School Warden

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.

1.    The Role

The role of the School Warden is to ensure the safety of children crossing the road at a designated point between specified times. The discharge of these duties must not be to the detriment of the welfare of other road users.

The postholder will be responsible to the Road Safety Unit, under the direction of the designated person in the Environment, Climate Action, Active Travel and Sports Department.

The School Warden positions will be based in the Dublin 15 Area and the Howth/Malahide Area.

Successful candidates for the position of School Warden, who have passed the interview process, will automatically be appointed as temporary Reserve School Wardens, subject to Garda Vetting and Medical examination.

Reserve School Wardens may be contacted to cover periods of absence for permanent School Wardens.

If you are successful and a permanent position becomes available, you will be offered this on the basis of your appointment on the panel

Duties

The holder of the position shall be responsible for the following duties as assigned by the Supervisor:

·       To attend for duty at the prescribed times, and to perform such duty under the direction of the Council’s Road Safety Officer regarding Health and Safety Procedures

·       Maintain control over children who are awaiting your instructions to cross

·       To use the statutory uniform and equipment required under the Road Traffic Act, 1961, provided for the safety of yourself, children and all other members of the public, in order to stop traffic on the public roadway

·       To wear the statutory uniform at all times when on duty and to ensure that the uniform is kept in a clean and neat condition

·       To use the statutory ‘Stop Sign’ supplied by Fingal County Council

·       Report any problems or difficulties to the appropriate supervisor

·       To furnish records and reports as required

·       Or any such duties that may be assigned to him/her from time to time

These tasks are indicative rather than exhaustive and other duties may be assigned.

Qualifications and Requirements of the Post

CHARACTER

Each candidate must be of good character. Garda Vetting is compulsory under the Council’s Child Protection Policy.

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 shall have have obtained such a standard of education as would enable the candidate to effectively carry out the duties of the post.

Particulars of Employment

The employment is part-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.

WAGES

Wages will be paid at the rate of €15.23 per hour .Normal hours of work will be 3.5 hours per day on official duty. Reserve School Warden hours may vary.

The Council reserves the right to alter hours of work from time to time.

a) Wages will not be paid for days on which wardens are not on duty.

b) Payment will be suspended (i) during periods of closure of the particular school or schools for holidays at Christmas, Easter, Summer and mid-term breaks and (ii) during other such periods as may be determined by the County Council

c) Payment of holiday pay will be in accordance with the terms of The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. In general holiday pay will be paid each year at the end of the school year.

 

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.

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.

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 School Warden 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.

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.