you will provide strong leadership, vision, and energy to support effective operational delivery to staff working in Power Place: in Bibliographical Services, Despatch and the Van Delivery Service, and Library Administration.
You will have the opportunity to lead and coordinate all aspects of the service, collaborating with dedicated team members within the Families & Wellbeing, Digital Access, Books Reading & Culture, and Enquiries Learning & Enterprise teams. You will also be a member of the Library Managers group (CALM), representing the department at monthly meetings.
An average day might involve:
1. Managing the peaks and troughs of stock delivery and supporting the team in getting these new items out to branches.
2. Handling the many book requests from customers and stock orders from teams and providing timely turnaround in response to these.
3. Coordinating the routes and work of the Van Delivery Service team in light of a sudden mechanical fault to a vehicle.
4. Conducting a Performance Management conversation with a colleague and managing the induction of another, along with other general staff management tasks, including authorising leave and sickness monitoring.
5. Working to support our Library Administration function and embed it within the practices of the wider team.
6. Dealing with catalogue data, purchasing or payment queries, both from colleagues and suppliers, and interacting with external providers to reach satisfactory outcomes.
7. Meeting with a Team Manager to discuss how to support their service developments logistically from the hub.
8. Dealing with a Health & Safety issue that affects the Power Place building and liaising with IT and Fire & Rescue Service colleagues who share the premises.
As manager you will be supporting and enabling the delivery of the library service through our 36 public libraries across the county. You will work on local and service-wide projects, manage and prioritise your individual workload and contribute to the continuous development of the library service.
Through joining our motivated, customer-focussed, high performing Library Service, you can enjoy a purposeful career and contribute to the delivery of vital services to West Sussex residents.
For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.
About You
We are looking for someone with proven leadership skills and a desire to use these in influencing the service we offer as part of our mission to secure continuous improvement in our Library Service.
You will have a customer-focussed approach and be able to work independently. When faced with a complex problem, you will utilise your creativity, flexibility, and determination to drive impactful change.
You will be able to demonstrate excellent communication and interpersonal skills, communicating on several different levels with multiple stakeholders and adapting your style accordingly.
You will have keen attention to detail, be comfortable working independently and be at ease in this fast-paced, agile environment with rapidly changing deadlines, workloads, and priorities.
If you are a proactive leader with excellent communication and pragmatic problem-solving skills, we want to hear from you!
Rewards and Benefits
From flexible working (where possible) to access to our Employee Assistance Programme, we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role.
You will benefit from 27 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 5 years’ service (pro rata for part time) plus the opportunity to buy additional leave, an excellent as well as a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers.
For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Rewards and Benefits page.