Project Officer, School Libraries

Key information

Closing date: 10am, Monday 18 May 2026

Salary: £27,000 per year

Contract: Fixed-term contract until August 2029

Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week

Location: Based in London SW8 / home and flexible working

Interviews: Online, Monday 1 June 2026

We empower people with the literacy skills they need to succeed in life. Together, we're helping people change their stories. You could join us as we work to ensure every primary school in the UK has a dedicated library space.

What you’ll be doing

The government has committed to ensuring a library in every primary school in England by the end of this Parliament - a step that supports the National Year of Reading 2026's aim to tackle the nation's steep decline in reading for pleasure. The National Literacy Trust will work with DCMS and the National Lottery Community Fund to design the programme of delivery in England, whilst also continuing its mission to ensure every primary school in the whole of the UK has a dedicated library space to help create a strong reading for pleasure culture for its pupils.

We are recruiting two Project Officers who will support the delivery of this work. You will be part of our school libraries team, providing administrative support and working closely with our Project Managers to deliver our nationwide Libraries for Primaries programme. This will include supporting school recruitment, delivery of training and creation of resources, booking travel, supporting in-person training days and other events, and maintaining our database of sector partners and contacts. You will also develop and maintain administration systems and workflow processes, with support from the team.

You will be contracted to our office in London, but this role is suitable for home and flexible working, with the majority of your work carried out from home if you would prefer. However, you will need to be available to travel to London for staff and team days, as well as to support project delivery and partnerships. This could be around a day a month on average, although at times it will be a lot less, and unfortunately, we are unable to cover travel costs for this.

What we’re looking for

You will need experience of administration and team support, as well as use of contact databases and content management systems. You will also have experience supporting work with external stakeholders. Excellent written and spoken communication skills, organisational skills and attention to detail are essential. Experience working in the education or library sector would be an advantage.

Why our work is so vital

Literacy changes everything.

It gives you the tools to get the most out of life, and the power to shape your future. It’s the key to knowledge, confidence and inspiration. It’s better results at school, and better jobs. If children grow up without the tools to communicate, without books to read or opportunities to write, it’s harder to get where they want to go.

The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity helping people overcome these challenges and change their life chances through the power of words - reading, writing, speaking and listening. From first words, through school days, to training, jobs and beyond.

- We work collaboratively in local communities, focusing our work in 20 areas of the UK that are facing the biggest challenges.
- We support schools, developing the most effective tools and techniques and providing resources and programmes to engage and inspire children.
- We campaign to make literacy a priority for politicians and decision-makers.
- We support vulnerable adults, people in the criminal justice system and young offenders’ institutions to build their literacy skills

What we offer you

Our team are passionate about our mission, and we have a strong and positive working culture, based on shared values and respect. We offer a range of flexible working options and promote a workplace where you can be yourself and contribute to our success, whoever you are.

As well as a competitive salary, we offer benefits including a generous leave allowance totalling 39 days (including bank holidays and office closure between Christmas and New Year), pension contributions of 8% of annual salary, a cycle to work scheme, employee assistance programme and other health and wellbeing benefits.

Application details

Our people are our most important asset, and we value and respect diversity in all its forms (seen and unseen). We particularly welcome applications from those from Black and Asian backgrounds, as well as candidates with disabilities and from the communities in which we work. We would like to increase representation of these groups among our staff, as we know greater diversity will lead to an even greater impact for our work.

For more information and to apply, download the files below.

Please also complete our online equal opportunities monitoring form when you submit your application.

Unfortunately, we are unable to respond individually to applications, so if you have not heard from us by the advertised interview date, this means we have not been able to shortlist your application this time.

Please note, we do not accept CVs. No agencies or recruitment sites.