Libraries and Heritage Lead

**About the Borough**

This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned.

Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.

Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London - with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.

Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.

We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.

Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.

**About the Service and Team**

We have 7 Libraries and a Community Library across the Borough and Kingston Museum and Kingston History Centre (in Kingston Guildhall), with approximately 54 staff in Libraries and 11 staff in the Heritage Service.

We are a passionate multi-disciplinary team who are ambitious to deliver high quality and transformational services to our communities, We believe that working collaboratively across our cultural and heritage services and building stronger internal and external partnerships will help us to provide better and more inclusive culture and heritage for our whole community. You will be part of a highly collaborative and supportive Culture and Heritage senior management team, who are working closely together to deliver high quality, joined up and community-focused services.

This role is responsible for the strategic development and operational delivery of Kingston’s Library and Heritage Services (the ‘Future Culture Hub’), as part of the wider Culture and Heritage Service, ensuring an excellent, innovative and community focused offer to residents.
- Lead the future strategic development of the Libraries and Heritage Services
- Be responsible for the operational delivery of 7 libraries, Community Library, Museum and Heritage Centre, liaising with cross-council colleagues to manage the finances, buildings and systems
- Collaborate with cross-departmental, voluntary, community, Faith and Non-Faith sector colleagues to develop modern library and heritage services at the centre of the community that respond to the changing needs of residents
- Work as part of a close-knit Culture and Heritage senior team to deliver a coherent, joined up outreach and engagement offer to residents and lead relevant cross-departmental projects
- Drive a mutual supportive and community focused culture in your teams whilst providing development and pastoral support to them
- Model and support a culture of continuous improvement; identifying areas for service improvement and efficiency and leading change
- Developing strong relationships with wider sector colleagues, developmental bodies and funders that will support the delivery of services for Kingston residents
- Managing and delivering strategic services in a libraries, museums or heritage environment
- Demonstrating strong, empathetic, leadership skills, modelling a performance culture and constructively building achievement, confidence, and skills in others
- Leading and managing change
- Delivering excellent customer service in front-line services
- Working successfully with key stakeholders and audiences including Members, residents, businesses, communities, partner organisations and other public services

**Our Offer to You**

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, frie