Head of Library Services

Closing Date: 12th September 2024

Salary: £42,000 - £52,000 per annum, depending on experience

Hours: 37.5 hours, Monday to Friday

Peters is a specialist supplier of books and related services to libraries and schools. For thirty years we have been the UK’s principal supplier of children’s books to UK libraries – with unrivalled expertise and knowledge in our sector. In the last few years, in response to customer demand, we have expanded our service offering to include the supply of adult stock – quickly gaining large market share.

Peters now supplies library books to over 150 local authorities – including all libraries in Northern Ireland and Wales; all the authorities in the CUSP, West Mercia, Black Country, and Yorkshire and North West consortia plus numerous individual authorities in England. We are also an appointed supplier to all the authorities in Scotland.

Diane Gill will be known to many of Peters’ library customers and non-customers alike.  She has successfully managed our team of librarians and bibliographic staff for the past 20 years and is shortly to retire.

As a result, we are looking to recruit a Head of Library Services to lead the next phase of our service development for Public Libraries and School Library Services.

Head of Library Services at Peters

This is a challenging and varied role, and candidates must have recent experience of working at a senior level in public libraries in the UK – ideally with current or previous experience of stock selection and budgeting.

The successful applicant must have a passion for books; have a passion for libraries and the work that they do; have a passion for reading and its transformative effects in our society.

They will have a comprehensive understanding of stock selection and procurement processes in public libraries and a broad understanding of the work undertaken by library services and the challenges and opportunities they face. The successful candidate will have strong managerial skills and a successful record of training and mentoring a team.

The role:

The Head of Library Services will help shape the business’s strategy in respect of how we serve our library service customers and grow our market share. They will continuously evaluate our website, supplier selection services and other offers to ensure that we offer the best possible service to our customers. They will act as the voice of the customer throughout the business.

As part of this role, they will meet regularly with contracted customers (both online and in person) to monitor performance against contracted SLAs and will help draft our responses to tenders and other opportunities.

The Head of Library Services will represent Peters at public events – including presenting on behalf of the business. They will contribute to and support marketing activities.

Our Librarians and Bibliographic staff are key to our reputation and growth, and the Head of Library Services will directly manage this team. They will co-ordinate the work of ordering stock on behalf of over 100 public authorities and, as part of doing so, will undertake some of this work themselves. They will train and manage our bibliographic team, cataloguing new titles, including assessing them for suitability and popularity within a library context.

Reading and reviewing books is a key part of the team’s work and the Head of Library Services will help in assessing and reviewing titles. Some reading at home is expected. They will work with our buying team to assess and respond to publishing trends.

Desirable skills:

Alongside our public library supply, around half of our business is dedicated to the supply of books to schools – leveraging the unique knowledge and expertise that is needed to supply children’s books into public libraries. Experience of working within the education sector would therefore be of value but is not required.

As the manager of our bibliographic team, an understanding of bibliographic and cataloguing principles would be a distinct advantage – however internal and third-party training can be provided if necessary.

The details:

• Reports to: Commercial Director
• Salary range: £42,000 - £52,000 per annum depending on experience
• Contract type: Full time, Monday to Friday, 37.5 hours per week
• Office location: 120 Bromsgrove Street, Birmingham, B5 6RJ.
• Hybrid working: a minimum 2 days per week with the opportunity to work from home up to 3 days per week. Please note that the successful candidate may need to be on site more than 2 days per week at certain times and while training.

The rewards:

• 27 days holiday, plus 8 bank holidays, rising to 32 days with length of service
• Option to sell or buy up to 5 additional days holiday each year
• Private Medical Insurance on the successful completion of the probationary period
• Group personal pension plan (contributory)
• On-site free parking
• Enjoy a staff discount of up to 40% off a wide selection of books stocked by Peters
• Up to 3 days paid time off for volunteering each year

To apply:

Please send your CV, cover letter and salary expectations to HR@peters.co.uk.

Please note, we will be interviewing candidates as they apply, so early applications are recommended.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact Diane Gill, Professional Services Manager by email on diane.gill@peters.co.uk.