Temporary Clerical Officer

The Role

This is an administrative role which offers an excellent opportunity to gain diverse experience over a short space of time while contributing to the delivery of a historical census. You will work as part of a census team in Swords, Co. Dublin.

Over the census life cycle there will be the opportunity to work in different areas, such as Geography, Logistics, Recruitment, Payments, Procurement, Publicity, Field, Processing, Technology, Governance, Project Management, Dissemination and Facilities.

You may be assigned to work as part of the census team across any census area as the census moves through its project lifecycle.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities of the Role

The Principal Duties and Responsibilities of the Role will include some or all of the following:

• User testing key census technologies for deployment.
• Assisting in the recruitment of over 4,000 field staff, organising venues for interviewing and training.
• Assisting in Garda Vetting and verifying documentation.
• Responding to queries by phone and email regarding the recruitment competitions.
• Responding to queries to our dissemination section from the public, government departments, local councils etc.
• Assisting with tracking and checking material for our census website, training manuals and other census public-facing and internal materials.
• Working as part of a team to help deliver the internal and external census contact centre, which will provide a service to the public and the census field staff during the live census.
• Assisting with testing the communication flows of the chatbot, telephone IVR flow, webform and citizen portal.
• Assisting with the preparation of census technology, phones, laptops etc.
• Responding to queries about the census through multiple channels, such as telephone, live web chat, emails and webform queries.
• Assisting with the packing of census equipment.
• Receipting the census forms returned by post.
• Processing the returned census forms, cleaning, editing and coding the forms.

Please note: The above is a general guide to the key duties and responsibilities of the role and is not an exhaustive description. Other duties and responsibilities appropriate to the role may also be assigned from time to time.

The Clerical Officer Capability Framework will inform the assessment of candidates at all stages. Further information on the Capability Framework for the Clerical Officer role is set out in Appendix 1.

Office Location and Vacancies

Successful candidates in this competition will be placed on a panel in order of merit to fill Temporary Clerical Officer vacancies which may arise in the Central Statistics Office in Swords Business Campus, Balheary Rd, Swords, Co. Dublin.

It is anticipated that the initial group of successful candidates in this competition will start the role in October/November 2026 and the contract will be for a period of up to 12 months. Further vacancies may arise over the lifetime of the competition.

Successful candidates will be expected to work full-time in the office for an initial training period. Thereafter, blended working arrangements may be available during the contract and are subject to business needs.

It is not envisaged that appointments will be made from this competition after December 2027.

Please note that placement on a panel is not a guarantee of appointment to a position.

Summary Conditions of Service

Salary: €611.75 per week

Annual Leave: The annual leave for this position is determined by the number of hours worked.

Hours of Attendance: 41 hours 15 minutes gross per week.

The Principal Conditions of Service applicable to the role, including details of the salary and Eligibility to Compete and Certain Restrictions on Eligibility applicable to the role, including citizenship requirements, are accessible on the job listing.

ESSENTIAL ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Candidates must by the closing date of Thursday 9th July 2026:

(a) Have previous relevant work experience, preferably in a customer service office environment.

(b) Have appropriate level and experience of relevant ICT skills, e.g. proficiency in MS Office applications (Word, Excel), data entry, email and internet.

(c) Have relevant knowledge and skills to undertake the duties of the position, including the ability to:

• Take direction/follow instructions.
• Organise and prioritise work effectively.
• Work well with the public and colleagues.
• Make good judgements and decisions considering the available information and following the relevant procedures or protocol.
• Communicate in a clear, helpful and appropriate manner verbally, digitally, and in writing.
• Take ownership and responsibility over work, become self-sufficient in their area of responsibility.
• Be flexible, agile and resilient in the face of challenges or changing demands; maintain a "can-do" attitude and seek support as necessary.

(d) Be at least 16 years of age on or before the closing date of Thursday 9th July 2026.

(e) Fulfil all Citizenship, Health & Character, Garda Vetting & Security Clearance, Reference Check requirements and ensure they meet the criteria regarding Public & Civil Service Redundancy/Ill Health Retirement Schemes, detailed in the Eligibility to Compete & Principal Conditions of Service and General Information documents attached to the job listing.

(f) Demonstrate that they possess the key skills and capabilities identified for effective performance at this level as set out at Appendix 1. These include:

• Building Future Readiness.
• Evidence Informed Delivery.
• Communicating and Collaborating.

It is important that candidates list their previous civil or public service employment, if they have availed of a voluntary redundancy or retirement scheme and/or are in receipt of an ill-health retirement pension.

Shortlisting

The number of applications received for a position generally exceeds that required to fill existing and future vacancies. While a candidate may meet the eligibility requirements of the competition, if the numbers applying are such that it would not be practical to interview everyone, publicjobs may decide that a smaller number will be invited to the next stage of the selection process.

publicjobs provide for the employment of a shortlisting process to select a group who, based on an examination of the application forms, appear to be the most suitable for the position.

This is not to suggest that other candidates are necessarily unsuitable or incapable of undertaking the job, rather that there are some candidates who, based on their application, appear to be better qualified and/or have more relevant experience.

During shortlisting, an expert board will examine the application forms against agreed shortlisting criteria which are based on the requirements of the position. The standard of content of each application submitted may also be assessed during this process.

The shortlisting criteria may include both essential and desirable criteria specified for the position and, therefore, it is in your own interest to provide a detailed and accurate account of your qualifications/experience in your application.

The onus is on candidates to complete the application form fully and accurately.

