Arts Officer

THE COMPETITION

The purpose of this recruitment campaign is to form a panel of suitably qualified candidates for Laois County Council for the role of Arts Officer (Grade VII) from which permanent and/or temporary posts may be filled as vacancies arise.

The eligibility criteria are set out below.

 THE ROLE

County Laois is endowed with an unique history, heritage and culture, along with communities that actively contribute to the wealth of collective and individual creative talent and the ongoing vitality of the county and the Midlands. Promoting broader access to the arts and creativity, while fostering artistic creation and production, is essential in nurturing and enriching County Laois ‘s unique sense of place and people as a cultural county. In this regard the role of Arts Officer is an important role in Laois County Council

Laois Arts Office is charged with developing and delivering high quality, imaginative Arts, with and for the people and visitors of Laois. In doing so the Arts Office advocates for and clearly communicates the significant role that the arts play in enriching the wellbeing of society, our citizens and in enhancing the public realm. Laois Arts Office continues to work closely with key local, regional and national partners in creative, public, private, community and voluntary sectors, collaborating on shared agendas. The Arts Office functions within the directorate of Finance and Culture, aligning with the Strategic Policy Committee of Community, Integration, Sports, Culture and Climate Action

 

 

THE QUALIFICATIONS

1.       CHARACTER:

Candidates shall be of good character.

2.       HEALTH:

Candidates shall be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render an efficient service. Successful candidates will be required to undergo a medical examination carried out by the Council’s Occupational Medical advisor prior to appointment. On taking up appointment, the expense of the medical examination will be refunded to the candidate.

 

3.       EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE ETC:

Candidates must on the latest date for receipt of applications:

·       Hold an ordinary degree (level 7 or higher on the National Framework of Qualifications) in an Arts or Cultural discipline.

and

·       Have at least five years’ satisfactory relevant arts development and administration experience at management level in the area of team leadership, programme development and budget management.

and

·       Have satisfactory knowledge of a public service organisation.

***Non Irish Qualifications must be accompanied by a determination from Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) to establish their comparability against the Irish National Framework of Qualifications. Overseas qualifications must also be accompanied by a translation document.***

 

 

The ideal candidate shall have a good knowledge of current arts practice and the organisation of the arts in Ireland especially as it applies to the professional development of artists, arts organisations and festivals. Essential qualities include:

 

·       Have a good knowledge and experience of the Arts, the Arts environment and Arts policy in Ireland

·       Have a good knowledge of the range of public and private supports, available for local arts development

·       Have a good knowledge and understanding of the Local Government sector in Ireland

·       Have the capacity to interact effectively with elected members and representatives from a broad range of sectors and groups including local Arts interests, local development organisations, social partners and funding agencies and institutions

·       Demonstrate an understanding of national arts policies and have the creative and management expertise to drive the development and delivery of arts policies and the Arts Programme on a county level.

 

CITIZENSHIP:

Candidates must, by the date of any job offer, be:

·       A citizen of the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA consists of the Member States of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway; or

·       A citizen of the United Kingdom (UK); or

·       A citizen of Switzerland pursuant to the agreement between the EU and Switzerland on the free movement of persons; or

·       A non-EEA citizen who is a spouse or child of an EEA or UK or Swiss citizen and has a stamp 4 visa; or

·       A person awarded international protection under the International Protection Act 2015 or any family member entitled to remain in the State as a result of family reunification and has a stamp 4 visa or

·       A non-EEA citizen who is a parent of a dependent child who is a citizen of, and resident.

 

The Ideal Candidate Shall:

Laois County Council can, for any position they advertise, include Desirable Requirements. Desirable Requirements are those that would be beneficial to optimising job performance. Desirable Requirements can be used if necessary to reduce numbers called for interview.

It is desirable that each candidate shall:

 

·       Experience of building, managing and nurturing partnerships and relationships across a wide range of key stakeholders

·       Knowledge and understanding of good corporate governance practices

·       Excellent facilitation, project management and event management skills

·       Strong analytic, report writing and IT skills

·       Experience in preparing both strategic and operational plans and programmes

·       Managing and administering budgets, compiling funding applications

·       Delivering quality customer service

·       Working effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team

·       Planning and prioritising workloads

·       Dealing effectively with conflicting demands

·       Working under pressure to tight deadlines

·       Adapting to change

·       Managing projects

·       Managing a team

·       Ability to communicate effectively across different levels within the organisation

·       Maintaining confidentiality

 

Applicants should satisfy themselves they are eligible under the required qualifications. Laois County Council may not be in a position to investigate the eligibility of all candidates in advance of the interview/examination, and hence people who are ineligible but nevertheless enter, may put themselves to unnecessary expense.

