Beach Ranger

1. Character

Each candidate must be of good character.

2. Health

Candidates must be in a good state of health and be free from any ailments which would render them unsuitable to hold the position.

3. Age

Candidates must be at least 18 years of age on or before 29 April 2024.

4. Education, Tr, Experience, etc.

1.                Candidates shall have a good standard of education to enable them to carry out their duties efficiently.

2.                Candidates should have relevant experience in relation to the post.

3.                Candidates must have strong communication and interpersonal skills.

4.                Candidates must be able to make timely, informed, and effective decisions and show good judgement and balance in making decisions or recommendations.

5.                Good local knowledge of facilities, visitor attractions, tourism offerings and experiences

Desirable

It is desirable that Candidates hold a Certificate of Competence in First Aid from an approved First Aid Training Provider.

BEACH RANGER

PARTICULARS OF EMPLOYMENT

1.                POSITION

Mayo County Council seeks applications from suitably qualified persons for the position of Beach Ranger during the period May/June – September 2024, as required.

2.               REMUNERATION

Rate of wages: The rate of pay for Beach Ranger will be €620.76 per week.

(39 hour/6-day week); €15.92 per hour.

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

Beach Rangers are required to work Sunday as part of their employment contract and, in accordance with section 14 (1) of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, the fact of having to work on that day has been taken into account in the determination of the above pay rates.

3.                DUTIES

The duties of the employment are to give to:

Mayo County Council under the control of the Chief Executive or his nominee and to any other local authority or body with which an agreement has been made by the local authority, under the general direction and control of the Chief Executive or of such other employee as the Chief Executive may from time to time determine, such appropriate services of an administrative, technical, supervisory or management nature 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 him or her 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 employment will, if required, act for an employee of a higher level, if qualified to do so.

Beach Rangers will be primarily responsible to Mayo County Council for the performance of their duties and will work under the immediate supervision of the Tourism Team or other designated employees appointed by Mayo County Council.

The duties of a Beach Ranger include, but are not limited to:

1.                       The primary role of the Beach Ranger is to ensure, in so far as possible, that the Beach Bye-laws are observed and to take the appropriate action if the Bye-laws are contravened. The Beach Ranger shall be familiar with all aspects of the Bye-laws. In the Bye-laws, are a list of prohibited Acts and it is very important to be fully aware of same. The Beach Ranger must ensure that, if a person is committing an offence, he/she is advised of same and is asked to desist immediately. Failure to comply may result in fines under the Bye-laws.

2.                      The Beach Ranger will be required to carry out duties relating to the control of traffic and parking along and in the vicinity of the beach, its approach road and the carpark areas, in line with Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations and bylaws, ensuring that emergency access to the beach is kept clear at all times.

3.                      The Beach Ranger will be appointed as an Authorised Officer under the Litter pollution Act, 1997; The Control of Dogs Act, 1992 & Traffic and Parking Legislation. He/She shall take the appropriate action in respect of any relevant incidents relating to littering; control of dogs and parking.

4.                       The Beach Ranger will be required to advise members of the public and visitors to Keem of good practices in relation to minimising their impact on the sensitive environment surrounding Keem Bay. Act as a point of information for visitor guidance in relation to local facilities/activities/experiences etc

5.                       The Beach Ranger will be required to work a 39-hour week, as specified in Section 17 below. The Beach Ranger shall report for duty 10 minutes before start time each day.

6.                       The Beach Ranger shall commence patrolling immediately and shall, at all times, keep the beach, car park and associated facilities (toilets) under close observation and shall take immediate and appropriate action.

7.                       Advise persons concerned that an offence is being committed and request that he/she desist from the prohibited act immediately.

8.                       Advise persons engaged in prohibited acts of the consequences of failing to comply with their requests, i.e., fines under the Bye-laws and associated regulations.

9.                       If the prohibited act continues, the Beach Ranger shall demand the name and address of the person(s) concerned and shall advise that it is an offence to give a false or misleading name or address.

10.                  Advise the person concerned that a prosecution may be brought against him/her in respect of the contravention of the Bye-laws.

11.                  Call for assistance of An Garda Síochana in respect of the enforcement of the said Bye-laws, if necessary. An Garda Síochana may arrest without warrant, any person committing an offence under the Bye-laws.

12.                  The said Beach Ranger and/or An Garda Síochana may exercise the power under the Bye-laws to exclude or remove from any part of the beach any persons committing any breach of the Bye-laws.

13.                  Liaise with the General Services Supervisor regarding overflowing bins and maintenance/cleaning of toilet facilities.

