Customer Advisor (Archives/Local Studies)

Overview

We are looking for a Customer Advisor to support the delivery of our Archives and Local Studies customer service. This is a permanent part time role working 31 hours per week and the salary advertised will be pro rata for the contractual hours. The post will work 4 days a week (either Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday) and one Saturday a month. 

If you love history and have proven experience of delivering excellent customer care, then this could be the job for you!

About us

The Archives Service is a small, innovative team, committed to delivering an excellent service for the residents of Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. It has an SLA with Milton Keynes City Council and the National Paralympic Heritage Trust to manage their archives. It preserves and makes accessible over 800 years of our county’s archival heritage.

The Service’s work is built on a foundation of excellent standards for customer care and collections management. Buckinghamshire Archives focuses on the four E's: engage, excite, educate and empower.

The Archive Service will relocate from Aylesbury to High Wycombe in early 2027. 

About the role

The role will be proactive in supporting and delivering a countywide archives and local studies service, providing excellent customer service to its users, onsite and remote. The post will support the Service’s vision and mission to meaningfully engage with the county's diverse communities by supporting a range of cultural events and activities in line with the Cultural Strategy. The role requires the post holder to handle and carry original documents that may be fragile, heavy or cumbersome.

Fixed

As a ‘fixed’ worker, you’ll spend most of your time in the same location, which will likely be a fixed office or location where your role is performed. Typically, you’ll be based in the same location as the rest of your team, because you provide a particular service from that fixed location or need access to information there.

About you

You are able to demonstrate initiative and judgement and will have

• ability to handle and carry original documents that may be fragile, heavy or cumbersome.
• proven excellent customer service experience in delivering an effective service to customers across a range of channels.
• proven experience of working well in a team, ideally including supporting volunteers.

Other information

Please see the attached job summary for further information on this role and person specification.

Interview date: To be confirmed

Interview-type / process: MS TEAMS, In person

If you would like to have an informal conversation with the recruiting manager, please contact: Sally Mason, Customer Access Supervisor:  [email protected]

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Our Communities directorate works across the county to deliver a number of the key customer-facing services that our residents, businesses and visitors rely on every day. 

This directorate includes a wide range of services, including:

• collecting and disposing of waste and recycling
• maintaining our roads and Rights of Way network and parking
• ensuring the delivery of school transport, and supporting sustainable travel including public bus services and School Crossing Patrollers
• managing Country Parks
• leisure facilities, museums, theatres and libraries, as well as developing our Cultural Strategy
• Licensing, Environmental Health and Trading Standards
• Cemeteries and Crematoria

The customer is central to how we develop and deliver all of these services, which help promote our rich and vibrant culture and special environment. 

We are looking for enthusiastic, ambitious and committed individuals to join our team and help us to continue to make Buckinghamshire a great place to live, work and visit. This is an exciting time for us as we bring together the services previously run by five separate councils before Buckinghamshire Council was created. Whilst making major changes to contracts affecting residents across Bucks, we continue to focus on delivering great customer service. You will join us on our journey of continuous improvement - whether that’s through developing strategies and ways of working or delivering services on the ground, every person in Communities is a valued member of the team.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/