Library Collection Assistant (Qatar)

Full Time, Fixed Term until 31.12.25

The British Library in partnership with the Qatar Foundation and the Qatar National Library are digitising and making available material relating to the history of the Gulf and Arabic manuscripts. We are a multi-disciplinary programme that includes conservation, content specialists, translation, and imaging teams with external funding committed until December 2025.

We are in the fourth phase of the Programme and are delivering an additional 675, 000 fully searchable and contextualised digital images, made freely available via the www.qdl.qa.

You would be joining a team of one other Library Collection Assistant (Qatar) working in the Digitisation Workflow Managers team within a wider team of 50 people made up of workflow support officers, imaging technicians, translators, conservators and cataloguers.

This is an opportunity to play an integral part in a cutting edge digitisation workflow. This is a high paced role, providing support to the team, tracking and auditing the movement of collection items physically and electronically.

You will be expected to manage your own time and workload to meet programme delivery targets. You will be a team player with exceptional interpersonal and oral communication skills, experience of providing outstanding customer service within a complex organisation and the ability to work to deadlines under pressure in a calm, self-directed manner. We are always striving to improve and are currently updating our workflow tools and processes.

The successful candidate will have demonstrable previous experience and knowledge of outstanding customer service, be confident and experienced in working with IT (Microsoft Office applications) and mechanical technology, experience of using bespoke software for data entry and a willingness to take on a range of tasks and work collaboratively.

We are currently offering all team members’ hybrid working.

As one of the world’s great libraries, our duty is to preserve the nation’s intellectual memory for the future and make it available to all for research, inspiration and enjoyment. At present we have well over 170 million items, in most known languages, with three million new items added every year. We have manuscripts, maps, newspapers, magazines, prints and drawings, music scores, and patents. We make our collections and programmes available to all. We operate the world’s largest document delivery service providing millions of items a year to customers all over the world. What matters to us is that we preserve the national memory and enable knowledge to be created both now and in the future by anyone, anywhere.

In return we offer a competitive salary and a number of excellent benefits. Our pension scheme is one of the most valuable benefits we offer, as our staff can become members of the Alpha Pension Scheme where the Library contributes a minimum of 26.6% (this may be higher dependant on grade. Another significant benefit the Library provides is the provision of a flexible working hours scheme which could allow you to work your hours flexibly over the week and to take up to 5 days flexi leave in a 3 month period. This is on top of 25 days holiday from entry and public and privilege holidays.

For further information and to apply, please visit www.bl.uk/careers quoting vacancy ref: 04503

Closing date: 10 April 2023

Interview date: 18 April 2023

We are unable to provide sponsorship under the UK Skilled Worker visa for this role, as it does not meet the eligibility criteria required for this immigration route

Disability Confident

We are a Disability Confident employer, and make a commitment to recruit and support disabled people. We guarantee an interview for disabled candidates who meet the minimum (essential) requirements for a vacancy