Assistant Civil Defence Officer

THE ROLE

The Assistant Civil Defence Officer, who is an employee of the local authority, is responsible in assisting the Civil Defence Officer with the day-to-day management of the Civil Defence. The principal role is to be prepared to support the Principal Response Agencies and more recently to provide support to the Community Response Forum. The development of numerous and varied certified training programmes, Health and Safety legislation, emerging technology improvements and other associated requirements has greatly impacted on the administration demands and mandatory record keeping obligations.

Please note that the successful candidate will be subject to Garda Vetting prior to any appointment being confirmed.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE SHALL

• have experience in supervision, leadership and management of people;

• have experience in adult training and delivery of training courses;

• have experience in the management of safety and safety management systems;

• have good interpersonal and communication skills;

• have administrative experience including the use of modern IT systems;

• have experience in record keeping and management of budgets;

• have good knowledge and awareness of Health and Safety Legislation and Regulations, the implications for the organisation and the employee, and their application in the workplace;

• possess good time management skills and be able to work under pressure and to work flexible working hours;

• be capable of working on their own initiative;

• have a working knowledge of PHECC guidelines.

QUALIFICATIONS

CHARACTER:

Each candidate shall be of good character.

HEALTH:

Candidates shall be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, ETC.:

Each candidate must, on the latest date for receipt of completed application:-

a) have relevant administrative and IT experience, including proficiency in Microsoft applications, responsibility for managing budgets, and maintaining accurate records;

b) have 2 years satisfactory experience in a Civil Defence role or other volunteer based emergency organisation;

c) possess satisfactory knowledge of MEM (Major Emergency Management) Framework;

d) have the ability to demonstrate strong organisational and leadership skills, along with relevant experience in supervising and developing staff and/or volunteers;

e) have good knowledge and awareness of Health and Safety Legislation and Regulations, the implications for the organisation and the employee, and their application in the workplace.

On the date of application, the successful candidate must possess a current unendorsed full driving licence (Category B) as they may be required to drive a motor car in the course of their duties.

DUTIES

The duties of the post include, but are not limited to, the following:-

• To assist the Civil Defence Officer in the general management of the Civil Defence;

• To assist in the management of Voluntary Emergency Management System;

• To assist the management of Fleet Management;

• To assist in the preparation and submission in a timely manner and in consultation with Dublin City Council management, of the two-year Civil Defence Plan as required under Section 12 of the Civil Defence Act, 2012;

• To co-ordinate the arrangements necessary for the implementation of the Civil Defence Plan;

• To represent Civil Defence within local emergency planning structures and to promote good relations with key personnel with each of the local Principal Response Agencies;

• To provide support to the Principal Response Agencies (Local Authority, An Garda Siochána and Health Service Executive) in emergency and non-emergency situations in accordance with the Framework for Major Emergency Management;

• Represent Civil Defence on the Crisis Management Team;

• To formulate, and periodically review, such Civil Defence Plans as are required to comply with its statutory responsibilities;

• To continue the support of local community events;

• To comply with the policies, circulars and guidelines as set out by the Civil Defence Branch of the Department of Defence;

• To attend training provided by the Department of Defence and LCC;

• To arrange for the recruitment, organisation and management of Civil Defence volunteers;

• To arrange and ensure Civil Defence volunteers are appropriately trained including mandatory training, facilitate progression of training for volunteers, including completing an annual training needs analysis;

• To carry out instructions issued by the Department of Defence in relation to the processing of the annual operational grant and any other grants that are provided;

• To carry out instructions issued by the local authority/Department of Defence for the purchase, care, maintenance, issue and control of Civil Defence uniforms, vehicles and equipment;

• To maintain adequate records, in the manner required and any other reporting requirements as may arise;

• To promote Civil Defence as a community resource within Dublin.

The particular duties and responsibilities attached to the post may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the duties or level of responsibilities entailed. The post holder may therefore be required to perform duties appropriate to the post, other than those detailed above, and to take instructions from and report to, an appropriate Officer or such designated Officer as may be assigned from time to time by the City Council.

The duties of the post are to give to the local authority and to

(a) the local authorities or bodies for which the Chief Executive is Chief Executive, and

(b) to any other local authority or body with which an agreement has been made by the local authority or by any of the authorities or bodies referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph under the general direction and control of the Chief Executive or of such officers as the Chief Executive may from time to time determine, such appropriate computing, technical, management, administrative, executive, supervisory, advisory and ancillary services as may be required by any local authority or body hereinbefore mentioned in the exercise and performance of any of its powers, functions and duties and to exercise such powers, functions and duties as may be delegated to them by the Chief Executive from time to time including the duty of servicing all committees that may be established by any such local authority or body. The holder of the post will, if required, act for an officer of a higher level.

