Graduate Engineer

THE ROLE

The Graduate Engineer will be required to work as part of a team in the Council’s Housing Department, under the supervision and direction of the Senior Engineer or such a person as may be assigned from time to time by Laois County Council. He/she will be required at times to work on his/her own initiative, as circumstances demand, on a broad range of projects.

THE QUALIFICATIONS 

• CHARACTER:

Each candidate must be of good character.

• 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 pre-employment 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.

• EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE ETC.:

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

• hold an honors degree (level 8 or higher on the National framework of Qualifications) in Engineering.

***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. Failure to do so will deem your application inadmissible***

The onus is on the candidate to ensure that the correct documentation is provided along with their application form.

The Ideal Candidate shall have:

• Knowledge of health & safety legislation and safety regulations.
• The ability to demonstrate good analytical and IT skills.
• Evidence of planning and organizing skills including awareness of resource management.
• Report writing and presentation skills and the ability to communicate clearly with others.
• Evidence of self-sufficiency, being capable of evaluating proposals and identifying improvements on a proactive basis and adapting readily to change.

• An ability to manage deadlines and effectively handle multiple tasks.

As this role requires a lot of travel within the County, it is desirable for the successful candidate to have access to a vehicle and to hold a full driving license for class B vehicles free from disqualifications and medical limitations.

KEY DUTIES:

The main duties and responsibilities of the role of Graduate Engineer include but are not limited to the following: -

• Preparing and submitting reports in line with departmental guidelines and templates and maintaining good records as required;
• Ensuring an efficient and effective response to all stakeholders; 
• Carrying out such other duties as may be reasonably required to provide a planning service for Laois County Council;
• Any duties as assigned to them by their Line Manager. 

THE PRINCIPAL TERMS & CONDITIONS 

The position is wholetime and temporary.

Laois County Council reserves the right to, at any time, assign an employee to any department or premises in use by the Council now or in the future.

Changes in location of employment will not result in payment of disturbance money or other compensation. The person appointed will be required to travel to and from work at their own expense.

• PROBATION:

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

• There shall be a period after appointment takes effect, during which such a person shall hold the position on probation;
• Such period shall be ten-months’ but the Chief Executive may, at his/her discretion, extend such period;
• 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;
• 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.

• SALARY:

The salary shall be fully inclusive and shall be as determined from time to time. Holders of the post will be paid at the appropriate point on the salary scale in accordance with the relevant Department Circulars. Starting pay for new entrants will be at the minimum of the scale. Where the appointee has been serving elsewhere in the public service in an analogous grade and pay-scale and will be moving without break to another part of the public sector at an analogous grade, the appointment may be made at the appointee’s current point of scale. The rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government pay policy.

The salary scale (as per EL03/2025): Year 1 €38,956, Year 2 €41,766.

4. WORKING HOURS:

The standard working week will be 35 hours. The role may require flexible working hours and may occasionally include evening and weekend work for which overtime will not be paid but time-off-in-lieu will be available.

5. ANNUAL LEAVE: 

24 days per annum.

Granting of annual leave, payment for annual leave and arrangement for public holidays will be governed by the provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 (as amended)

6. RESIDENCE:

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

7. CITIZENSHIP

Candidates must, by the date of any job offer, 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

8. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The Council shall work to promote a culture of equality and to develop equality and recruitment policies and procedures to ensure that all candidates are selected on merit. The Council shall endeavour to ensure that the selection process does not provide unjustifiable advantage or disadvantage to any particular candidate or group of candidates. The recruitment and selection process shall embrace genuine equality of opportunity, and this will be integral to the process by which appointments are made.

9. RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PROCESS:

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

• Shortlisting Process

The local authority may decide, by reason of the number of persons seeking admission to a competition, to carry out a shortlisting procedure. The number of persons to be invited, in these circumstances, to interview, shall be determined by the local authority from time to time having regard to the likely number of vacancies to be filled. The local authority may at its discretion, decide that such shortlisting will be based on qualifications, relevant experience and information submitted on the application form.In that regard, candidates should ensure they provide detailed and accurate information in completing the form. Alternatively, the local authority may at its discretion decide to shortlist by way of preliminary interview.

• Competitive Interview

Selection of candidates for appointment shall be by means of a competitive interview. The competitive interview shall be 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 qualification, 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 be formed, 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 he/she is well known but not related. Candidates may be required to submit documentary evidence to the local authority in support of their application.

• COMMENCEMENT 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 is he/she fails to take up the appointment within such period or such period or such longer period as the local authority in its absolute discretion may determine, the local authority shall not appoint him/her.

10. RETIREMENT

The Single Public Service Pension Scheme (“Single Scheme”) as provided by the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 commenced with effect from 1st January 2013. The act introduces new pension and retirement provisions for new entrants to the public service appointed on or after 1st January 2013. Pension age set initially at 66 years; this will rise in step with statutory changes in the SPC age to 67 years in 2021 and 68 years in 2028. The compulsory retirement age of 70 applies. Otherwise the retirement age of the relevant Scheme applies. It should be noted that candidates who are in receipt of a Public Service Pension and are rehired in any paid capacity by a Public Service Body may be liable to have their pension abated. Prior to appointment successful candidates will be obliged to complete a Declaration in relation to previous Public Pensionable Employment.

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