14.                  The Beach Ranger shall immediately complete a detailed report in respect of all serious incidents or offences and forward same to their supervisor, or other designated employee appointed by Mayo County Council.

15.                 The Beach Ranger shall patrol the beach area at least 3 times a day to check for litter, glass, etc., and remove same. In the case of remnants of a barbecue, fire, etc., the Beach Ranger must remove if safe or, if not, contact the local General Services Supervisor.

16.                  Regulatory & Information Signage shall be checked on a daily basis and defective/defaced/missing signage shall be reported immediately to the line manager.

17.                  In the event of an Emergency, the Beach Ranger shall immediately alert the Emergency Services.

18.                  The Beach Ranger shall keep an accurate record of offences committed, including photographic evidence (where applicable) for the purposes of Court Proceedings and shall attend court and give evidence as required.

19.                  At the end of each day, the Beach Rangers Report sheet shall be completed and kept in the Beach Rangers station, which will be collected on a daily/weekly basis.

20.                  On occasion, the Tourism Department of Mayo County Council will require Visitor Surveys to be conducted and the Beach Ranger will be requested to carry out same.

21.                  The Beach Ranger shall perform any other duties as may be assigned to him/her from time to time by the Water Safety Officer, Area Engineer, Environmental Services Section, or other designated employee appointed by Mayo County Council.

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.

3.REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS

The holder of the post will report directly to their supervisor, or any person nominated by Mayo County Council.

22.           COMPETENCIES:

Candidates for the post must demonstrate that they have competency and skills in the following areas. Application forms should include two practical examples which demonstrates these competencies. Interviews will be competency based and marks will be awarded under these skills sets.

1.        Delivering Results

2.        Performance Through People

3.       Personal Effectiveness

Delivering Results

1.                       Plan and prioritise work and resources effectively.

2.                       Establish high quality service and customer care standards.

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

4.                      Critically evaluates outcomes and processes used to achieve them.

Performance Through People

1.        Delivering a message in a clear and coherent fashion.

2.        Ability to keep calm under pressure.

3.        Portraying a positive customer service ethos at all times.

4.        Establishing and maintaining productive working relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.

5.        Communicating effectively both verbally and in writing at all times

Personal Effectiveness

1.                       Demonstrate self-motivation and maintain a positive constructive and enthusiastic attitude to their role.

2.                       Manage time and workload effectively and operate in an environment with significant complexity and pace.

3.                       Set challenging standards and achieve high quality outcomes.

Candidates will also be assessed at interview on the basis of how they demonstrate their Specialist Knowledge, Expertise and Self Development

Specialist Knowledge,

Expertise and Self Development

4.                       Understanding of the role of Beach Ranger.

5.                       Relevant experience to date.

6.                       Knowledge and awareness of key topical and priority issues.

7.                       Understanding of political reality / context of issues.

8.                       Understanding compliance standards, policies, procedures, and legislation.

9.                      A clear understanding of Health and Safety Policy and Procedures.

10.                  RESIDENCE:

Holders of the position shall reside in the district in which his/her duties are to be performed or within a reasonable distance thereof.

6. ANNUAL LEAVE

Payment for annual leave and arrangements for public holidays will be governed by the provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. Leave is calculated at 8% of the hours worked in a leave year (but subject to a maximum of 4 working weeks).

Permission and prior authorisation is essential before annual leave is taken. The granting of annual leave at any particular time is always subject to the requirements of the Council and all annual leave is liable to suspension during periods of exceptional pressure.

7. TRAVEL:

Mayo County Council reserves the right to provide a vehicle to enable you to carry out your duties. The provision of a van will be at the discretion of the Chief Executive.

8. SHORTLISTING:

Normally the number of applications received for a position exceeds that required to fill existing and future vacancies to the position. While candidates may meet the eligibility requirements of the competition, if the numbers applying for the position are such that it would not be practical to interview everyone, Mayo County Council may decide that a number only will be called to interview. A shortlisting process will apply whereby a group of applicants will be selected for interview who, based on an examination of the documents provided by each applicant, 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 are, prima facie, better qualified and/or have more relevant experience.

In the event of a shortlisting exercise being employed, The shortlisting process can take the form of:-

Shortlisting of candidates on the basis of information contained in their application form (It is therefore in the interests of each candidate to provide a detailed and accurate account of his/her qualifications/ experience on the application form).

Other written, oral or practical tests appropriate to the position.

Preliminary interviews to reduce the number of candidates to a more manageable number for the final Interview Board or

Preliminary interviews to determine qualified candidates, after which a selected number of the qualified candidates are called back for final interview.

