General Assistant

1. PREAMBLE

Mary Immaculate College is an autonomous, university-level, Catholic College of Education and the Liberal Arts. Founded in 1898, and linked academically with the University of Limerick, MIC is the oldest higher education institution in Limerick. Significant expansion in recent decades has seen the College’s offerings expand across two modern campuses, one based in Limerick City and one in Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

The student community consists of more than 5,000 learners, participating in fifteen undergraduate degree programmes and several postgraduate programmes extending to PhD/Doctoral level. Academic staff engage in a wide range of academic research areas, and research underpins all teaching and learning at MIC.

MIC seeks to prepare its students for professional excellence and to nurture their capacity to lead flourishing lives.

2. CANDIDATE PROFILE AND SCOPE OF THE POSITION

Mary Immaculate College wishes to appoint a suitable candidate to the position of General Assistant, Courtbrack Accommodation, on a permanent basis.

This is an important service role within the College. The successful candidate will be responsible for duties in Courtbrack Accommodation, working under the supervision of the Manager in Courtbrack Accommodation.

Essential Experience, Qualifications and Skills

Experience of working in a front-line customer service environment.

Excellent administration skills with a strong attention to detail.

Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills with a proven ability to manage multiple competing priorities and successfully meet established deadlines.

Excellent interpersonal skills and communication skills, both written and oral.

Proven ability to work effectively within an established team environment and on own initiative.

Demonstrable ability to solve problems under pressure.

High levels of motivation, proactivity, adaptability and flexibility in work practice arrangements.

It is desirable that candidates will also have:

A current full, clean driver’s licence.

Relevant experience and a good working knowledge of a student accommodation/hospitality environment.

Basic IT knowledge and skills, including the ability to use email, basic Microsoft Excel data entry, and download bookings from accommodation websites.

Cuirfear fáilte roimh iarratais ó dhaoine go bhfuil dearcadh dearfach acu i leith na Gaeilge.

Applications are welcome from people who have a positive outlook to Irish.

3. JOB DESCRIPTION

The appointee is required to carry out the duties attached to the post, under the general direction of the Manager of Courtbrack Accommodation, to whom they report and to whom they are responsible for the performance of these duties in the first instance. The appointee will also have a reporting relationship to the Director of Estates and Sustainability.

The appointee will report through the Manager of Courtbrack Accommodation to the College President and/or to such other College Officers as the President may designate from time to time. The appointee will work with members of College Management and liaise with the Deans of Faculties, Heads of Departments, Course Leaders and other College personnel and with relevant College bodies in carrying out the duties attaching to the post.

The reporting relationship is subject to review and may be altered from time to time, in line with service needs and developments in the College.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Take calls related to accommodation queries as they come in and offer any assistance available.

• Reply to accommodation-related emails as they come in from Irish and international students.

• Process and confirm each booking in writing or by email. Process forms/deposit payments as they arrive by post, email or into the College accommodation bank account.

• Check the maintenance book for any maintenance issues.

• Process requests for overnight visitors in the visitors' book and issue a visitor pass if available.

• Internal security patrols every 60 minutes, or whenever required. Each floor in all three blocks.

• External security patrols every 2–3 hours, or whenever required.

• Maintain visitor sign-in sheet for non-residents (ensure maximum visitors are not more than 10 and all non-residents leave the premises by 10pm).

• Maintain record of spare key cards.

• Let residents into their own rooms if they are locked out.

• Ensure there is no excessively loud music, shouting or loud conversation.

• Clean up the TV room, clearing bottles into recycle bags and returning glasses, delph and cutlery to the kitchen.

• Change bin bags when full.

• Make sure all fire exits are properly closed and alarms are armed.

• Report to the Accommodation Manager daily, keeping notes in the Passover Book.

Night Shift Duties

• Internal patrols every 60 minutes on each floor in all three blocks.

• External patrols every 2–3 hours, or whenever required. Walk around the entire complex using a torch.

• During internal patrols, ensure that fire exits are clear.

• Cookers switched off at 12:00am.

• Clean up the TV room, clearing bottles into recycle bags. Clear all glasses, delph and cutlery into the kitchen for disposal. Wipe down and polish tables.

• Clean kitchen, collecting dirty clothes for washing and drying in the laundry room. Clear all glasses, delph and cutlery from tables, stacking them neatly for disposal. Wipe down and polish tables.

• Mop kitchen and TV room floors.

• Change bin bags.

• Clean male and female toilets and ensure there are toilet rolls in each toilet.

• At 6:00am each morning, check that the timers for all the immersions are correct and that the water is hot. If the water is not hot, put the boost on and check again one hour later.

• At 7:00am switch on the cookers.

• Hoover reception area, office and front door area. Clean reception windows when required.

• Sweep outside the front door and remove any visible cigarette litter.

• Report to the Accommodation Manager daily, keeping notes in the Handover Book.

General Duties

• Assist with the end-of-term clean-up in May after students leave and the clean-up in August when preparing for new students.

• Work during the summer months (May to August) and on a shift-rostered, seven-day week basis from Saturday to Friday.

• Cover reception duties with shifts usually from either 8:00am–4:00pm or 4:00pm–12:00 midnight (these shift start times may vary in response to service needs).