SELECTION PROCESS

• Posts of Assistant Civil Defence Officer will be filled from this publicly advertised competition. Selection shall be by means of a competition conducted by or on behalf of Dublin City Council.

• Candidates should note that the information provided by them in their application form and assessment questions (if applicable) will form the basis on which eligibility and short listing is conducted.

• Dublin City Council reserves the right to undertake eligibility and/or shortlist candidates in the manner it deems most appropriate.

• A panel may be formed on the basis of interviews. A candidate whose name is on a panel and who satisfies the Council that they possess the qualifications declared for the post and that they are otherwise suitable for appointment may, within the life of the panel, subject to the appropriate Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage sanction, be appointed as an appropriate vacancy arises.

• The life of the panel shall be for a period of one year from the date of its formation.

• Dublin City Council shall require any person to whom an appointment is offered to take up such appointment within a period of not more than one month and if they fail to take up appointment within such period, or such longer period as the Council in its absolute discretion may determine, the Council shall not appoint them.

SHORTLISTING

Dublin City Council reserves the right to shortlist candidates to proceed to the interview stage of the competition. Shortlisting of candidates will be on the basis of information supplied on the Application Form, in conjunction with the answers given in the assessment questions (if applicable). It is therefore in your own interest to provide a detailed and accurate account of your qualifications/experience in your application.

The shortlisting process will provide for the assessment of each applicant’s application form against predetermined criteria that reflect the skills and depth of experience considered to be essential for a position at this level.

INTERVIEW

The interview will be competency based and marks will be awarded under the following competencies;

• Management and Change

• Delivering Results

• Leading, Motivating, Managing Performance and Communicating Effectively

• Personal Effectiveness

• Civil Defence Knowledge and Experience

SALARY:

The salary scale for the position of Assistant Civil Defence Officer is;

€57,895; €59,276; €60,960; €64,126; €66,017; (Maximum); €68,367 (1st LSI) (after 3 years satisfactory service on the Maximum); €70,730 (2nd LSI) (after 3 years satisfactory service on the 1st LSI).

Entry point to this scale will be determined in accordance with Circulars issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. In accordance with Departmental Circular letter EL 02/2011, a person who is not a serving public service employee on or after 1st January 2011, will enter the scale for the position at the minimum point.

Rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government Policy.

Under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013, the working hours for newly appointed/promoted staff are 35 hours per week.

All applicants must refer to the Additional Candidate Information Booklet which can be found at https://careers.dublincity.ie

for additional relevant information pertaining to the salary scale and the recruitment process.

PARTICULARS OF POSITION

(a) The post is permanent, whole time and pensionable.

(b) The holder of the post will be required to serve in Civil Defence. Dublin City Council reserves the right to, at any time, assign an employee to any Department now or in the future.

(c) A period of one year’s probation applies where a person is permanently appointed to Dublin City Council.

HOURS OF ATTENDANCE

The hours and days of attendance for duty shall be as determined from time to time by the Chief Executive. The holder of the post will be required to work outside normal hours at weekends, public holidays etc.

UNIFORM

As a condition of employment the holder of the post will be required, at all times when on duty, to wear such uniform and/or items of personal protective equipment as are specified from time to time by Dublin City Council.

CITIZENSHIP

Candidates must, by the date of application be;

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

b) a citizen of the United Kingdom (UK), or

c) a citizen of Switzerland pursuant to the agreement between the EU and Switzerland on the free movement of persons, or

d) 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

e) 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

f) a non-EEA citizen who is a parent of a dependent child who is a citizen of, and resident in, an EEA member state or the UK or Switzerland and has a stamp 4 visa.

Dublin City Council welcomes all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds to join its diverse workforce and we hereby reserve the sole discretion to vary the above requirements from time to time subject to the business needs and staffing requirements.

IRISH PROFICIENCY

As part of our ongoing commitment to support the Irish language, our leadership on the Gaeilge365 programme and to comply with the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, we are gathering information on candidates’ capacity to speak Irish.

Under this legislation, public bodies are required to ensure that 20% of new recruits are capable of performing their duties through Irish by 2030. While this position is not an Irish language speaking role, we are asking all applicants to indicate their current level of Irish language ability.

This information will be used for workforce planning purposes only and will not form part of the selection process for this competition.