Position Details

Academic Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £28,397 to £30,210, with potential progression once in post to £33,938

Grade: 5

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 19th May 2024

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, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We 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 to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career 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 debate. We 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 are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a 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 site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Role Summary

Library Customer Support is the largest team within Library Services, with approximately 150 substantive and casual staff, working in 6 libraries and resource centres. Library Services Assistant Managers have a key role within the team, managing frontline staff and taking responsibility for the efficient operation of services and libraries. You will have a key role in supporting the Customer Relationship Manager in maintaining Library Services’ relationship with its customers: understanding customer needs, monitoring customer satisfaction and managing the public face of Library Services through online and printed media. In order to flexibly use resource you may be offered the opportunity to work elsewhere within the department or wider University. 

The work pattern runs over 6 weeks as follows:

Week 1 - 4 : Monday - Friday: 12noon - 8pm

Week 5 and 6 : Wednesday - Friday : 12noon - 8pm, Saturday and Sunday : 8am - 4pm

Main Duties

• You will line manage a small team working in a specific area. This will include responsibility for:
  • Recruitment, selection and induction of some new staff, and assisting the senior library customer support managers with other recruitment;
  • Ensuring induction is carried out and delivering training as appropriate; 
  • Holding regular 1-1 and progress meetings, offering advice and support as appropriate;
  • Agreeing workloads and resolving any day-to-day workload issues;
  • Conducting Performance and Development Reviews and reporting back on outcomes to your manager;
  • Agreeing and managing annual leave between the team;
  • Managing the performance of your team, including monitoring attendance, and identifying more serious performance management issues that will need addressing. 
• You will be responsible for providing training in your work area to colleagues and new team members but also for identifying any team development needs and discussing with your manager.
• Supporting staff in trouble-shooting and problem-solving and to support them in developing professional relationships with contacts from other sections of the University.
• Encouraging and facilitating team working through a range of methods.
• Reviewing service levels and quality of work in your area in order to ensure a high standard of customer service to all stakeholders. 
• Responsible for the Health and Safety of the team, their working environment and any equipment/facilities issues.
• Researching, writing and maintaining documentation and procedures for staff working within Library Customer Support, and ensuring that staff in all Library Services’ sites are fully briefed on activities which occur regularly but infrequently (for example, finalists procedures).
• Ensuring continuity of cover at frontline service points in Library Services’ libraries and resource centres, by devising appropriate staff rotas and arranging for casual staff cover where necessary.
• You may be asked to work in a specialist team or within a resource centre group, proactively evaluating service and making recommendations.
• Authoring and maintaining web pages and printed documentation eg on access and membership, interlibrary loans and borrowing procedures.
• Providing specialist input to project teams and implementing actions as appropriate.
• Maintaining accurate records and statistics relating to their service - for example, entry figures to Library Services’ site libraries (using Sentry software); shelving statistics; usage figures for services such as Library Services Direct.
• Providing expert/subject support for information desks and phone/email enquiry points in Library Services’ libraries and resource centres.
• Providing and organising user education (for example, library tours and freshers' events).
• Assisting in the implementation and monitoring of Library Services service level targets.
• Responding to more complex customer comments and complaints.
• Ordering stationery and similar supplies for your team; alerting senior colleagues to requirements for more expensive items of equipment such as PC upgrades, extra study tables, signage etc.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• A levels or an equivalent level 3 qualification, such as a Level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma or equivalent. Where no equivalent qualification is held, relevant work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role will normally be required.
• 5 GCSEs at grade C or above including Mathematics and English Language (or equivalent).
• Experience of successfully working in a public or academic library is desirable.
• Experience of successfully working with the public in a service environment.
• Ability to integrate with and function effectively as part of a busy, diverse and established team.
• Understanding of management competencies, managing the work of others, and building/developing a team.
• Ability to learn new processes quickly and thoroughly.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including ability to influence and persuade others, and to develop positive and productive relationships with customers and colleagues.
• Able to demonstrate excellent organisational skills including the ability to appropriately prioritise workloads (own and others), to effectively multi-task and to work productively and effectively under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• Ability to promote the role of their team, to explain the work of the team and to assist with problems and queries from colleagues. 
• 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

Responsible for line managing a team and providing an excellent service to their customers.

Planning and Organising

To plan and organise their own work and the work of their team. Decides on the short-term priorities of the team.

Problem Solving and decision making

Will decide on how to deal with more complex issues and queries. They will make recommendations where procedural changes may need to be made.

Internal and External relationships

As a senior member of the team they will be a key contact for customers and colleagues. The customers may be internal or external to the University. 

As a manager you will act as a key contact for more complex issues for customers and colleagues. 

Informal enquiries to Teresa Jordan, email: t.jordan@bham.ac.uk 

View our staff values and behaviours here 

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 everyone on our website.