Career opportunities Customer Service Assistant - Leighton Buzzard Library

Team: Leighton Buzzard Library

Job Family: Providing - CBG4
Salary: £24,796 - £25,185 per annum pro rata (£12.86 - £13.06 per hour)
Hours: 23.25hrs per week

Location: Leighton Buzzard Library, Lake Street, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 1RX

Contract Type: Fixed - Permanent (2 positions available - different working patterns) 
Closing Date: 1st March 2026
Interview Date: TBC

About the role

Leighton Buzzard Library is more than a place where you can find books, it is a valuable resource for the community. Our libraries are warm spaces, we tackle loneliness and isolation, we provide IT resources to our customers, we also run a host of different activities for adults and children for example: Rhyme times, Coffee Mornings, Coding Clubs, etc, but most of all we are a welcoming, and a safe place for the whole community.

We are looking for an enthusiastic Customer Service Assistant who can provide a first-class service. You will deliver a high level of customer service and interact effectively with a wide range of people daily. The day-to-day duties of our Customer Service Assistants include:

• Assisting customers to use our self-service terminals and other technology within the library, finding books and information for our customers


• Actively taking part and leading activities for both children and adults


• Dealing with library stock by moving and handling large numbers of books and other materials.

You will also be passionate about the library service and actively promote and encourage the use of the Library.

Our Customer Service teams deliver a vibrant, high-quality, relevant and sustainable library service by contributing to Library Strategy priorities, you can read more about this by following this link, engaging with new and existing customers and helping to increase library usage, and supporting the continuing modernisation and transformation of this important service.

To work in our Libraries, you will need:

• Excellent customer service skills and experience of working with the public in front-line customer service


• Good IT skills (GNVQ level 2 or equivalent). You will assist our customers to use self-service terminals as well as using computers, tablets, printing services and promoting Library Apps


• An interest in books, reading and information. Experience of working in a Library isn’t essential but is desirable as is a good knowledge of current book trends.


• Great communication skills, and an ability to communicate clearly and confidently


• Fluency in the English language (this role is covered by the The Code of Practice (English Language Requirements for Public Sector Workers) Regulations 2016)


• A passion to create a friendly and welcoming environment for our customers. You will be participating in Library events such as Rhyme time and Story time which can be very busy and noisy, as well as assisting with school visits, assemblies and out of hours events.


• The ability to travel to and work flexibly at any of our 12 libraries if required for which a driving license and access to a car is desirable.

Please note that working in our libraries can be physically demanding and will include shelving books, pushing trolleys, carrying boxes, moving shelving and furniture for events. We are happy to discuss this further and would encourage candidates invited to interview to explore with us any reasonable adjustments that may be required. Please be aware that the roles within our Library service will always have an element of using the appropriate equipment, such as book trolleys and sack barrows, and techniques for moving and handling large quantities of library stock and furniture.

Although you will be based at one library, you must be able to work flexibly at other libraries if required.

The first position is for 23.25 hours only, with the below working pattern;

The second position is for 23.25 hours only, with the below working pattern;

Please use the application questions to confirm if you are interested in either the first or second working pattern.

Applicants must be 16 years and above to apply for this role.

Join us, and you’ll be part of a hard-working team giving local people a Library Service that’s the very best it can be.

Our Offer

We have a number of rewards and benefits available to our staff, to view these please visit our Rewards and Benefits page

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You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies in this Recruitment Pack..

Our Competency Framework and Qualification Guidance are to be read in conjunction with our Recruitment Pack.

For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Carly Levingstone at [email protected] or call 0300 300 6504

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Safeguarding:

Central Bedfordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees, volunteers and contractors to share this commitment. This post is subject to the disclosure of criminal records.  

Our National Careers Service team offer a free weekly workshop covering CV writing and how to complete the statement sections of the Central Bedfordshire Council online application form. This MS Teams workshop is open to anyone from the UK and lasts around 1.5 hours.   Please book your place here.

More information about this service can be found here: Support getting into work or learning | Central Bedfordshire Council