Job opportunity for Librarian at African Prisons Project

Job Title:     Librarian

Organisation: African Prisons Project (APP)

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

Reports to: Life Skills Senior Manager

Salary:  £2,400- £3,600 per annum

About US:

The African Prisons Project is an international non-profit organization that works to restore dignity and hope to prisoners across Africa. APP works holistically to change the way that criminal justice issues are addressed in the countries in which we work and empower prisoners to drive positive change.

We are implementing the use of libraries in prisons to improve on the reading culture through education activities among which include debates, book clubs, art and creative writing. The libraries are also a resource to the Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) and formal programmes in prison. There are currently 13 libraries scattered in Kampala, Wakiso, Nakasongola, Lira and Gulu.

Job Summary: The Librarian will be responsible for the overall management, coordination, implementation, execution, and control and reporting of any other technical services in support and implementation of educative programmes in prison. The post holder will be under the direction of the Education Lead ensuring consistency with our goal, vision and strategy.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Act as the first professional point of contact for the Library, and liaise with the welfare and social workers and other Officers, to ensure that good communications are maintained. Ensure that all prisoners are treated fairly and decently and that equal access to library services for all prisoners is maintained.
• Manage the sorting, cataloguing and stock taking of relevant materials and maintaining of the stock.
• Responsible for developing and maintaining resource materials for educational activities like books clubs, poetry, creative writing and art among others.
• Organise, train, supervise and manage library assistants and volunteers in the routine operation of libraries and library activities.
• The Librarian will ensure that the library provides an up to date collection of books to encourage reading, identification and purchasing of new books and other materials to support reading.
• Manage the library stock, ensuring it is displayed to maximise impact and usage from the beneficiaries.
• Manage and provide an effective inquiry, advisory and information service to prisoners, drawing on external sources of supply as necessary. Ensure that all users have equal access to materials regardless of their physical or ethnic status and background.
• Actively monitor and record all necessary statistics to meet targets and performance indicators as per the APP strategy and donor requirements.
• Produce a monthly list of overdue and lost books and manage processes to minimise stock losses, work closely with the Prison Officers, detailing losses in the monthly, quarterly and annual reports.
• Participate in training and maintain professional awareness by reading, attending conferences and meetings and ensuring professional skills are up to date, especially IT skills.
• Be aware of, and adhere to, the rules and regulations of the Prison at all times. Respect and maintain the confidentiality required by the Prison both at work and at home.
• The post holder must be prepared to work at any site in the library service.
• In charge of monitoring and reporting any and all developments in areas of operation that have a bearing on the results of the library projects.
• Ensuring close collaboration and coordination with cooperating partners to guarantee smooth implementation of activities and achievement of results as specified in grant agreements.
• Effectively report and document all information related to the library projects progress and disseminate through regular reporting.
• Preparing monthly and quarterly financial reports for submission to the African Prisons Project and the donor.
• Collecting data and keeping records for monitoring and reporting purposes.
• Working as a Liaison between the African Prisons Project and the Officers in Charge of the prisons within the project site(s).
• Complying with the Uganda Prisons Service rules and regulations in carrying out their work.
• Perform any other duties as reasonably requested by the Programme Lead and other project staff.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:  

·         The ideal candidate should hold a Degree in a relevant field with proven information, communication and technology skills and knowledge in MS office applications.

·         Further studies in project planning and management will be an added advantage

·         A minimum of three years’ experience working in a library or a similar clerical role

·         Detailed working knowledge of research methods and techniques.

·         Working knowledge of operation of standard office equipment.

·         Knowledge of clerical and administrative procedures and systems such as filing and record keeping

·         Knowledge of principles and practices of basic office management

·         Excellent communication skills – written and verbal

·         Possess the ability to adapt their knowledge and skills to the cultural environment of the Uganda Prisons Service.

·         Excellent problem solving, analytical and statistical Skills.

·         Ability to multi-task, prioritise and be effective under tight deadlines.

·         Excellent verbal and written communication skills

·         Basic skills and knowledge in financial and grants management

·         Basic knowledge and skills in Monitoring and evaluation

·         Critical thinking and problem solving skills

·         Excellent organisational and planning skills

·         Ability to work with minimum supervision and make independent decisions in line with the project objectives, African Prison Projects and donor requirements

·         Ability to work as part of a team

·         Strong negotiation skills

·         Computer literacy i.e. working knowledge of Microsoft office applications that include Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint

·         Good problem assessment and problem solving

·         Information gathering and information monitoring

·         Keen attention to detail and accuracy

·         High degree of flexibility

·         Adaptability

·         Customer service orientation

·         Teamwork

·         Ability to monitor progress/quality and/or standards of grants implementation against key criteria.

·         Assessment of resources and library users’ needs

Salary: This role is also available to applications from around the world, and we will pay approx. £2,200- £2,400 per annum or Ugandan shillings equivalent.

How to Apply:  

All suitably qualified and interested candidates should send an updated CV and covering letter to our UK office addressed to;

Jessica Harper, Office & HR Manager

Address: Unit 16, 95 Miles Road, Mitcham, Surrey, CR4 3FH

Email to: jessicaharper@africanprisons.org

NB: Please do not apply unless you have the right qualifications and experience. This role will be popular and we will only be reviewing applications who send us their CV and covering letter which are no more 3 pages long. We do not need to see certificates.

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