Staff Officer

Role

The Staff Officer is a frontline supervisory position in Fingal County Council with responsibility for managing the performance of a section or function within a Department.

The Staff Officer will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team within the Council, assisting with the implementation of work programmes to achieve goals, targets, and standards set out in Department and Team development plans.

The Staff Officer will generally work under the direction and management of a Senior Staff Officer and may from time to time, be required to deputise for a more senior grade. The successful candidate will therefore require excellent administrative, communications and people management skills as the role entails assuming supervisory and budgetary responsibility for a particular division of the local authority.

A Staff Officer is expected to use initiative, work to a high standard, and have excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

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:

·       Supervising staff with regard to punctuality, attendance and work performance. 

·       Briefing and training staff in the work activities of the section. 

·       Ensuring that appropriate procedures, schemes and policies of the Council are implemented in relation to the activities of the section. 

·       Assuming responsibility within clearly defined policy for most of the day-to-day decisions in the section on eligibility or entitlement to services. 

·       Communicating with members of the public on non-routine matters. 

·       Servicing meetings of the Council and its committees, when necessary. 

·       Attending and contributing to internal meetings and also meetings with other organisations. 

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

·       Reviewing administrative procedures within the section as necessary with a view to improvement. 

·       Liaising with other sections or departments of the Council. 

·       Carrying out work of a Clerical/Administrative nature involving nonroutine and challenging tasks/responsibilities. 

·       Acting as a resource for the Council in your area of expertise.

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

Or

(iv)           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

The ideal candidate will:

·       have knowledge of the structure and functions of local government, of current local government issues, future trends and strategic direction of local government and an understanding of the role of the Staff Officer in this context.

·       have a satisfactory understanding of the Council’s purpose and priorities and knowledge of public service organisation in Ireland in order to achieve effective service delivery.

·       understand the representational role of the elected members and be capable of working closely with them to deliver quality services and implement policy decisions.

·       have the ability to supervise a team effectively to achieve a common goal, ensuring strong governance standards and ethics standards are adhered to and maintained.

·       have the ability to motivate, empower and encourage staff under their control to achieve maximum performance by supporting the current Performance Management and Development System (PMDS).

·       understand the changing environment and be capable of implementing change in order to deliver quality services to our citizens.

·       have ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines in the delivery of key policy objectives.

·       have good interpersonal and communications skills.

·       be self-motivated with ability to work on own initiative.

·       demonstrate relevant administrative experience and have strong report writing, editing and proof-reading skills.

·       have excellent comprehensive knowledge and experience of operational ICT systems.

·       have an awareness of Health and Safety legislation and regulations, the implications for the organisation and the employee, and their application in the workplace.

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 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

€51,722 – €53,266 – €54,844 – €56,454 – €58,076 – LSI1 €59,967 – LSI2 €61,865 per annum.

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.

Retirement Age

The retirement age is 70 years.

Appointment

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.