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Assistant Librarian
Leabharlannaí Cúnta

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Assembly colleagues in a meeting

Each Assistant Librarian is responsible for a particular aspect of Library work and as such, works alongside teams of researchers. Assistant Librarians have direct communication with all the political parties and their staff as well as policy and statistical teams in Departments.

Assistant Librarian
Leabharlannaí Cúnta

What we're looking for

The main duties and responsibilities of an Assistant Librarian are:

Enquiry Service

  • To assist in managing the Library’s Enquiry Desk, staffing the enquiry desk on a rota basis, providing excellent customer service and training Clerical Officer colleagues in Desk policies and procedures.
  • Ensure deadlines are met with high quality, objective information provided to Members, party staff, and Secretariat staff. Enquiry responses will be gleaned from interrogating a variety of commercial and free web-based resources and hard copy materials.
  • To assist the Librarians to monitor and suggest improvements for standards of service delivery and to be able to explain Library policies to customers.
  • To participate in the collection, monitoring and evaluation of Library performance management information.

 

Resources

  • To manage the classification and cataloguing of all hard-copy and some pdf materials and manage retrospective cataloguing projects and revisions to records on the Library Management System, writing associated policies and guidance as required.
  • To work with the Enquiries Librarian in selecting new hard-copy Library purchases in line with the Library’s Collection Development Policy and assist in managing expenditure against budget. To supervise the Clerical Officer’s use of the Assembly’s online ordering system to order and receipt materials from suppliers.
  • To liaise with external suppliers of information.

 

People

  • To deputise as required for the Librarian.
  • To line manage one Clerical Officer.
  • To manage own professional development to improve job performance and fulfil future potential.
  • To participate in any Library project teams as required by the Librarian or Senior Librarian and to manage production of any associated documentation.
  • To assist in the marketing of the Library Service, and RaISe generally, by providing awareness and induction sessions to Members and party staff, Researchers, Secretariat staff and students.

 

Information Packs

  • To compile Information Packs to support Plenary Debates on Private Members’ Motions, Private Members’ Bills and some Committee Motions, to high standards and agreed deadlines and to supervise their publication and distribution to Members.
  • To compile Event Packs to support Members attending conferences and events such as Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA) and North-South Inter-Parliamentary Association (NSIPA), in liaison with Northern Ireland Assembly (NIA) Parliamentary Engagement colleagues.

 

General

  • To assist with implementation of all Library policies and procedures and to communicate these and information about any other Library product to customers and colleagues in a clear, concise, impartial and timely manner.
  • To participate in the Assembly’s performance management system, setting aims and objectives and meeting regularly with the Enquiries/Plenary Support Librarian to discuss performance.
  • To manage information and records in accordance with established policies and statutory requirements.
  • To comply with all of the Assembly Commission’s staff policies and procedures including Equal Opportunities and Dignity at Work policies and procedures and all mandatory training requirements.
  • Carry out other duties that the Assembly Commission may reasonably require of you.
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What we're offering
  • Salary range: £30,886 - £31,953
  • The standard working week is 37 hours, excluding meal breaks (42 hours gross). Working hours will be dictated by the mode of operation of the Assembly and may involve work into late evenings and on occasions, at weekends and on public holidays.
  • In addition to the usual public and privilege holidays, there is an annual leave allowance of 25 days, increasing incrementally by one day per year up to a maximum of 30 days. Please be aware that a major influence in determining when leave can be taken will be the parliamentary timetable.
Find out more about employee benefits
Essential Criteria

Applicants must, by the closing date for applications have:

1. A degree or postgraduate diploma in Librarianship or Information Studies; or

Possess Chartered membership of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. Applications may also be considered from candidates with relevant formal qualifications considered to be of an equivalent or higher standard to those stated.

and

At least 1 year’s experience in the areas detailed at a) – d) below.

OR

At least 3 year’s experience in the areas detailed at a) – d):

a) Undertaking the duties of a professional Librarian;

b) Applying professional knowledge in the delivery of Library services;

c) Delivering a quality service in a Library enquiry role, using a wide variety of electronic and hard copy sources;

d) Contributing to the planning, allocation, monitoring, evaluation and control of resources e.g. people, finances.

Quick Q&A for this job...​

The salary range is £30,886 – £31,953. This is an Assembly Grade 7 position.

There are two permanent positions.

Assistant Librarians work in the Assembly Library, which is located in the Research and Information Service (RaISe), part of the Assembly’s Legal, Governance and Research Services Directorate. 

The Assembly Library, amongst other services, provides an enquiry service for all Members, their staff and staff of the Assembly Secretariat. In doing so, it works closely with Assembly Research Officers and other stakeholders to provide the Northern Ireland Assembly with impartial, objective, timely and non-partisan information and research.

The successful candidate will be accountable to a Librarian.

The successful applicant will be based in Parliament Buildings, Belfast.

Completed application forms must be submitted by 12 noon on Monday 11 April 2022.

The Selection Process

There are five elements within the Recruitment and Selection Framework:

Experience – the knowledge or mastery of an activity or subject gained through involvement in or exposure to it.

Ability – the aptitude or potential to perform to the required standard.

Technical – the demonstration of specific professional skills, knowledge or qualifications.

Assembly Skills and Behaviours –the actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job.

Strengths – the things we do regularly, do well and that motivate us.

The elements which will be assessed for this role will be Experience, Technical and Assembly Skills and Behaviours and the selection method(s) that will be used are detailed below. Further information on the Recruitment and Selection Framework are included in the Guidance on Recruitment and Selection for Applicants.

The essential criteria reflect the experience and knowledge that an applicant must possess in order to be able to undertake the role. An eligibility sift will be carried out on the basis of the information contained in the essential criteria section of the application form. You must therefore demonstrate clearly in your form how, and to what extent, you meet with the essential criteria for the post.

The selection panel reserve the right to use shortlisting as part of the selection process for this post. Should shortlisting be used, the shortlisting criterion listed in the Job Specification will be applied. The selection panel reserve the right to set a minimum standard for the shortlisting criterion and/or to only invite those who score highest in the shortlisting criterion to the next stage of the selection process. If shortlisting is not necessary, all applicants who have demonstrated the essential criteria will proceed to the next stage of the selection process.

The interview will address the information contained in the Job Specification and will assess elements of the Recruitment and Selection Framework.

Interviews are planned to take place on 3 and 4 May 2022.

The selection panel reserves the right to hold a further interview stage if deemed necessary.

Further information on the Recruitment and Selection process is available in the Recruitment and Selection Framework and Guidance on the Recruitment and Selection for Applicants.

Assistant Librarian
Leabharlannaí Cúnta

Below you will find everything you need to apply for the position.

Read all the information about the job and the associated guidance related to working in the Assembly:

You are now ready to complete the online application:

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Please note the application form will be unavailable on Wednesday 6th April 2022 between 19:00 – 09:00 due to maintenance on the system.

If you are unable to access the form during this time please try again later.

The deadline for applications expired at 12 noon on Monday 11 April 2022.

Further Information

If you require more information on the recruitment process, please contact the Human Resources Office on 028 90 521446/028 90 521741 or email recruitment@niassembly.gov.uk.

Visit our website for further information about the Assembly.

Apply Now

Please note the application form will be unavailable on Wednesday 6th April 2022 between 19:00 – 09:00 due to maintenance on the system.

If you are unable to access the form during this time please try again later.