In the case of competitions that may involve large numbers of candidates, candidates may be ranked on the outcome of their online assessment tests and will be shortlisted in accordance with their ranking.

Candidates must successfully complete and achieve a sufficiently high ranking to be considered for advancement to the next stage of the multi-stage selection process.

The number to be invited forward at each stage will be determined from time to time by publicjobs.

Review and Complaint Procedures under the Code of Practice for Appointments to Positions in the Civil and Public Service

If a candidate is unhappy following the outcome of any stage of a selection process, they can either:

Request a Review of a decision made during the process.

or

Make a Complaint that the selection process followed was unfair.

A candidate can follow either one of the two procedures in relation to the same aspect of a selection process, but not both.

Where a review of a selection process has taken place under Section 7 (as detailed below), a complainant may not seek a further review of the same process under Section 8, other than in the most exceptional circumstances that will be determined by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA) at its sole discretion.

There is no obligation on publicjobs to suspend an appointment process while a Review or Complaint is being considered. However, the CPSA expects that, where possible, publicjobs will intervene in cases where it finds an error is likely to have occurred.

Requesting a Review under Section 7

A request for review may be taken by a candidate should they be dissatisfied with an action or decision taken by publicjobs.

publicjobs will consider requests for review in accordance with the provisions of Section 7 of the Code of Practice for Appointments to Positions in the Civil and Public Service published by the CPSA.

When making a request for a review, the candidate must support their request by outlining the facts they believe show that the action taken or decision reached was wrong.

A request for review may be refused if the candidate cannot support their request.

The Informal Review will consist of a desk-based examination of any available information in relation to the recruitment process and the decision taken regarding the candidate's application.

The outcome of the Informal Review Process will be communicated to the requester in writing.

• A request for Informal Review must be made within 5 working days of notification of the decision and will normally take place between the candidate and a representative of publicjobs who had played a key role in the administration of the selection process.
• Where a candidate remains dissatisfied following any such informal communication, they may adopt the formal procedures set out below.

A request for Formal Review must be made within 5 working days of either the notification of the selection decision, or the notification of the outcome of the Informal Review process.

Any extension of these time limits will only be granted in the most exceptional of circumstances and will be at the sole discretion of the Chief Executive.

• The candidate must address their concerns in writing to the Chief Executive (via email to , or in writing to Chief Executive Officer, publicjobs, Chapter House, 26/30 Abbey Street Upper, Dublin 1), outlining the facts they believe show an action taken or decision reached was wrong.
• The Formal Review will be conducted by a person who is completely independent of the selection process.
• The outcome of the Formal Review must generally be notified to the candidate within 25 working days of receipt of the request for review. If the investigation does not produce a decision within this time, publicjobs must keep the candidate informed of the status of the review and the reasons for the delay.

Making a Complaint under Section 8

A candidate may believe there was a breach of the Commission's Code of Practice by publicjobs that may have compromised the integrity of the decision reached in the appointment process.

The complaints process enables candidates to make a complaint under Section 8 to publicjobs in the first instance, and to the Commission for Public Service Appointments subsequently on appeal if they remain dissatisfied.

On foot of a Section 8 Complaint process, either publicjobs or the CPSA may find that the recruitment and selection process in question has not adhered to the standard set out in the Code of Practice.

In such cases, publicjobs and the CPSA may make recommendations in order to prevent such issues from reoccurring again in the future.

The CPSA cannot instruct publicjobs to reverse a decision taken in the course of an appointment process.

Any candidate wishing for an investigation into the decision taken regarding their application as part of a selection process should request a Review under Section 7, as outlined above.

The complainant must outline the facts they believe show that the process followed was wrong.

The complainant must also identify the aspect of the Code they believe has been infringed and enclose any relevant documentation that may support the allegation.

A complaint may be dismissed if the complainant cannot support their allegations by setting out how publicjobs has fallen short of the principles of this Code.

The Informal Complaint will consist of a desk-based examination of any available information in relation to the recruitment process.

The outcome of the Informal Complaint will be communicated to the requester in writing.

• An Informal Complaint must be made within 5 working days of notification of the decision and will normally take place between the candidate and a representative of publicjobs who had played a key role in the administration of the selection process.
• Where a candidate remains dissatisfied following any such informal communication, they may adopt the formal procedures set out below.

A Formal Complaint must be made within 5 working days of either the notification of the selection decision, or the notification of the outcome of the Informal Complaint.

Any extension of these time limits will only be granted in the most exceptional of circumstances and will be at the sole discretion of the Chief Executive.

• The candidate must address their concerns in writing to the Chief Executive (via email to , or in writing to Chief Executive Officer, publicjobs, Chapter House, 26/30 Abbey Street Upper, Dublin 1), outlining the facts they believe show an action taken or decision reached was wrong.
• The Formal Complaint will be investigated by a person who is completely independent of the selection process.
• The outcome of the Formal Complaint must generally be notified to the candidate within 25 working days of receipt of the request for review. If the investigation does not produce a decision within this time, publicjobs must keep the candidate informed of the status of the review and the reasons for the delay.

For further information on the above Review and Complaint procedures, please see the Code of Practice for Appointments to Positions in the Civil and Public Service, available on the website of the Commission for Public Service Appointments, .

There is no obligation on publicjobs to suspend an appointment process while it considers a request for a review.

Please note that where a formal review of a recruitment and selection process has taken place under Section 7 of this Code of Practice, a complainant may not seek a further review of the same process under Section 8, other than in the most exceptional circumstances that will be determined by the Commission at its sole discretion.