Key Duties:

The primary role of the Arts Officer will be to manage the Arts team to implement and measure the priorities of implementing the Local Authority Arts Plan, Laois County Council Corporate Plan 2024-2029 and Laois County Council’s Culture and Creativity Strategy 2023 – 2027.

The duties of the Arts Officer shall include:

 

·       Management of the Arts Office team.

·       Responsibility for the programming and running of the Arthouse and Gallery, Stradbally .

·       Advising Laois County Council on all matters relating to Arts/Culture including but not limited to:

o   Strategies for effective development and management of the Arts & Culture.

o   Fundraising and applying for funding from a variety of sources.

o   The development of the arts/artists in the social, cultural and economic life of the county.

o   The disbursement of grants under the terms of Section 12 of the 1973 Arts Act.

o   Informing of any initiatives which may affect funding and/or policy developments and working towards implementation of proposals.

·       Leading a well-motivated and focused team to deliver the Council’s arts/culture programme including Laois’s Creative Ireland’s Arts focused projects.

·       Communicating, implementing and managing all change within the section,

·       Determining nature, level and pattern of demand for services.

·       Devising, implementing & managing the Council’s Arts Strategy and Arts Infrastructure Strategy to include on-going monitoring and measurement of implementation and impact.

·       Developing annual service delivery plan for the arts in line with the Corporate Plan priorities and in collaboration with the Senior Management Team having regard to available budgets.

·       Identifying and responding to opportunities for the arts, through liaison with a variety of Government Departments, State Agencies, European Institutions and Arts Bodies, collaborating with colleagues to progress the broader cultural and economic development remit of the Council.

·       Imputing into the work of Strategic Policy Committee and other local authority committees, as appropriate.

·       Establishing & overseeing arts/culture policies that will underpin plans for development, which will be integrated with other aspects of local authority work.

·       Devising proposals and responses to national & international policy documents, which will influence the development of arts/culture in the County.

·       Sustaining a consultative process with those involved in arts and culture in the county.

·       Ensuring balanced arts provision for the county, through identifying, supporting and developing the existing professional, voluntary, community and amateur arts sectors and through harnessing existing regional and national networks.

·       Managing and developing the Council’s Public Art policy and collection.

·       Providing information and advice to artists and the community in general on arts/culture related matters.

·       Creating strategic partnerships with a range of key institutional stakeholders and partners,

·       Liaising and work with a wide range of community/voluntary groups and promote the inclusion of all sectors of society in participation of the arts.

·       Developing key metrics to better measure, the impact of investment in the arts in the county

·       Supporting artists to create work of excellence.

·       Responsibility for day-to-day financial management within the section to include budget preparation, identify potential funding opportunities, preparation of funding applications, timely drawdown or recoupment of monies due to the local authority.

·       Delivering projects within agreed budget and deadlines.

·       Attending meetings and represent the local authority on internal or external committees, working groups or other fora when required.

·       Researching, analysing, disseminating and communicating essential information on relevant policies, procedures and legislation.

·       Compiling, preparing and presenting reports as necessary.

·       Communicating effectively with senior management.

·       Planning and prioritising work effectively and be proactive and self-directed.

·       Implementing all Health and Safety management systems within the local authority.

·       Working outside of normal office hours, i.e., at evenings and/or weekends, as required.

·       Any other duties which may arise in the provision of arts services, and are assigned by the Chief Executive, Director of Service or his/her appointed nominee, from time to time.

The above specification is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

 

Competencies for the Post:

Key Competencies for the post include the following and candidates will be expected to demonstrate sufficient evidence within their application form of competence under each of these. Please take particular note of these when completing the application form as any short-listing or interview processes will be based on the information provided by candidates:

Candidates at interviews must achieve a minimum 50% of the total marks available in each of the competencies to qualify for inclusion on a panel.

Knowledge, Experience and Skills

·       Understanding of the role of Arts Officer

·       Have a good knowledge and experience of the Arts, the Arts environment and Arts policy in Ireland

·       Have a good knowledge of the range of public and private supports, available for local arts development

·       Have a good knowledge and understanding of the Local Government sector in Ireland

·       Have the capacity to interact effectively with elected members and representatives from a broad range of sectors and groups including local Arts interests, local development organisation’s, social partners and funding agencies and institutions

·       Demonstrate an understanding of national arts policies and have the creative and management expertise to drive the development and delivery of arts policies and the Arts Programme on a county level

·       Possess good presentation/communication and interpersonal skills

·       Demonstrate an ability to achieve delivery of competing demands within prescribed deadlines and timelines

·       Have an ability to work alone and within a multidisciplinary team and to work on his/her own initiative

·       Have a good knowledge and awareness of Health and Safety Legislation and regulations, their implications for the organisation and the employee and their application in the workplace

·       Ability to work as part of a team

 

Management and Change

·       Think and act strategically.

