"Library Assistant"

Job Description:

University of Canterbury Library | Ngā Puna Mātauraka o Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
Located in Ōtautahi | Christchurch, Aotearoa | New Zealand

• Fixed-term 6 month position
• Part-time (18.5 hours per week)

1 X 0.5 FTE (18.5 hours) position Monday to Friday:

Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm (7.5)
Thursday 8:30am-5pm (7.5)
Friday 8:30am - 12pm (3.5)

Kia hiwa rā, kia hiwa rā!

He hiahia, he pūkenga nōu ki te mahi a te Kaiāwhina? Nāia te pōwhiri nā Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha kia tono mai i te tūranga nei.

Āu Mahi | What You Will Do

Are you enthusiastic, energetic, and have experience providing excellent customer service? Are you reliable and conscientious? Do you have a passion for heritage collections and a desire to learn how archives and libraries work? Do you love helping people and feel motivated to contribute to what libraries can provide to their communities?

This role could provide you with great experience working directly with students and staff providing information services, assisting users with equipment, maintaining our collections and physical environment, and helping make our learning spaces welcoming places, all within a cultural heritage library.

Wheako me ngā Pūkenga | Experience and Skills

• A minimum of two years’ work experience in a Library or customer service environment.
• Active commitment to upholding the values, tikanga (protocols and processes), kawa (rules) of cultural practice and traditions as guided by mana whenua, Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and valuing te reo Māori.
• Excellent computer literacy skills, with proven ability to learn and grow knowledge for relevant software and technology.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, ensuring communications are clear, accurate and concise.
• Time management and organisational skills.
• Knowledge of methods of organising and finding information in libraries.
• Knowledge of administrative procedures and systems such as managing files and records.
• Research skills including computer and internet searching skills.
• Able to work collaboratively and independently, and demonstrate a high level of initiative.
• Sound understanding of health and safety in the workplace.
• Competency in Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga is an advantage

Mōu | Who You Are

You will have significant work experience in a library or a similar front-facing customer service environment. You will have experience with organising and finding information in libraries, awareness of the technologies used, and of administrative procedures and systems such as managing files and records.

Knowledge of Te Reo Māori and Te Ao Māori or experience working with Māori or Pacific communities would be an advantage, as would a current First-Aid Certificate.

Due to the nature of the role, it’s important that you are a people person who enjoys working in a team.

Mahi Ngātahi | Who You Will Work With

You will work alongside a diverse and passionate library team who provide a range of services, resources and expertise that supports undergraduate and postgraduate learning, research and teaching. We do this through the provision of information resources; reference and information services; digital literacy programmes; e-learning support and academic liaison; research support including repositories; student and academic support from our Subject Specialist Librarians, Kaitakawaenga Māori and Pacific Liaison Librarians and our heritage collections and specialist staff.

For more information about our team, please visit us @ UC Library

Ngā Painga o UC | Why UC

Our values are manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and tiakitanga at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha and these uara (values) guide our decisions and behaviour. Our values provide a roadmap for how we do things, affirming our commitment to the oranga (health, safety, and wellbeing) of our students through mana-enhancing pastoral care and support. Ngā Uara (our values) challenge and inspire us to be the best we can be. They make UC a great place to work and study. For more on our Ngā Uara | Our Values visit https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about/values/

We are committed to accessible higher education, service to the community and the encouragement of talent without barriers of distance, wealth, class, gender, or ethnicity. The University explicitly aims to produce graduates and support staff who are engaged with their communities, empowered to act for good and determined to make a difference in the world.

We offer a range of fantastic benefits including flexible work practices, study opportunities and generous superannuation and leave provisions. For more information, please visit us: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/joinus/benefits/

For more information about Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, please visit www.canterbury.ac.nz

The closing date for this position is: 1 February 2026 (midnight, NZ time)*Applications will be reviewed after the closing date.*

Pēhea te tono mai | How You Apply

Applications for this position must be submitted on our careers website and should include a cover letter.

We do not accept applications by email; however, we are happy to answer your queries in relation to the application process, please forward these to WorkatUC@canterbury.ac.nz

You must have Aotearoa New Zealand or Australian citizenship/permanent residency to be considered for this role. If you hold a valid work visa and are physically present in New Zealand, then you may also be considered.