Architectural Assistant Grade I

The Role

OPW architectural staff provide design, project management, conservation, maintenance, procurement and advisory services for Government, State Agencies' and cultural institutions building and property needs.

Reporting to a Senior Architect or equivalent level, the Architectural Assistant Grade I will apply technical principles in the development of a building to meet the project brief, the regulatory requirements for the building/site complex and the performance requirements for environmental and energy efficiency. Depending on the size and complexity of the project they will be required to work as part of a team and/or on their own initiative.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities of the Role

The duties of the post may include:

• Delivering the OPW statement of strategy and corresponding business plans;

• Setting and maintaining of professional duties and technical standards in all areas of architecture;

• Managing risk effectively within the architectural practice;

• Implementing and maintaining of ISO procedures and certification in the provision of architectural services;

• Assisting with the preparation of statutory submissions including planning permission, fire safety certificate, disability access certificate etc;

• Assisting with the preparation of Building Control documentation;

• Assisting with the preparation of feasibility studies, reports and presentation drawings;

• Assisting with the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) standards through the organisation and contributing to BIM Execution Plan developments;

• Managing developments and information flow within Common Data Environments (CDE);

• Managing hardcopy archive materials and assisting in the digitisation of its information;

• Maintaining, reviewing and contributing into multiple building Safety Files;

• Undertaking measured building and site surveys and translating data into legible digital and graphical format;

• Assisting with Building Appraisals and the development of client briefs;

• Producing technical drawings for all stages including concept and sketch design stage, planning, specification, compliance reports and other written technical documentation for tender, post-tender and handover or any other additional stages in the process as required;

• Assisting with the construction process and site supervision under the direction of the Architect, Senior Architect / Regional Manager or Assistant Principal Architect where appropriate/applicable;

• Assisting with contract management of minor capital, maintenance and conservation works;

• Providing technical expertise in the application and integration of construction technologies in the building process;

• Keeping up to date with changing developments in information technology, construction technology, architectural practice and statutory requirements as they affect the construction industry;

• Complying with relevant legislative codes, latest trends and public procurement requirements;

• Supporting the implementation and maintenance of I.S.E.N ISO 9001:2015 procedures and certification in the provision of architectural services in the OPW;

• Undertaking building and site inspections and preparing Building Condition Reports based on findings;

• Assisting in the preparation of Capital Works Management Framework documentation for tender packages and contract awards for public works.

Please note: The above is a general guide to the key duties and responsibilities of the role and is not an exhaustive description. Other duties and responsibilities appropriate to the role may also be assigned from time to time.

Vacancies and Office Location

Vacancies currently exist in Dublin and Cork, and a panel will be formed from this competition to fill both immediate and future vacancies that may arise for Architectural Assistant Grade I in any of the following counties:

Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Laois, Limerick, Louth, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath and Wicklow.

Candidates are invited to indicate their choice(s) on the application form for a maximum of 2 counties in which they would be prepared to accept a position.

The onus is on candidates to select their correct location choice(s). Changes to these choice(s) will not be permitted after the closing date. No exceptions will be made.

It is not expected that appointments will be made from this panel after September 2027.

Working Environment

The working environment will alternate between office, site and building inspections. The Architectural Assistant Grade I will be required to travel to attend meetings with clients, design teams, consultants, and to site meetings and site inspections.

Successful candidates may be eligible for blended working subject to conditions as set out in OPW’s blended working policy and the business needs of the office to which they are assigned.

Training and Development

The OPW promotes and supports Continuing Professional Development (CPD) among its professional staff. It has a program of architectural conferences and encourages attendance at external lectures/conferences/seminars. In addition, the OPW supports educational opportunities through a ‘refund of fees scheme’ for attendance at third level further education.

Benefits

As well as a rewarding and challenging career, some of the benefits of working as an Architectural Assistant Grade I in the OPW include:

• Salary, starting at €53,996 with yearly increments for satisfactory performance;

• Public Sector pension;

• Starting annual leave of 23 days per year, rising to 27 after a number of years in the grade;

• Access to well-being programmes to support a healthy work-life balance;

• Free Entry to OPW managed Heritage Sites;

• Paid membership of a relevant professional body;

• Opportunity to avail of the ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme, and the tax saver public transport pass;

• Opportunity to join the Public Service Credit Union;

• Subject to business needs and a satisfactory probationary period:

o Flexible working with a commitment to work-life balance and a family-friendly workplace (including work-sharing arrangements and a wide variety of special leave options);

o Access to Shorter Working Year Scheme;

o Facility to apply for career breaks;

o Learning and development opportunities;

• Opportunities for promotion through internal, interdepartmental and open competitions.

