Irish Language Innovation Officer

About Fingal County Council

Fingal is a highly attractive place to live, work, visit and do business. It comprises a geographical area of 450 sq.km stretching from Balbriggan in the north, to Blanchardstown in the west and to Howth in the east. The area is defined by the diversity of its landscape and settlement patterns with rural, urban and suburban locations all rolled into one county. There is 88kms of coastline, three large protected estuaries and salt marsh habitats and 13 major beaches.

Fingal County Council is one of the county’s major local employers and currently employs approximately 1,600 staff. The Council is mandated to deliver a diverse range of functions and services which can be broadly described under the headings of the provision of physical and social infrastructure, housing, economic and tourism development, community development, recreation and amenity services and the management of the planning and environmental regulatory framework. The role of the County Council as provided for in law is to represent, lead and serve the communities of Fingal.

The Role

Gaeilge365 is a flagship initiative committed to mainstreaming the Irish language into public life in Dublin, aligning the Programme for Government commitment to expanding Irish-language innovation across local authorities. The fundamental aim of this project is to put an innovative approach in place to create more opportunities for the public to speak Irish through the services of Fingal County Council. Funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, the project is part of a regional programme in conjunction with Dublin City Council, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Councils, thus encompassing the entire Dublin region.

Fingal County Council is recruiting an Irish Language Innovation Officer (Senior Staff Officer Grade) to lead the delivery of the Gaeilge365 programme within Fingal. This role will play a key part in ensuring Fingal’s ambitious language strategy is implemented effectively at a local level while contributing to national best practice.

The Irish Language Innovation Officer will focus on embedding Irish within the day-to-day operations of Fingal County Council, supporting staff development and delivering strategic initiatives that enhance opportunities for Dubliners to engage with the Irish language in their communities, workplaces and cultural life.

The Irish Language Innovation Officer will work with the Gaeilge365 regional team across Dublin’s four local authorities.

Applications for this role must be submitted in Irish.

The interview for this post will be conducted through the Irish language.

Duties

The duties of the post of the Irish Language Innovation Officer include, but are not limited to:

• Lead the delivery of Gaeilge365 within Fingal County Council, ensuring alignment with corporate strategies and the Gaeilge365 programme.

• Develop a pipeline of language developments which drive quantifiable increases in the volume of opportunities to speak Irish across Dublin.

• Develop public-facing campaigns and projects that engage staff members, partners and the wider community in language development.

• Collaborate with external partners to build an ecosystem of language development across Dublin.

• Represent Fingal County Council at national and international events promoting language development.

• Contribute to strategic planning to position Dublin as a leader in bilingual public services.

• Track programme outcomes and report on key performance indicators to internal and external stakeholders.

• Evaluate project impact and develop strategies for continuous improvement.

• Other duties which arise which align with the goals of the Gaeilge365 programme.

These tasks which are indicative rather than exhaustive are carried out under general supervision.

Persons appointed will be required to work in any location within the Fingal administrative area.

Qualifications and Requirements of the Post

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 regular and efficient service.

EDUCATION, TRAINING, EXPERIENCE, ETC.

Candidates must on the latest date of receipt of completed application forms have:

(i)

(a) have obtained at least Grade D (or a pass), in Higher or Ordinary Level, in five subjects (or four subjects if Irish is included) from the approved list of subjects in the Department of Education Established Leaving Certificate Examination or Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme including Irish and/or English and one of the following: Mathematics, Accounting, Business Organisation or Economics and

(b) have obtained at least Grade C (or Honours) in higher level (or Honours) papers in three subjects in that examination (or two subjects if Irish and/or one of the following is included: Mathematics, Accounting, Business Organisation or Economics) or

(ii) have obtained a comparable standard in an equivalent examination, or

(iii) hold a third level qualification of at least degree standard

AND

(iv) have a high standard of both spoken and written Irish

The ideal candidate shall have:

• A third level degree (at least level 8 on the National Framework for Qualifications) or professional qualification in business, economics, politics, Irish language or a related discipline.

• Two years’ work experience in a relevant field with strong innovation experience.

• Have a strong understanding of the Irish language contexts across public, community and voluntary sectors, and the opportunities it presents.

• Have experience in fostering leadership, at both community level and among staff members.

• The ability to identify new opportunities and develop solutions for embedding Irish into public life, particularly in urban and diverse settings.

• Experience in delivering pilot initiatives with ability to scale when successful and applying insights learned.

• The ability to build and leverage partnerships across different sectors and demographics, and to drive engagement and unlock new resources for language development.