• Duties include taking and recording accommodation bookings, checking customers in, keeping account of cash on daily cash sheets, balancing cash at shift end, lodging money in the safe, accounting for discrepancies should they arise, communicating with customers and dealing with customer enquiries. Also includes preparation of a daily housekeeping sheet.

• Work the housekeeping shift, usually from 9:30am–5:30pm. Duties include daily cleaning of bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, common room and computer room. It also involves changing bed linen after customers have stayed.

• Work the night shift (12:00am–8:00am) for at least five nights each fortnight. On this shift, be responsible for the general safety of the building and customers. Night shift duties also include cleaning communal areas, setting up the breakfast buffet and checking in late arrivals.

• Carry out maintenance duties as instructed by the Manager, Courtbrack Accommodation and/or College Management. These duties include painting, changing bulbs and other light maintenance tasks as required.

The work is broadly defined and the list of duties is not exhaustive. Staff are expected to function flexibly and work together as a team. The College retains the right to assign new duties and/or reassign staff to other areas of the College in response to service needs.

4. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENTGeneral

All persons employed will sign an appropriate contract containing the terms and conditions of employment. A job description is provided to all applicants and forms part of the contract documentation.

Place of Work

The appointee’s normal place of work will be Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. The College reserves the right to require the appointee to work from any other location.

It is a requirement of the College that the appointee resides within a reasonable distance of the College.

Exclusivity of Service and Outside Work

The person appointed will be required to devote their full-time attention and abilities to their duties during working hours and act in the best interests of the College at all times.

For as long as the successful applicant is employed by the College, they may not, without the prior written consent of the Vice President Administration and Finance (VPAF), be actively engaged or concerned in any other business or undertaking where this is, or is likely to be, in conflict with the College’s interests or the performance of their duties.

The appointee will not undertake paid outside work unless they have received permission from the VPAF of Mary Immaculate College and agreed to the relevant terms and conditions.

In every case, prior written permission from the VPAF must be obtained. The appointee must also inform the person or body for whom the work is undertaken that it is being conducted in a private capacity and that the College accepts no responsibility for such work.

Probationary Period

The appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a standard six-month probationary period.

The probationary period may be extended at the discretion of the College but will not exceed eleven months.

Absences during probation will extend the probationary period.

Performance and conduct will be reviewed through assessment meetings.

Termination during probation, for any reason or no reason, will be at the discretion of the College.

The disciplinary procedure will not apply to a dismissal during probation where the employee has been employed by MIC for less than 12 months.

Hours of Attendance

Full-time hours for this grade are 35 hours per week.

Hours of attendance will be according to a shift roster, including weekends, evenings and nights.

Normal hours of duty include:

• 8:00am – 4:00pm

• 4:00pm – 12:00am

• 12:00am – 8:00am

• 9:30am – 5:30pm

• 12:00pm – 8:00pm

A 15-minute paid break is provided during the first 4.5 hours of each shift and a one-hour unpaid subsistence break each day.

The appointee may be required to work additional hours from time to time.

Subject to College policy, the post-holder may avail of Time-Off-In-Lieu (TOIL) or overtime where working hours exceed contracted weekly hours.

The College reserves the right to adjust starting and finishing times or days of duty to meet service needs.

Salary

The salary scale for this position has been approved by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Higher Education Authority in line with Government Policy on Public Sector Remuneration.

The appointment will be made on the salary scale at a point in line with current Government Pay Policy.

New entrants to the Civil or Public Sector, as defined in Circular 18/2010, will commence on the first point of the salary scale.

This post is at General Operative grade.

With effect from 1 June 2026, the weekly salary scale for the grade of General Operative is:

€755.80 €755.80 €756.27 €758.17 €760.26 €762.13 €764.01 €765.97 €767.97 €770.07 €772.10 €774.25 €776.31

The weekly salary scale for the grade of General Operative (New Entrant) as at 1 June 2026 is:

€692.13 €706.45 €755.80 €755.80 €756.27 €758.17 €760.26 €762.13 €764.01 €765.97 €767.97 €770.07 €772.10 €774.25 €776.31

Increments are awarded in line with national pay agreements.

Salary will be paid monthly on the 25th of each month, or the previous Friday if the 25th falls on a weekend, using the PayPath facility.

Payment of salaries and wages is subject to statutory deductions, including:

• Income Tax (PAYE)

• Superannuation Contributions

• Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI)

• Universal Social Charge (USC)

Superannuation

New entrants to the public service will be required to participate in the Single Public Service Pension Scheme and pay superannuation contributions at the appropriate rates in accordance with the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012.

All other eligible appointees are automatically included in the Colleges of Education Pension Scheme upon appointment. Deductions amounting to 6.5% are made from salary.

The appointee will also be required to pay Additional Superannuation Contribution (ASC) under the Public Service and Pensions Act 2017.

Appointees who commenced employment in the public service between 1 April 2004 and 31 December 2012 and have not had a break in employment of greater than six months will have no mandatory retirement age.

All other appointees will have a mandatory retirement age of 70.

Pension Abatement

If an appointee has previously been employed in the Civil or Public Service and is entitled to, or in receipt of, a pension from the Civil or Public Service, or where a Civil/Public Service pension comes into payment during re-employment, that pension will be subject to abatement in accordance with Section 52 of the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012.