Senior Staff Officer

Role

The position of Senior Staff Officer is a middle management grade within Fingal County Council. A Senior Staff Officer is required to be an effective, participative leader of a team with responsibility for organisation and management of all aspects of a section or sections including the supervision of staff. The person selected will possess an in-depth knowledge and experience in the functions, duties and responsibilities of the local authority.

A Senior Staff Officer is responsible for ensuring that goals set out in the Corporate, Departmental and Team plans become operational actions within their department or section and will generally work as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Knowledge of the strategic direction and initiatives of the council will also be required.

A Senior Staff Officer also works closely with senior management, elected representatives, external agencies and relevant stakeholders to deliver services to the highest standard. The person appointed will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

A Senior Staff Officer will generally work under the direction and management of an Administrative Officer, Senior Executive Officer or analogous grade.

Staff at this level work in a range of roles across public-facing and internal service areas of the Council such as Housing, Finance, Operations, Planning, Economic Development, Corporate, Active Travel etc.

Duties

The main duties include:

·       Providing high level administrative support based on a thorough understanding of the overall workings and policy of a section.

·       Assuming responsibility for most of the decisions in the section.

·       Supporting their line manager to ensure work programmes are implemented to deliver on the Council’s Corporate and Operational plans, including planning and prioritising work and allocating resources.

·       Taking responsibility for staff performance of a multi-level staff.

·       Continuously monitoring existing procedures to ensure they comply with best practice and the development of new/improved procedures where appropriate.

·       Making recommendations within areas of expertise to senior management regarding changes/improvements to procedures.

·       Organising and facilitiating inter-departmental and external meetings on behalf of the section to which you are assigned.

·       Attending meetings of the elected Council and its Committees in relation to the activities of the section.

·       Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with external agencies, bodies, elected representatives, and committee members as appropriate to the activities of the section.

·       Preparation and management of budgets.

·       Communicating and liaising effectively with employees, managers in other sections, senior managers, customers, and elected representatives in relation to operational matters for their section.

·       Attending Court as a witness for the Council as required.

These duties which are indicative rather than exhaustive are carried out under general direction.

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

Qualifications and requirements of the post

Character

Candidates 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, training, experience, etc.

On the latest date for receipt of completed application forms, candidates shall:

(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

(iv)           shall have satisfactory experience in administration procedures, including adequate practical experience in work of an executive nature, office organization and control of staff.

Or

(v)             be a serving employee in a local authority, or a regional assembly and have not less than two years’ satisfactory experience in a post of Clerical Officer or analogous post, and have satisfactory experience in administrative procedures, including adequate practical experience in work of an executive nature, office organization and control of staff.

1.     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 Senior Staff 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.

Particulars of Employment

The employment is wholetime, 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 dependant 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

Where a person who is not already a permanent employee of a local authority is employed, the following provisions shall apply:

(a)             there shall be a period after such employment take 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 (LSI 1), €70,730 (LSI 2)

This salary shall be fully inclusive and shall be as determined from time to time. 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.

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.

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.