·       Develop and maintain positive, productive and beneficial working relationships.

·       Effectively manage the introduction of change and demonstrate flexibility and openness to change

·       Contribute to the development of operational plans and lead the development of team plans.

·       Plan and prioritise work and resources effectively.

·       Establish high quality service and customer care standards.

·       Make timely, informed and effective decisions and show good judgement and balance in making decisions or recommendations.

·       Have effective verbal and written communication skills

 

Leading and Motivating and Managing Performance

·       Lead, motivate and engage employees to achieve quality results and to deliver on operational plans.

·       Effectively manage performance.

·       Can manage and resolve potential conflict / disagreements in a positive & constructive manner

·       Works effectively within the political process, recognising & managing any tension that may arise from differing stakeholder’s perspectives.

·       Persuades others; builds consensus, gains co-operation from others to obtain information and accomplish goals.

·       Proactively engage with colleagues at all levels of the organisation and across other Departments// Organisations and builds strong professional networks

·       Has the confidence to put forward own opinion when s/he feels it is right to do so

Performance Through People

 

·       Is able to present ideas effectively to individuals and groups and deliver presentations suited to the nature and needs of the audience

·       Shows ability to actively listen to others and look for feedback on the messages being communicated

·       Relates well to others and maintains positive working relationships

·       Uses diplomacy and tact to facilitate working relationships with dissatisfied staff or customers

 

 

Personal Effectiveness

 

·       Take initiative and seek opportunities to exceed goals.

·       Is self-motivated and responds positively to the challenges of the role

·       Looks to meet the needs of the broader organisation rather than focussing on own specific responsibilities

·       Demonstrates and encourages innovation and new thinking

·       Manage time and workload effectively and operates in an environment with significant complexity and pace.

·       Maintain a positive, constructive and enthusiastic attitude to their role.

 

THE PRINCIPAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

 

1.        PARTICULARS:

There is currently one vacant position which is whole time, permanent and pensionable.

The Council reserves the right to, at any time, re-assign an employee to any department now or in the future

 

2.         PROBATION:

Where a person who is not already a permanent employee of this local authority is appointed, the following provisions shall apply:

(a)         There shall be a period after appointment takes effect, during which such a person shall hold the position on probation

(b)        Such period shall be ten months but the Chief Executive may, at his/her discretion, extend such period

(c)         Such a person shall cease to hold the position at the end of the period of probation, unless during this period the Chief Executive has certified that the service is satisfactory

(d)        There will be ongoing assessments during the probationary period. Employment may be terminated by either party during probation or at the end of the probationary period on one week’s notice.

 

3.         REMUNERATION:

The salary shall be fully inclusive and shall be as determined from time to time. Holders of the office shall pay to the local authority any fees or other monies (other than their inclusive salary) payable to or received by them by virtue of their office or in respect of services which they are required by or under any enactment to perform.

 

The salary scale for this post: €61,217 - €79,583 LSI2 – Salary scale is analogous to the Grade VII Administrative Officer/Senior Executive Librarian payscale as per EL 04/26

 

In accordance with EL02/2011 starting pay for new entrants will be at the minimum of the scale.

The rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with government policy.

 

4.         DUTIES:

The duties shall be such as may be assigned to the employees from time to time by the local authority and shall include the duty of deputizing for other officers of the local authority, when required, and such duties as may be assigned to them in relation to the area of any other local authority.

 

5.         SELECTION PROCESS:

Candidates will initially be assessed to ensure that they meet the minimum specified eligibility criteria for the position.

 

a.   Shortlisting

Shortlisting may apply based on the information supplied on application forms and the requirements of

the position as set out. It is expected that given the qualifications and experience of prospective

applicants the short-listing requirements may be significantly higher than the minimum qualifications

and experience requirements set out for the post.

 

b. Competitive Interview

Selection of candidates for appointment shall be by means of a competitive interview, conducted by or on behalf of the local authority. The Council is committed to a process of selection on merit, based on fair and open competition. The criteria for judging suitability and ranking will be related directly to the qualifications, attributes and skills required to undertake the duties and responsibilities to the standard required in the post.

 

c. Panels

Following completion of interviews, panels may form as described on page 2, the duration of which is at the discretion of the Council. While a panel remains in force, offers of temporary or permanent employment may be made subject to confirmation of qualifications and satisfying clauses in relation to health, character, or other requirements of the particular post. Persons to whom an offer of employment is made must take up duty within 1 month from the date of offer, or such extended period as the Council may agree, otherwise, the Council may decide not to appoint them.

d. References/Documentary Evidence

Each candidate may be required to submit as references the names and addresses of two responsible persons to whom is well known to them but not related. Candidates may be required to submit documentary evidence to the local authority in support of their application.