9.RECRUITMENT:

Selection shall be by means of a competition based on a competency-based interview conducted by, or on behalf of Mayo County Council. All Candidates must attend the interview in order to be considered for inclusion on a panel from which Beach Rangers may be appointed for the 2024 Bathing Season and this may also be used for the 2025 bathing season.

Candidates whose names are on a panel and who satisfy the Local Authority that they possess the qualifications declared for the position and that they are otherwise suitable for employment may within the life of the panel be employed as relevant vacancies arise.

The local authority shall require a person to whom an appointment is offered to take up such appointment within a period of not more than one month and if he/she fails to take up the appointment within such period or such longer period as the local authority in its absolute discretion may determine, the local authority shall not appoint him/her.

The life of the panel will be one year from the date of its establishment.

10.REFERENCES/DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE:

Each candidate will be required to submit as references the names and addresses of two responsible persons to whom they are well known but not related. Candidates will be required to submit documentary evidence to the Local Authority in support of their application.

11. SUPERANNUATION:

As an employee of Mayo County Council, you will be assessed in terms of which Pension Scheme is applicable to you. You will become a member and contribute to the relevant scheme as outlined below:

1) Persons who become pensionable employees of a local authority under the Single Public Service Pension Scheme will be required in respect of their superannuation to contribute 3.5% of net pensionable remuneration and 3% of pensionable remuneration.

2) Persons who become pensionable employees of a local authority under the Local Government (superannuation) (consolidation) scheme, 1998 and who are liable to pay class A rate of PRSI contribution will be required in respect of their superannuation to contribute to the local authority at the rate of 1.5% of their pensionable remuneration plus 3.5% of net pensionable remuneration (i.e. pensionable remuneration less twice the annual rate of State Pension Contributory payable at the maximum rate to a person with no adult dependant or qualified children).

3) Persons who become pensionable employees of a local authority under the Local Government (superannuation) (consolidation) scheme, 1998 and who are liable to pay class D rate of PRSI contribution will be required in respect of their superannuation to contribute to the local authority at the rate of 5% of their pensionable remuneration.

Persons who become pensionable employees of a local authority under the Local Government (superannuation) (consolidation) scheme, 1998 may be required to contribute to the Dependants Pension Scheme.

In order, to qualify for a pension, they must have served a minimum of two years (24 months) employment in an approved public body.

12.RETIREMENT AGE:

CLASS A PRSI

Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012:

The compulsory retirement age for new entrants as defined by the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 is 70 years. Minimum pension age of 66 years, in line with State Pension age.

Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2004:

There is no mandatory retirement age for ‘New Entrants’ (from 1st April, 2004 and before January 2013) to the Public service as defined in the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2004. The minimum age at which a person may retire is 65. As a ‘New Entrant’ to the public service, under the terms of this legislation, new entrants will not be required to retire on grounds of age.

Anyone who is not a New Entrant to the public service, as defined in the Public Service Superannuation (miscellaneous provisions) Act 2004, who has joined before 1st April 2004, is subject to a compulsory retirement age of 70 as per CLS2/2019 but can retire from 60 years of age.

CLASS D PRSI

Minimum retirement age will be 60 years with compulsory retirement age of 70 years.

13. BASE

The successful candidate will be based at Keem Beach.

14. TRAINING

Successful candidates will be required to undertake any course of training which is determined relevant by Mayo County Council.

15. GARDA VETTING:

Offer of employment may be subject to a Garda vetting process. Failure to pass Garda vetting will result in employment being terminated with immediate effect.

16. WORKING HOURS

The hours of work are as follows:

The Beach Ranger will be required to work a 39-hour week over the six-day week, suggested hours as follows -:

Monday: 10.00 – 17.00

Tuesday: 11.00 – 16.00

Wednesday: Day Off

Thursday: 11.00 – 16.00

Friday: 10.00 – 18.00

Saturday: 10.00 – 18.00

Sunday: 10.00 – 16.00

These hours are subject to change, depending on visitor numbers and demand that will require additional hours at peak times (e.g. Bank Holiday weekends, good weather conditions, high season etc)

17. UNIFORM

The Beach Ranger will be supplied with and will be required to wear a uniform when on duty. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action by Mayo County Council.

It is important that members of the public are aware that uniformed Beach Rangers are on duty by visibility and are seen to be patrolling.

When employment ceases, uniform must be returned to the Mayo County Council Office, Mayo House, Moneen, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, by Friday, 8 September 2024. Failure to do so will result in the cost of same being deducted from the last payroll payment.