Higher Executive Officer

The opportunity: This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing organisation where you can contribute to assure trust and confidence in Ireland’s charity sector.

Location: 3 George's Dock, IFSC, Dublin 1. The organisation has a blended working policy which enables staff to work remotely on certain days up to a maximum of two days per week. Travel may be required to regional locations on occasion and when this occurs, appropriate travel and subsistence arrangements will apply.

Annual Leave: Annual leave will be 29 days a year. This allowance, which is subject to the usual conditions regarding the granting of annual leave, is on the basis of a five day week and is exclusive of the usual public holidays.

Salary scale: Higher Executive Officer Personal Pension Contribution

€59,435 - €61,173 - €62,908 - €64,640 - €66,380 - €68,111 - €69,849 - €72,353 - €75,788

After three years satisfactory service at the maximum. After six years satisfactory service at the maximum.

Salary scale is correct as at 1 February 2026.

New entrants to the public service will commence at the first point on the scale. Different pay and conditions may apply if, immediately prior to appointment, the appointee is already a serving Civil Servant or Public Servant. The rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government pay policy.

General

The Charities Regulator is the independent statutory body responsible for registering and regulating charities operating in Ireland. Our key functions include maintaining a public register of charities and ensuring they comply with the Charities Acts.

We regulate approximately 11,500 charities registered in Ireland which are run by volunteers called charity trustees also known as board or committee members. It is a complex and diverse sector with charities of varied sizes established for a wide range of purposes including the alleviation of poverty, provision of education, advancement of the arts and the protection of the environment, to name but a few.

Employing almost 50 people, our modern city centre office, located in George’s Dock, Dublin 1, is easily accessible by DART, Luas and many bus routes.

Benefits of working at the Charities Regulator

You will have the opportunity to contribute to our mission which is to regulate the charity sector in the public interest to ensure compliance with charity law and support best practice in the governance and administration of charities. In addition to achieving our vision of a vibrant trusted charity sector that is valued for the public benefit it provides, there are also great benefits to working at the Charities Regulator.

Below are just some of the benefits that the Charities Regulator has to offer:

• Inclusive and collaborative work environment

• Personal development opportunities through employer sponsored academic education, paid study leave and extensive in house training and development programmes

• Public sector pay rates, pension benefits and annual leave entitlements

• Wellbeing initiatives, health initiatives, employee networking initiatives, confidential employee assistance programme

• 35 hours a week of attendance at work. The organisation has a blended working policy which enables staff to work remotely on certain days up to a maximum of two days per week. Applications are assessed based on business needs and the arrangements may be subject to change.

• City centre office easily accessible location

• Tax saver tickets, Bike to Work Scheme and bike storage onsite

• Positive and professional work culture

The Charities Regulator is seeking to recruit two roles at Higher Executive Officer level in the Registration and Applications Unit.

The work of the Registration and Applications Unit is public facing, wide ranging and varied. It includes:

• the provision of information to the public, and registered charities through our contact centre

• ensuring the information on the register of charities is accurate and up to date

• assessing applications for charitable status

• assessing applications for the disposal of property and the appointment of new trustees

The Charities Regulator maintains a Register of Charities with over 11,500 charities. One of our strategic goals for 2025 to 2027 is to be the single authoritative source of information on charities in Ireland. To achieve this the Charities Regulator is undertaking several significant strategic projects relating to the Register.

The successful candidates will support the delivery of these projects which are central to the regulatory framework of the Charities Regulator, designed to maintain a Register by ensuring every entity on the register is legitimate and operational.

The two Higher Executive Officer roles may be involved in project management and or the management of a business unit, ensuring clear identification of roles and responsibilities and managing staff. Additionally, the Charities Regulator is undertaking a programme of digital change. The roles will be involved in the implementation of a new digital platform.

