Librarian

Clare County Council / Comhairle Contae an Chláir is the authority responsible for Local Government in County Clare. The corporate headquarters are located at Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis and there are four Municipal Districts:

Ennis

Shannon

Killaloe

West Clare

These are supported through area offices in:

Ennis

Scarriff

Shannon

Ennistymon

Kilrush

There are 28 elected members, approximately 990 staff and an annual operating budget of €204 million in 2026.

Clare County Council provides a diverse range of services across a large geographic area. Key service areas include:

Planning

Local Enterprise Office

Rural and community development

Transportation

Motor tax

Water

Environment

Emergency services

Housing activation & delivery

Libraries

Sports & amenities

Property management

Derelict sites

Vacant homes

These operations are supported by internal services which include:

ICT & Digital Services

Corporate Services & Governance

Finance

People and Culture functions

There is a diverse demographic across urban and rural communities with tourism bringing seasonal changes in population and activity in the county. The Shannon estuary, Shannon Airport, industrial zones, and geographic location between larger urban areas, coupled with the unique landscape and heritage add to the diversity of activity in the County. Local democracy is strengthened through the Municipal Districts and changes in legislation and regulation have placed greater emphasis on the role of the Local Authority in driving economic activity, ensuring accountability, accessibility and innovation while placing the customer and the community to the fore of service delivery.

Clare County Council is currently inviting applications from suitably qualified persons for the above competition. Clare County Council will, following the interview process, form a panel for the post of Librarian from which future relevant vacancies may be filled subject to sanction approval from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Positions will be offered in order of merit as per the panel. This panel will exist for 12 months and may be extended for a further period of 6–12 months at the discretion of the Chief Executive.

The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated person, with drive and commitment to delivering quality public services and continual professional development who can demonstrate clear knowledge and understanding of:

Local authority services, its key stakeholders, and relationships

Local government structures and its democratic role and mandate

National and international public library policy and strategy

Desirable:

Understanding of and dedication to customer service

Understanding of bibliographic services and cataloguing

Energy and enthusiasm with a commitment to the needs of the community

High level of IT proficiency, digital and social media

Strong interest in working with children and young adults and proficiency with children's and young adult literature and programming

Strong interpersonal and communications skills

Excellent verbal and written communication, organizational, and supervisory experience skills

Community and Stakeholder engagement

Decision making

Strong judgement and capacity to innovate and work autonomously

Ability to work under pressure in a cross functional environment and to tight timelines

People / team management

Planning and organising workloads effectively

Fostering and maintaining productive working relationships both internally and externally in the organisation

The duties will include but will not be limited to the following:

Supporting ICT and Digital services

Managing and promoting My Open Library (pending National Agreement)

Developing and supporting literacy and family support services

Planning, promoting, and implementing programs for children and young adults, networking with local schools and teachers and planning / coordinating the Summer Reading Programme

Maintaining service to the public including working late nights / weekend and rosters

Developing and supporting community engagement

Organising event and activity programming

Management and development of the library team, including the PMDS process

Adhering to Health and Safety and Child Protection policies

To support the Line Manager to communicate, implement and manage all change management initiatives within the relevant area of responsibility

To supervise employees in supporting roles including assigning duties and workload

To provide on-going support to employees in the department or section, including handling day to day problems and identifying training and development requirements as appropriate

To ensure full compliance with all organisational policies and procedures including grievance and disciplinary, performance management and attendance management

To communicate and liaise effectively with employees, supervisors and managers in other sections, senior managers, and customers in relation to operational matters for their section

To prepare budgets and ensure that work programmes are implemented within allocated budgets

To identify opportunities for improvements in the service delivery within the relevant area of responsibility and to use key performance indicators or other performance indicators effectively as appropriate

To compile, prepare and present reports as necessary, including the preparation of reports or letters which may be sensitive and/or confidential in nature

To support the implementation of good practices with transparent reporting and communications to deliver accountable services in the department or section

To provide assistance in the understanding and interpretation of the Council’s policies and procedures to employees in their area of responsibility and to customers as appropriate

To carry out duties in a manner that enhances public trust and confidence and ensures impartial decision making

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

Character

(a) Each candidate must be of good character.

Health

(a) 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.

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

(a) hold a degree (level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications) in the area of Library and Information Studies

(b) have satisfactory experience of Library work

Failure to input and upload proof of essential criteria in your application form will deem you ineligible for this competition.

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.

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 Circular. 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. Starting pay for new entrants to the sector will be at the minimum of the scale.

The current salary scale applicable to the post (August 2025):

€51,722 - €61,865 per year