Books change lives
Dear Candidate
RE: Warehouse Assistant
Thank you for expressing an interest in this position. This is an excellent time to join Book
Aid International. Our Operations Team is growing to enable the charity to process and
supply an increasing quantity of books to its partners in sub-Saharan Africa.
Please read the information enclosed, and background information on our website, and
complete the application form and forward it to: Simon Mercer, Book Aid International, 3941
Coldharbour
Lane,
Camberwell,
London
SE5
9NR
or
via
email
to
simon.mercer@bookaid.org. Please submit your application as soon as possible, and no
later than 9am on Friday 6th March 2015.
The following items are enclosed (9 pages including this letter):



Job description and outline terms and conditions
Person specification
Application form
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted week beginning 9 March 2015. Preliminary
interviews will be held during the week beginning 6 March.
Further information about Book Aid International is available on our website at
www.bookaid.org
Yours sincerely,
Alison Hubert
Director
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert
Books change lives
Job Description
Job title:
Warehouse Assistant
Team:
Operations
Reporting to:
Head of Operations
Responsible for:
Receipt and processing of donated new books
Book Aid International increases access to books and supports literacy, education and
development in sub-Saharan Africa. Millions of people in small communities, towns, cities,
refugee camps, prisons, hospitals, schools and universities use the books we send.
Book Aid International: Introduction
The mission of Book Aid International is to help transform lives by increasing and improving
access to books and information in libraries in sub-Saharan Africa. We do this through an
established book donation and project programme, and by providing training and
professional development to librarians in a range of institutions in our partner countries.
In 2014 we provided over 1,000,000 new books to over 2,000 libraries. To date we have
supplied over 30 million books to libraries worldwide.
Book Aid International is now seeking a warehouse assistant to join the Operations team.
The organisation employs 20 FTE staff, mostly based in its South London office and
warehouse. It works with a range of partners in 11 countries in East and Central/Southern
Africa.
Role
The Operations Team is responsible for the receipt and processing of over 1,000,000 new
donated books from UK publishers each year and making up orders for libraries in subSaharan Africa. This is a challenging role as we have limited space and an ever increasing
desire to supply more books each year. In addition to general warehouse duties the job
holder will be required to look after the building and be able to undertake small repairs
where needed.
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert
The role is located at our warehouse in Camberwell, South London.
Responsibilities
The key purpose of this role is to work with the Head of Operations and the other members
of the team – duties will include the following:







Take in deliveries from publishers/suppliers.
Book deliveries into the warehouse management system.
Move stock within the warehouse as required or requested to ensure optimum use
of space.
Undertake other warehouse duties as required, including booking stock in, shelving,
picking, packing and stamping books.
Take an active role in ensuring a general good state of cleanliness and tidiness of the
warehouse, especially in the packing area and shipping bay.
Comply with Health and Safety regulations at all times.
Use the forklift when required (this includes use on the public highway).
Facilities



Undertake small facility repairs as needed.
Arrange for contractors to undertake specialist or unsafe tasks.
Assist the Head of Operations in planning larger facilities projects
Relationships
Key internal relationships
 Head of Operations
 Operations team
 Volunteers
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert
External
 Delivery companies
 Suppliers of services
Terms and conditions
Salary
£19,000 to £20,000 depending on experience
Probation period
3 months
Working hours
35/week
Place of work
Camberwell, London SE5
Annual leave
25 days per annum
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert
Person Specification
Essential
Desirable
Qualifications
GCSE English and Maths preferably grades
Current counterbalance forklift license
A-C or equivalent.
UK full driving license
Experience
Warehouse experience using a warehouse
Working in a book distribution warehouse
management system
Experience undertaking small repairs in an
office / warehouse environment
Good track record of using a
counterbalance forklift
Knowledge
Good understanding of health and Safety especially in a warehouse environment
Skills and Abilities
Ability to work in a team and unsupervised
Trained Health and Safety rep
First aider
Ability to priorities tasks and handle peak
work-loads
Qualified fork lift operator
Willing to learn and engage with the other
members of the team
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert
Physically able to lift loads of up to 25 kgs,
maneuver boxes on shelving, unload
deliveries from lorries
IT literate
Values and Style
A good team player who is willing to work
hard and is passionate about providing the
highest standard of service to internal and
external customers
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
A desire to work in a charity environment
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert
Application Form for the post of Warehouse Assistant
Please return this completed form to simon.mercer@bookaid.org by 9.00 am on
6th March 2015
1. Family name:
First name:
Other names:
2. National Insurance No:
3. Are you currently eligible to work in the UK?
4. Address
Email address:
Daytime tel no:
Evening tel no:
5. Education & training (university, college, technical education & professional training)
Dates attended
From
To
Institution & city
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
Field of
study/training
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Degree,
Diploma or
certificate
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert
6.
Other training, professional qualifications, membership of professional bodies:
7. Work experience (list only employment lasting 3 months or more). Begin with present or most
recent employment (and add more sections if necessary).
Employer:
Title:
Based at:
Address:
Dates of employment:
Reason for leaving:
Current salary:
Brief job description
Employer
Title
Address
Based at
Dates of employment:
Reason for leaving:
Brief job description
Employer
Title
Address
Based at
Dates of employment:
Reason for leaving:
Brief job description
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert
Employer
Title
Address
Based at
Dates of employment:
Reason for leaving:
Brief job description
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert
8. On no more than two sides of A4, please summarise your skills and experience giving examples
of how you meet the requirements of the person specification.
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert
9.
Do you have a disability? Yes / No
If 'yes', please give brief details of the effects of your disability on your day-to-day activities, and
any other information that you feel would help us to accommodate your needs and thus meet our
obligations under the Equality Act 2010:
10.
Please note here your leisure interests/voluntary sector involvement including any positions
of responsibility held:
11.
How did you become aware of this post?
12.
From when would you be available to take up this post?
13.
Please provide two referees. References should be provided by previous employers wherever
possible. Relatives and partners are not suitable as referees. Referees will not be contacted without
your prior permission.
Name:
Tel no:
Occupation
Tel no.
Occupation
Address:
Email address:
Relationship to you
Name
Address
Email address:
Relationship to you:
15.
Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offence? If so please give details of any unspent
convictions. Spent convictions do not have to be declared as the job is not one covered by the
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
The facts set out in this application form are, to the best of my knowledge, true and complete. I understand
that any false statement will disqualify me from employment.
Signed:
Date:
Name:
Patron: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM
President: Nigel Newton
Vice President: Professor Kingo Mchombu
Chair: The Rt Hon The Lord Paul Boateng PC DL
Book Aid International is a charity and a limited company registered in England and Wales Charity no. 313869 Company no. 880754
Registered Office: 39-41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 9NR Formerly the Ranfurly Library Service Printed on recycled paper
Director: Alison Hubert