20922 - MoJ Librarian

About the Department

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is one of the largest government departments, employing around 70,000 people (including those in the Probation Service), with a budget of approximately £9 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including at 500 courts and tribunals, and 133 prisons in England and Wales.

What we do

We work to protect the public and reduce reoffending, and to provide a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system for victims and the public. We are also responsible for the following parts of the justice system:

• courts
• prisons
• probation services
• attendance centres

We also work in partnership with other government departments and agencies to reform the criminal justice system, to serve the public and support the victims of crime. We are also responsible for making new laws, strengthening democracy, and safeguarding human rights.

Priorities

• Improve public safety and reduce reoffending by reforming prisons, probation and youth justice
• Build a One Nation justice system by making access to justice swifter and more certain for all citizens whatever their background
• Uphold the rule of law, defend the independence of the judiciary, safeguard essential liberties and restore historic freedoms
• Delivering efficiently in MOJ: ensure the best possible service for citizens by making our department more efficient and more open, with policy driven by evidence

Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

JOB PROFILE

Job Title / Group / Directorate

MoJ Librarian / Justice Policy, Strategy & Communications Group / Communication and Information Directorate

Reports To

Head of Archives, Library and Records Scheduling

Location & Terms of appointment

This is a permanent post based in the Department’s headquarters building: 102 Petty France, London.

Salary and Grade

This post is Band C (Higher Executive Officer equivalent).

New entrants to the Civil Service will be expected to join on the minimum of the pay range.

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.

Background

This post sits in the Departmental Library and Records Management Service (DLRMS) which is part of the Communication and Information Directorate (CID), which in turn is part of the recently formed Justice Policy, Strategy & Communications Group (JPSCG).

JPSCG comprises six directorates:

• Four policy directorates which manage the development of policy and legislation for the reform of the Justice System, including the impact of leaving the European Union;
• Ministers, Parliament, Strategy & Implementation Directorate which provides day-to-day support for ministers and the Permanent Secretary; and
• Communication and Information Directorate which provides a range of communication and information services to the MoJ. CID staff pride themselves on providing high quality services to a wide range of customers including ministers, colleagues, journalists, all those working within the justice system, as well as to members of the public.

DLRMS is led by the Departmental Records Officer (DRO) who manages 20 staff in three teams.

The library service is provided by one librarian and two assistant librarians and includes an enquiry service, especially literature searches, access to a variety of digital resources, and access to a small collection of core books.

The Library collection is located within the Registry and can only be accessed by approved members of staff. The library team has started devising online training courses for library customers.

As well as the library service, DLRMS manages all MoJ records in compliance with the Public Records Acts 1958 & 1967 and the provisions of the Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on the management of records issued under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Under the authority of the DRO, DLRMS has a:

• Statutory duty (under the Public Records Acts 1958 & 1967) to transfer a carefully selected portion of policy and court records to The National Archives (TNA) at Kew. Certain records need to be reviewed, assessed for sensitivity and dispatched to TNA.
• Statutory duty to search and retrieve archival records for judicial appeals and public inquiries, Freedom of Information requests, Data Protection and other requests for information and records by internal and external customers

Role Purpose

To manage and develop library services to the Ministry of Justice, including managing the library team.

Main Activities / Responsibilities

To manage the Library’s collection development & management functions (digital and print):

• Ensuring that the MoJ’s customers can access a variety of relevant digital resources
• Overseeing the last part of the library’s digitisation project and driving other collection management projects
• Being the Single Point of Contact for, and monitoring requests for, access to the legal databases which are managed by colleagues in the Judicial Office.
• Completing the annual procurement of legal books to agreed deadline.
• Selecting other books of relevance on subjects for which MoJ is the policy lead and those which support learning and development across the organisation.
• To oversee the delivery and marketing of the MoJ Library’s enquiry service:
• Monitoring the quality, consistency and timeliness of responses to enquiries.
• Overseeing marketing activities, hosting visits and the development of eLearning which can be accessed through the library’s digital services.
• To manage the Library budget and to embed value for money principles within the team’s procedures.
• To manage a team of two Assistant Librarians (Band D / Executive Officer), to lead and inspire the team, to promote diversity and inclusion, to act as a role model for colleagues, and to contribute to the management of the wider team.
• To be the back-up for answering enquiries on compliance with copyright legislation and to ensure the MoJ Library team can support the Records Retention and Copyright Manager (Band C / Higher Executive Officer) as required.
• To contribute to DLRMS’s business improvement objectives, to contribute to cross-MoJ activities to promote and improve its capability, and to contribute to the wider KIM profession across government as required.

