Collection Management Officer

Eligibility 

This role is open to House of Commons, Parliamentary Digital Service and R&R Client Team employees only 

Introduction  

The Library Resources Section (LRS) is part of the Library Services team in Research & Information (R&I).  The section manages the House of Commons Library's collection of books, pamphlets, Official Publications, serials and newspapers, as well as the collection of hardcopy and digital parliamentary papers. The team is also responsible for the binding and conservation of library stock, and for the Library's online resources including the Library catalogue. We are looking for a Collection Management Officer who will help to manage the Library’s hardcopy collection of books, pamphlets and parliamentary material, including assisting with the move of collections to new offsite and onsite storage as part of the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) project 

The Role  

We are recruiting a Collection Management Officer to work within a small Collection Management Team. The post is to cover maternity leave until June 2025. The team organises and provides access to the House of Commons Library’s hardcopy collection of books, parliamentary papers and other material, as well as managing the storage of some digital parliamentary material. 

The post is an excellent opportunity to develop skills and experience in collection and information management, team working and collaboration across teams, and in having ownership of tasks, taking initiative and solving problems. 

Some of the responsibilities for this role include: 

• To participate in Collection Management Team project work especially in relation to the Restoration and Renewal decant. This will include working onsite in the Library’s storage facilities in the QEII Conference Centre and in the Palace. 
• Liaison with offsite storage contractors, including recording requests to retrieve/return holdings from/to offsite and maintaining up to date records of material stored offsite and making these accessible on SharePoint 
• To guide and support Library Assistants, including planning rotas, checking work, dealing with issues, and supervising project work (with support from the Resources Librarian) 
• Oversee routine work on the Catalogue (using the Library Management System) including deletions and updating of records; ensure regular updating of finding lists. 
• Contribute to Incident Salvage planning through taking part in training, assisting with updates to the Library’s salvage plan (with the Collection Management Librarian), monitoring salvage incident store supplies, and assisting with salvage incidents.  

Skills and Experience  

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate: 

• You are able to analyse and check information thoroughly with excellent attention to detail. You can make appropriate decisions within your areas of responsibility and use sound judgement to escalate issues. 
• You achieve set objectives by demonstrating effective organisational and time management skills, with effective prioritisation of your workload. 
• You work effectively as a team member with an inclusive and collaborative work ethic, offering guidance and support to others. You understand team goals and objectives and respond willingly to requests for help. 

• You have competent IT skills (for example, using MS Word, MS Excel, or Sharepoint) and are able to use a database (for example a catalogue, records system, or customer database). You are keen to develop your IT skills. 
• You have a flexible approach to change and are willing to take on new responsibilities to support service improvements and the goals of the team. 

Next Steps and Additional Information 

• Application Form - If you would like to apply for this role, please submit an application providing evidence against criteria 1-5 in the Job Description.  

More information on the role and the full criteria can be found in the Job Description.