Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Education
Permanent | Full Time
ASAP
02/05/2025
30/05/2025
Librarian
Location: Cambridge
Salary: £30,117 - £32,072 per annum (pro rata from £32,738-£34,868 FTE)
Working hours : 43.75 a week term time only
The Perse School Cambridge is one of the country's leading independent co-educational day schools for children aged 3-18.
Their aim is to be a leading employer of choice. This means they strive to be a school where staff say they are proud and excited to work, and feel valued, respected and motivated.
They are committed to providing a very competitive salary and benefits scheme at the same time as offering a wide range of opportunities for personal and professional development. They want their staff to feel engaged and purposeful so that they, in turn, help pupils to be happy and successful.
The Role
They are seeking to appoint a School Librarian to work at the Upper School from September 2025.
This is a rare and exciting opportunity for a highly motivated applicant with a strong interest in children's and young adult literature who has experience in managing a library, ideally within an educational setting.
The Library provides a welcoming, safe and bright environment and is at the heart of the School's learning culture. Current resources comprise a large stock of books, periodicals and online resources. The Library is split between a quiet reading area and a silent study area. The Librarian is assisted by an Assistant Librarian, supported by a team of pupil librarians and members of staff on duty in the Library during busy periods.
There are exciting plans to refurbish the library during the summer of 2026, further enhancing the facilities provided to pupils.
The successful candidate will be responsible for the development, management and promotion of the school library as an essential learning environment. They will play a key role in providing individualised service, encouraging reading for pleasure, facilitating independent learning and research, promoting intellectual curiosity and scholarship and supporting teaching and learning requirements throughout the School.
Key Responsibilities
* Promote a love of learning and reading through events, competitions, holiday reading schemes, and themed activities.
* Ensure the delivery and on-going development of high-quality provision in the Library and be well-informed about new publications, age-appropriate literature for children and developments in literacy.
* Promote activities and events to enhance learning, encourage reading and use of the Library for research and study by pupils and staff.
* Assist pupils and staff with resource selection and research strategies, supporting the school Research programmes (e.g. EPQ in the Sixth Form, HPQ in the Middle School, and Lower School Research projects) and staff professional development.
* Liaise with subject teachers to embed library resources and activities into schemes of work.
* Liaise with members of teaching staff to schedule in-library classes and research sessions.
* Design and deliver library and information-skills lessons to Lower School classes.
* Answer day-to-day queries; manage book issuance, returns, and retrieval of overdue items.
Skills and Qualifications
* Education to degree level or equivalent (essential).
* Post-graduate diploma/certification/chartered status in Librarianship or Information Science (desirable).
* A strong background in managing a library within an educational setting.
* Vision for how a library should operate in an academically successful day school.
* The ability to promote the Library in a busy academic school.
* Demonstrable high standards of behaviour and the ability to model the School values (intellectual curiosity and scholarship, endeavour, breadth and balance, and valuing one another and the environment).
* Ability to build trust and engage with students.
* Proven communication and interpersonal skills.
* High level of literacy, attention to detail and ability to use initiative.
* High order administrative and management skills, including planning, prioritising, enquiry handling and problem-solving abilities.
To Apply
If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for this reputable School, please proceed through the following link to be redirected to their website to complete your application.
https://www.perse.co.uk/work-with-us/
Closing date: Thursday 15th May at midday but applications will be considered as they are received; The School reserves the right to make an appointment before the closing date.
The School actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
Safer Recruitment
The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post including: references from previous employers, a Disclosure and Barring Service check at the enhanced level, as well as eligibility to work in the UK (in compliance with UK immigration regulations). All work carried out at the School on a regular basis amounts to regulated activity. This role is also exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone's responsibility. The School is committed to acting in the best interests of the child so as to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. The School requires everyone who comes into contact with children and their families to share this commitment. Interviews will be conducted in person, and they will explore candidates' suitability to work with children.