Person Specification

The successful candidate will:

• Have the mandatory qualification set out below
• Be a team player
• Will thrive on developing solutions and adapting services as the organisation’s priorities evolve
• Be an experienced cataloguer and have a pragmatic approach to describing resources
• Take pride in providing a high-quality service to a diverse and demanding group of customers
• Enjoy working on a diverse range of subjects as ministerial priorities change

Ideally, the candidate will also have the following (these are desirable criteria):

• Working knowledge of the publishing industry, especially legal publications
• Working knowledge of Moys and Library of Congress classification systems
• Working knowledge of copyright legislation and its application
• Experience of staff management

Essential Civil Service Competences and/or Professional Skills

Civil Service Competences

Changing and Improving

• Find ways to improve systems and structures to deliver with more streamlined resources. 
• Regularly review procedures or systems with teams to identify improvements and simplify processes and decision making. 
• Be prepared to take managed risks, ensuring these are planned and their impact assessed.
  

Leading and Communicating

• Continually communicate with staff, helping to clarify goals and activities and the links between these and Departmental strategy.
• Recognise, respect and reward the contribution and achievements of others, valuing difference.
• Communicate in a straightforward, honest and engaging manner with all stakeholders and stand ground when needed.
• Role model enthusiasm and energy about their work and encourage others to do the same.

Building Capability for all

• Identify and address team or individual capability requirements and gaps to deliver current and future work 
• Value and respond to different personal needs in the team using these to develop others and promote inclusiveness  
• Continually seek and act on feedback to evaluate and improve their own and team’s performance
  

Delivering at Pace

• Show a positive approach in keeping their own and the team’s efforts focussed on the goals that really matter 
• Take responsibility for delivering expected outcomes on time and to standard, yet allowing teams space and authority to deliver objectives 
• Plan ahead but reassess workloads and priorities if situations change or people are facing conflicting demands
  

Government Knowledge and Information Management (GKIM) Professional Competences

Using, evaluating and exploiting knowledge and information

• Applies good practice and standards, e.g. monitoring that the quality of answers to enquiries is consistently high or ensures that customers are aware of all potential and relevant sources of information where appropriate. 
• Understands, and/or evaluates the validity of, the range and scope of available resources (free/procured and paper/digital) covering subjects relevant to the organisation’s needs and facilitates appropriate access to them. 
• Contributes to the delivery, development and management of library services, and provides advice to stakeholders, e.g. identifies and implements changes to enquiry services.
  

Acquiring, managing and organising knowledge and information

• Applies library good practice and standards, e.g. ensures that the description of resources and the application of metadata is consistent and, where appropriate, applies international standards, such as RDA, AACR2 and MARC 21. 
• Understands the need to manage information throughout its lifecycle and applies agreed retention and disposal policies for both digital and paper, e.g. identifies and procures new publications on subjects relevant to the organisation and manages the disposal of obsolete publications in accordance with the organisation’s financial and information asset management policies. 
• Applies good principles to manage and organise information so that it can be made available and used, e.g. develops taxonomies, code lists and ontologies to support cataloguing and retrieval.
  

Mandatory Qualifications

This post requires a qualified Knowledge and Information Management (KIM) Professional. Candidates must meet one of the following criteria:

Proof of personal accreditation by one of the approved KIM Professional Bodies (such as the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals);

or

Possess a KIM profession academic qualification (i.e. a first degree or postgraduate qualification in a KIM related discipline which has been accredited by an approved KIM Professional Body)

Closing Date: 21st September 2018 at 23:55 hours

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@sscl.gse.gov.uk Please quote the job reference.