Key Information: Architectural Assistant Grade I

Salary Range: €53,996 – €66,286

Starting Annual Leave: 23 days

Hours of attendance: 41 hours and 15 minutes gross per week

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Essential

Candidates must have on or before 22nd January 2026:

A qualification of at least level 7 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) (or NARIC Ireland Foreign Qualifications equivalent) in Architectural Technology/Architecture;

and

At least five years relevant experience as an Architectural Assistant, Architectural Technician/Technologist or in a related role such as a Grade II Architectural Graduate, Architectural Draftsperson, CAD Technician, BIM Manager, Planner or Engineer

Candidates must also have:

Experience in producing Technical Drawings through Revit, AutoCAD or other similar computer drafting software for project, concept and sketch design stage, planning, tender, post tender and handover as well as As-built Drawings and Documentation;

(Candidates called for interview will be required to present a portfolio demonstrating their skills in this area.

A strong understanding of construction legislation, planning, Building Regulations, related codes and standards including Safety, Health and Welfare at Work [Construction] Regulations 2013 and 2019 (as amended) and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (as amended);

A proven ability to develop performance-based solutions to technical problems;

Good organisational skills and understanding of the principles of project management in construction projects;

Good knowledge of the theory and principles of environmental design and universal design;

Good knowledge and understanding of construction details, materials and processes;

Knowledge and experience in the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the construction industry when delivering a construction project to a required BIM level;

The ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team situation under the direction of a Senior Architect/Regional Manager or Assistant Principal Architect;

Sound judgement, problem solving, and decision-making skills;

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build effective working relationships both internally and externally;

The ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines, either alone or as part of a team;

Good IT skills with experience in standard office software word-processing, spreadsheets and databases;

A commitment to continuous learning and development.

In addition to the above, candidates must also be able to demonstrate the Key Competencies identified for effective performance at this level.

Please Note:

Candidates called for interview will be required to present a portfolio demonstrating their skills.

Desirable

• Knowledge and experience in the use of ISO Quality Management Standards

• Project Management experience and skills

• Experience in Building Conservation

• A current full driving licence (Category B), and access to a car.

Application Details

Your application must be submitted on the Public Jobs website not later than 3pm on Thursday, 22nd January 2026

If you do not receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your application within 24 hours of applying, please email Dylan.Tutty@publicjobs.ie

Interviews for these posts are likely to commence from late February 2025.

You are advised to check your publicjobs.ie Application Centre on a regular basis as email notifications of updates/tests/interviews etc. issued to your Message Board may sometimes be filtered into your Junk/Spam email folders. You are also advised to check all these folders regularly.

The onus is on each applicant to ensure that they are in receipt of all communication from publicjobs. publicjobs accept no responsibility for communication not accessed or received by an applicant.

Candidates should make themselves available on the date(s) specified by publicjobs and should make sure that the contact details specified on the application form are correct.

Selection Process

The selection process for this competition will comprise a number of elements. These may include one or more of the following:

• Shortlisting of candidates on the basis of the information contained in their application against set criteria based on the requirements of the position

• A competitive preliminary interview

• Pre-recorded video interview

• Completion of online questionnaire(s)

• Report-writing exercise or other exercises

• Presentation or other exercises

• A final competitive interview

• Remote interview

• Work sample/role play/media exercise and/or any other tests or exercises that may be deemed appropriate

Shortlisting

The number of applications received for a position generally exceeds that required to fill existing and future vacancies. While a candidate may meet the eligibility requirements of the competition, if the numbers applying are such that it would not be practical to interview everyone, publicjobs may decide that a smaller number will be invited to the next stage of the selection process.

publicjobs provides for the employment of a shortlisting process to select a group who, based on an examination of the application forms, appear to be the most suitable for the position. This is not to suggest that other candidates are necessarily unsuitable or incapable of undertaking the job, rather that there are some candidates who, based on their application, appear to be better qualified and/or have more relevant experience.

Where a competition attracts a large number of eligible candidates, the shortlisting process will apply a scored assessment of the information provided on the application form. A rank order of candidates will then be created and based on that ranking candidates will be invited to the next stage of the process in groups/batches.

The shortlisting criteria may include both essential and desirable criteria specified for the position, and it is therefore in your own interest to provide a detailed and accurate account of your qualifications/experience in your application.

Pre-Employment Checks

Should your place on the panel be reached and you come under consideration for a position, several pre-employment checks must be completed before a candidate is deemed suitable for appointment.

These checks include an evaluation of Citizenship, Health & Character, Garda Vetting & Security Clearance and Reference Checks. Where these checks are unsatisfactory or cannot be obtained, publicjobs reserves the right to disqualify a candidate from any further consideration of appointment or termination of employment.

Candidates with Disabilities

Attracting candidates from all sectors of society to ensure accessible routes to career opportunities is a key priority of publicjobs. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all candidates.

If you have a disability or need reasonable accommodations made during the selection process, we strongly encourage you to share this with us so that we can ensure you get the support you need.

Reasonable accommodation refers to adjustments and practical changes which would enable a disabled candidate to have an equitable opportunity for this competition.

Please do not email your medical/psychologist’s report to us. Reports should be uploaded directly to your online application.

For assistance, please contact: professionaltechnical@publicjobs.ie

publicjobs will ensure that your reasonable accommodations are implemented as necessary for each stage of the recruitment process.