The Higher Executive Officers will play a key multifunctional role in supporting the effective delivery of the Charities Regulator’s statutory functions. The duties and responsibilities of the successful candidates will include the following:

Strategic and Project support

• Improving the accuracy of the Register through strategic project work

• Leading or supporting projects as required, ensuring high standards of project management, issue identification, and timely reporting to key stakeholders

Key responsibilities

• Supporting the Head of the Unit in achieving strategic and business unit annual objectives

• Working independently and manage tasks with minimal supervision

Operational delivery and service improvement

• Ensuring agreed standard operating procedures are maintained through delivery of quality assurance processes

• Fostering a culture of continuous improvement by ensuring policies and procedures are innovative, efficient and effective

People management

• Management of a team including goal setting, performance management, probation and leave management

• Development, monitoring and reporting on KPIs

Stakeholder Engagement and External liaison

• Delivering high quality customer service

• Engaging with a range of stakeholders including charities and the general public

• The ability to present complex information clearly with strong interpersonal and communication skills

• Contributing to the development of guidance documents, webpages and other materials for charities and their trustees

Reporting, Analysis and Presentation

• Producing recommendations and reports using strong drafting and analytical skills

• Demonstrating attention to detail as well as good, fact based judgement and problem solving skills

• Working closely with the Legal Affairs Unit on any legal issues that arise in the context of the work within the unit

• Developing and compiling high quality management reports on KPI and workflows and briefings for the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Director of Legal Affairs, Registration and Applications and other senior managers as appropriate

The above is intended as a guide to the general range of duties and responsibilities associated with both roles and is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive. It will be subject to periodic review with the post holder. The Charities Regulator retains the right to amend role profile and allocate resources within the Charities Regulator in the most appropriate manner and in accordance with business needs.

About you

Essential experience, skills, knowledge and qualifications:

The Charities Regulator is seeking to appoint individuals who possesses the following, to a level appropriate to the grade of Higher Executive Officer:

• A qualification of at least level 8 of the National Framework of Qualifications from a recognised university or other third level institution in a relevant discipline

Or

• At least 3 years relevant experience in a public facing role or processing high volume of applications

Or

• At least 3 years relevant experience in gathering and analysing non routine complex information to make recommendations within a regulatory body in a structured, evidence based manner to ensure that decisions are effective, proportionate, and transparent

• Experience in leading or contributing and supporting projects, using a project management framework

• Experience in people management along with excellent planning, organisation and resource management skills. To include a proven ability to effectively prioritise work to ensure that required tasks are executed promptly and to a high standard

• Ability to analyse information, exercise sound judgement and make evidence based recommendations and reports for management decision making

• Be a self starter with the ability to work on own initiative

• Strong experience in contributing to the drafting, review, and updating of policies, procedures, guidelines, and documentation to ensure compliance and best practice

• Ability to organise people and resources to meet defined goals, targets, and operational objectives, while managing fluctuations in workload and service demands

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, as evidenced in your application and in comparison to other candidates

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders

• Strong background preparing high quality reports, presentations, briefing materials, and policy inputs for senior managers and other relevant audiences

Desirable requirements

• Experience in a front facing role, dealing with the public

• Experience in a legal environment and an understanding of legislation

• Experience in a regulatory setting

• Knowledge of the regulatory, and or charity landscape

• Project management qualifications

• Data analysis experience for example using data visualisation tools like Power BI

• Previous experience working with digital change

• Fluency in or a working knowledge of the Irish language is desirable, but not a specific requirement of this post

Required competencies

Candidates should have all the abilities required of a Higher Executive Officer with the Charities Regulator. In particular, candidates must demonstrate in their applications and during the selection process that they have the following competencies, which are required for the role, by reference to specific achievements and relevant examples in their career to date:

• Team leadership

• Judgement, analysis and decision making

• Management and delivery of results

• Interpersonal and communication skills

• Specialist knowledge, expertise and self development

• Drive and commitment to public service values

Please note, for further information regarding each of the above competencies, please review the Public Appointment Service Higher Executive Officer competency framework.