• The ability to evaluate programme impacts using data and analytics to refine strategies, secure funding and prove return on investment for language development.

Candidates may be shortlisted based on the ideals listed above.

The Selection Process

Fingal County Council reserves the right to shortlist applications, if required. This is not to suggest that any candidate may be unsuitable or incapable of undertaking the duties of the post advertised, but rather that there may be candidates who have demonstrated that they are better qualified and/or have more relevant experience.

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.

Step 1: Initial Screening

In the first instance, all applications received by the latest date/time for receipt of completed applications are screened for eligibility in accordance with the qualifications for the post as set out in this booklet and declared by the Minister for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under Section 160 of the Local Government Act 2001.

Step 2: Shortlisting

Each candidate’s application may be assessed against pre-determined criteria based on the requirements of the position as outlined in this booklet. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to provide a detailed and accurate account of their qualifications and/or experience in their application form and to outline the relevance of their experience in the examples provided.

Step 3: Interview

Candidates who are successful in the shortlisting process will be invited to attend for interview(s). Fingal County Council will endeavor to give sufficient notice of the interview to shortlisted candidates. Thereafter, it is the responsibility of the candidate to make themselves available on the date/time selected. Candidates who do not attend for interview will be deemed to have withdrawn their application from the competition. Expenses incurred by candidates in attending for interview, will be at the candidates own expense.

An independent interview board will be established by the Senior Executive Officer, People Services, or other designated officer, to assess the candidates shortlisted for interview. The interview board will generally comprise of a Chairperson and two other members, who will have expert knowledge in the relevant field. The objective of the interview board is to identify candidates who best meet the objective criteria and competencies required for the position and to place them in order of merit.

Candidates who are successful in the interview will be qualified in order of merit for appointment to the post of Irish Language Innovation Officer and placed on a panel. It should be noted that placement on a panel may not necessarily lead to a job offer. The selection process is not concluded until such time as references have been sought and clearance checks, i.e. Garda vetting, occupational health, verification of education qualifications, etc, have been carried out to the satisfaction of the Council.

Benefits

At Fingal County Council, we value our employees and want to support them to develop their careers. We offer flexible working arrangements, competitive salaries and pension benefits, a positive work environment, training and development opportunities, a defined career path in a supportive and inclusive culture and the opportunity to make a difference, along with the following benefits:

➢ Standard working day is 9-5

➢ Excellent Work/Life balance with Family Friendly Schemes such as Shorter Working Year and Worksharing

➢ Opportunities for promotion and career development

➢ Employee Assistance and Wellbeing Programme

➢ Pension Scheme

➢ Blended Working available - up to 2 days per week

➢ Ongoing training and higher educational support

➢ Cycle to Work Scheme

Particulars of Employment

The employment is whole time, permanent and pensionable. Persons who become pensionable employees of a local authority who are liable to pay the 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 social insurance old age contributory pension payable at the maximum rate to a person with no adult dependent or qualified children).

Persons who become pensionable employees of a local authority who are liable to pay the 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.

All persons who become pensionable employees of a local authority will be required in respect of the Local Government (Spouses and Children’s Contributory Pension) Scheme to contribute to the local authority at the rate of 1.5% of their pensionable remuneration in accordance with the terms of the Scheme.

PROBATION

(a) there shall be a period after such employment takes effect during which such persons shall hold such employment on probation,

(b) such period shall be one year but the Chief Executive may at his or her discretion extend such period,

(c) such persons shall cease to hold employment at the end of the period of probation unless during such period the Chief Executive has certified that the service of such persons is satisfactory.

SALARY

€57,895 – €59,276 – €60,960 – €64,126 – €66,017 – €68,367 LSI1 – €70,730 LSI2 per annum.

Persons who are not serving local authority employees will be based on the minimum of the scale.

Holders of the post shall pay to the local authority any fees or other monies (other than their inclusive salary) payable to or received by them by virtue of their post or in respect of any services which they are required by or under any enactment to perform.

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.

HEALTH

For the purpose of satisfying the requirement as to health it will be necessary for successful candidates, before they are employed, to undergo a medical examination by a qualified medical practitioner to be nominated by the Local Authority.

RETIREMENT AGE

The retirement age is 70 years.

RECRUITMENT

The local authority shall require a person to whom employment is offered to take up such employment within a period of not more than 6 weeks and if he or she fails to take up the employment within such period or such longer period as the local authority in its absolute discretion may determine, the local authority shall not employ the person.

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