Policy and Research Officer

Overview of the Agri-Food Regulator

An Rialálaí Agraibhia (Agri-Food Regulator) is an independent statutory Office established in December 2023 under the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act 2023. The Agri-Food Regulator is concerned with promoting fairness and transparency in the agri-food supply chain. Its statutory remit and focus is on business-to-business relationships within the supply chain.

The 2023 Act assigns two main areas of work to the Regulator:

(a) the enforcement of unfair trading law in business-to-business relationships in the agri-food supply chain.

Under the 2023 Act, the Agri-Food Regulator has been designated as the Enforcement Authority for the purposes of Directive (EU) 2019/633 of 17 April 2019 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain.

To coincide with the establishment of the new Office, the Unfair Trading Regulations (SI 625 of 2023) were introduced and, from that date, the provisions of SI 198 of 2021 introduced as part of the initial transposition of the Directive into Irish law were revoked.

The Unfair Trading Regulations provide legal protection against 16 specific unfair practices for any supplier of agri-food products subject to their annual turnover being lower than the buyer's turnover once the buyer’s annual turnover is greater than €2m.

(b) the collection, analysis and publishing of reports on price and market data relating to the agricultural and food supply chain in the State and to publish regular analysis and reports on contingency issues regarding the agricultural and food supply chain.

Following a request from the Board of the Agri-Food Regulator, new regulations granting the Agri-Food Regulator the power to compel the provision of price and market information from businesses were signed by Martin Heydon TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on 16th December 2025. The new Regulations (SI 629/2025) have been published.

Under these Regulations, the Regulator will have the ability to compel information impacting upon price and margins from a business within the agri-food supply chain in cases where that business has not complied with a request for information voluntarily.

Background to the Legal and Research Unit

As the Agri-Food Regulator continues to develop and expand its statutory functions, there is a growing need to strengthen research capacity to support effective regulation, enforcement and policy development. The Regulator is therefore establishing a new Legal and Research Unit, combining legal advisory and research functions during the organisation’s current phase of growth, with the expectation that these functions may evolve into standalone units over time.

Among the responsibilities of this new Unit are to:

• oversee the development, implementation and oversight of buyer guidelines.

• assist in the preparation of various reports as the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act 2023 requires.

• assist in the ongoing development and execution of annual supplier surveys, including the design of survey methodology, analysis of results and the identification of areas for improvement.

• undertake or commission research and analysis.

• report and make recommendations in relation to policy matters or proposals for legislative change.

Roles

As part of the development of this new Unit, the Regulator is looking to recruit two Policy and Research Officers who will be tasked with progressing the development, implementation, and oversight of the responsibilities outlined above. The roles will play a key part in translating data, insights, and regulatory objectives into clear, practical guidance for businesses and stakeholders.

The positions will combine policy development, research, operational management and stakeholder engagement, while supporting a culture of continuous learning, ethical practice and innovation across the organisation. As the roles evolve, the Policy and Research Officers will help shape emerging processes, contribute to quality assurance and represent the Regulator at external events and forums.

The successful candidates will report to the Head of Legal and Research and may have at least one staff member reporting to them, depending on how the work of the organisation evolves.

The posts are located at the Government Campus, Backweston, Celbridge, Co. Kildare.

The successful candidates must have access to their own transport and should have a full, clean driving licence given that some domestic travel is envisaged with possible overnight stays.

It is intended to create a panel from this competition from which appointments may be made to further vacancies within the Legal and Research Unit as well as to similar roles across the organisation. Any panel established under this competition will remain in place for 18 months. Inclusion on a panel does not confer a right to appointment. Candidates not appointed before the panel expires or is exhausted will have no entitlement to appointment thereafter.

Role and Responsibilities

Responsibilities of these roles include but are not limited to:

• Coordinating the development and implementation of buyer guidelines based on stakeholder engagement and consultation in addition to analysis of available data and insights.

• Managing the conducting and continual enhancement of both annual and once-off surveys and other research activities as they arise.

• Developing the research function of the organisation and identifying opportunities to contribute to the various functions of the Regulator.

• Contributing to the organisation through effective and efficient operational management of assigned functions within the Unit.

• Contributing to the communication efforts of the Unit and broader organisation with a broad range of stakeholders, particularly with respect to the regulatory framework and general approach to buyer guidelines and possible codes of practice submitted by businesses.

• Actively participating in the building of a culture of continuous learning and innovation across the organisation.

• Representing the Regulator at stakeholder events – travel nationally is envisaged with the potential for overnight travel.

• As a new role at the Regulator, undertake additional duties (relevant to the role and/or skill sets required) that emerge as the role establishes within the organisation.

Note: The above is a general guide to the key duties and responsibilities of the role and is not an exhaustive description. The functions and responsibilities initially assigned to the position are based on the current organisational requirements and may be changed from time to time.

Essential Criteria

Please note: In order to satisfy the shortlisting panel that you meet these criteria, you must explicitly reference how you meet the same in your application. Failure to demonstrate these may prevent your application progressing to future shortlisting stages.

Each candidate must meet the following requirements at the time of the competition closing:

• Have an Honours bachelor’s degree (NFQ Level 8) or equivalent.

• Have experience clearly communicating complex information either in writing or verbally.

• Demonstrate the capacity to manage multiple projects and competing priorities and work independently while contributing effectively within a developing team.

• Possess strong IT and digital capability including proficiency in Microsoft Office and experience using data or document management tools.

• Have a minimum of 12 months’ work experience.

• Full clean driver’s license with access to own car.

Desirable Criteria

Please note that should further shortlisting be required after consideration of essential criteria above, a selection of the following may be assessed.

The ideal candidate should:

• Have an Honours bachelor’s degree (NFQ Level 8) or higher in a discipline directly relevant to the role of the Agri-Food Regulator such as Food and Agribusiness Management, Food Business and Innovation, Food Supply Chain Operations, Sustainable Food Systems.

• Have a minimum of 6 months’ relevant work experience in one or more of the following areas:

➢ Policy development, regulatory analysis or legislative implementation.

➢ Economic, market or sectoral research and analysis.

➢ Designing, managing or analysing surveys and research projects.

➢ Regulatory compliance, enforcement or governance frameworks.

➢ Stakeholder consultation and engagement.

• Have experience in the preparation of reports, briefings or policy recommendations.

• Demonstrate a strong understanding of regulatory or enforcement environments, public sector governance and accountability frameworks, and market dynamics and/or supply chain structures, ideally within the agri-food sector.

• Have experience of communications outreach in a work environment.

• Have experience with data visualisation tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).

Remuneration

Salary Grade: Administrative Officer

Salary Scale:

€40,768 €43,464 €44,236 €47,613 €51,950 €55,395 €58,977 €62,606 €66,233 €69,849 €72,353 (LSI1), €75,789 (LSI 2)

Personal Pension Contribution (PPC) rate. This salary is payable to an individual who is required to make a personal pension contribution (PPC) to their main pension (in general those persons whose initial appointment to the Public Service is on or after 6th April 1995).

€39,242 €41,991 €42,369 €45,579 €49,687 €52,858 €56,173 €59,587 €63,031 €66,469 €68,840 (LSI 1), €72,108 (LSI 2)

Non-Personal Pension Contribution (non-PPC) rate. This salary is payable to an individual who is not required to make a personal pension contribution (PPC) to their main pension scheme.

Annual Leave: 25 days per annum. This leave is on the basis of a five day week and is exclusive of the usual public holidays.

Note:

• entry will be at point 1 of the scale and will not be subject to negotiation.

• 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.

Contract: Permanent