Homeless Services Operator

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE SHALL –

• have an understanding of the services provided by Dubin Region Homeless Executive;

• have an understanding of the issues facing people in homelessness;

• have previous relevant work experience, preferably in a customer focused environment within the housing sector;

• be able to work with colleagues and the public effectively to achieve a common goal, ensuring standards are adhered to and maintained;

• have excellent interpersonal and communications skills with the ability to communicate in a clear, concise manner;

• have excellent judgement skills;

• have the ability to take direction/follow instruction and be flexible in their approach to work by organising and prioritising work effectively;

• have an appropriate level of administrative experience and IT skills;

• have an ability to work on own initiative, in an independent environment and without constant supervision;

• have an understanding of local authority functions and purpose and knowledge of public service organisation in Ireland;

• have an awareness of Health & Safety Legislation and Regulations, the implications for the organisation and the employee, and their application in the workplace.

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:

(i) have attained such a standard of education as would enable the candidate to carry out efficiently the duties of the post;

(ii) have 2 years experience of working directly with clients and customers in a social care related setting;

DUTIES

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

• Answering all calls received on the Freephone service in a timely & professional manner;

• Making appropriate placements into Emergency Accommodations for service users who have been assessed as homeless within the Dublin Region by a Dublin Local Authority;

• Providing information and advice to members of the public, service users and various stakeholders who contact the Freephone service;

• Updating service user records on the online Pathway Accommodation and Support System (PASS);

• Liaising with Emergency Accommodation providers regarding new, ongoing, closures and exclusions of placements and issues arising regarding same;

• Managing Emergency Accommodation bed resources to ensure maximum optimisation to reduce occurrences of rough sleeping;

• Liaising with relevant DCC teams to ensure the most appropriate and available accommodation is offered;

• Providing daily reports to Senior Management regarding Emergency Accommodation bed availability where required. Maintaining a level of record keeping across a number of platforms;

• Adhering to building management protocols in place;

• To carry out such other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

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 Homeless Service Operator 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 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. 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:

• Customer Focus & Communicating Effectively

• Planning and Organising Work

• Team Work

• Personal Effectiveness

• Local Authority Knowledge and Experience

Please see page 8 of the Candidate Information Booklet for more details.

SALARY

The fortnightly pay for the position of Homeless Services Operator is:

€1,617.06; €1,636.62; €1,656.40; €1,675.82; €1,695.50; €1,715.14

Allowances may be applicable with this position.

The post is permanent, rostered and pensionable.

The Freephone Service operates 365 days per year.

Hours of work are from 1pm to 10.30pm on a rostered basis.

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.

All applicants must refer to the Additional Candidate Information Booklet which can be found at careers.dublincity.ie for additional relevant information pertaining to the salary scale and the recruitment process.

PARTICULARS OF POSITION

(a) The post is permanent, rostered and pensionable.

(b) 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.

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 reserves the sole discretion to vary the above requirements from time to time subject to 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.

ADDITIONAL RELEVANT INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

• The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 to 2016 came into effect on 29th April 2016. The Act places a statutory obligation on Dublin City Council to ensure that any work or activity which is carried out by a person, a necessary and regular part of which consists mainly of a person having access to, or contact with children or vulnerable persons, will be the subject of Garda Vetting.

• Subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014, applications will be treated in strict confidence.

• Any attempt by a candidate themselves or by any person(s) acting at the candidate’s instigation, directly or indirectly, by means of written communication or otherwise, to canvass or otherwise influence in the candidate’s favour any employee of the City Council or person nominated by the City Council to interview or examine applicants will automatically disqualify the candidate for the position being sought.

• It is important to remember that this is a competitive process for a role where integrity is paramount. Sharing information on the selection/interview process, e.g. through social media or any other means, may result in a candidate being disqualified from the competition.

• Dublin City Council does not allow the unsanctioned use of any type of recording equipment on its premises. This applies to any form of sound recording and any type of still picture or video recording, whether including sound recording or not, and covers any type of device used for these purposes.

• An applicant who is found to be ineligible at any stage of the competition will not be further considered. Provision of inaccurate, untrue or misleading information will lead to disqualification from the competition, withdrawal of employment offer or dismissal.

• A candidate who does not attend for interview when and where required by the City Council, or who does not, when requested, furnish such evidence as the City Council requires in regard to any matter relevant to their candidature, will have no further claim to consideration.

• The City Council will not be responsible for any expenses candidates may incur in connection with their candidature.

• The onus is on the candidate to keep a regular check on their email account as email notifications of updates may sometimes be filtered into Junk/Spam folders. Dublin City Council accepts no responsibility for communication not accessed or received by an applicant.