Traffic Control Room Operator

THE JOB

The Traffic Control Room Operator will be part of the Control Centre Team and will report to the supervisor of the Control Room or such other designated officer. The Control Centre Team acts as the main liaison, monitoring and notification centre for Dublin City Council (DCC) and for a number of other authorities and agencies, operating on a shift basis and providing a 24 hour/7 day a week service. The Traffic Control Room Operator will monitor the various systems in place in the Control Room and take actions as required and authorised.

The Traffic Control Room Operator is expected to take calls from the public and other agencies and, in turn, to contact both City Council staff and contractors as required. They will also be responsible for the clerical/administrative duties of the section and carrying out of inspections. The role requires the ability to assess situations, follow procedures and consult with experts as required as well as working as part of strong team.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE SHALL

• possess excellent communication skills and have the ability to engage with a wide range of people;

• possess good organisation skills and be capable of keeping written reports as required;

• have an ability to work on own initiative, in an independent environment and without constant supervision;

• have a willingness to learn and aptitude to use new information systems;

• have an ability and willingness to learn and execute new skills and to provide and participate in appropriate training courses where required;

• be available to work on a shift basis including consecutive weekends and varying amounts of nightshifts;

QUALIFICATIONS

CHARACTER:

Each candidate 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, EXPERIENCE, ETC.:

Each candidate must, on the latest date for receipt of completed applications:-

(a) have attained such a standard of education as would enable the candidate to carry out efficiently the duties of the post:-

(i) have obtained at least Grade D (or a Pass), in Higher or Ordinary Level, in five subjects from the approved list of subjects in the Department of Education Established Leaving Certificate Examination or Leaving Certification Vocational Programme. (At least Grade B in Foundation Level Mathematics and Grade C in Foundation Level Irish may be considered as equivalent to Grade D (or a Pass), in Higher or Ordinary Level, from the approved list of subjects in the Department of Education Established Leaving Certificate Examination or Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme);

Or

(ii) 2 years’ service as an employee of Dublin City Council;

(b) have a good knowledge of traffic issues facing Dublin City Council;

(c) have an awareness of the approaches Dublin City Council is taking towards traffic management;

(d) possess good IT skills and have an ability to work with databases, spreadsheets and word processing systems;

(e) have satisfactory experience providing customer service;

(f) possess good leadership skills and have capacity to supervise and control staff;

(g) have good knowledge and awareness of Health and Safety Legislation and Regulations, the implications for the organisation and the employee, and their application in the workplace.

DUTIES

The duties of the post include, but are not limited to, the following:-

• operating all the current systems in the Traffic Control Room (including SCATS, CCTV cameras, VMS, RTPI, Congestion Map, Traffic Freephone, fault management systems etc.) and operating new systems as they are installed in the Traffic Control Centre;

• monitoring traffic, taking appropriate action and informing appropriate agencies;

• preparing reports and recording/logging faults and complaints;

• identifying illegally parked vehicles and providing details to enforcement services;

• liaising with other agencies (e.g. Dublin Bus, An Garda Síochána, Dublin Port Tunnel Control Centre, LUAS Control Centre, National Roads Authority and other local authorities etc.) as required;

• responding to public enquiries (including Traffic Freephone and emergency services as required) and providing information and advice to members of the public;

• supervising, training and assisting other staff working in the Traffic Control Room as required;

• monitoring all cameras and information systems in the Traffic Control Room and providing traffic information in a variety of different modes including Web, SMS, email etc.;

• attending any training courses which the City Council may deem necessary;

• carrying out such other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

The particular duties and responsibilities attached to the post may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the duties or level of responsibilities entailed. The post holder may therefore be required to perform duties appropriate to the post, other than those detailed above, and to take instructions from and report to, an appropriate Officer or such designated Officer as may be assigned from time to time by the City Council.

The duties of the post are to give to the local authority and to

(a) the local authorities or bodies for which the Chief Executive is Chief Executive, and

(b) to any other local authority or body with which an agreement has been made by the local authority or by any of the authorities or bodies referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph under the general direction and control of the Chief Executive or of such officers as the Chief Executive may from time to time determine, such appropriate computing, technical, management, administrative, executive, supervisory, advisory and ancillary services as may be required by any local authority or body hereinbefore mentioned in the exercise and performance of any of its powers, functions and duties and to exercise such powers, functions and duties as may be delegated to them by the Chief Executive from time to time including the duty of servicing all committees that may be established by any such local authority or body. The holder of the post will, if required, act for an officer of a higher level.

SELECTION PROCESS

• Posts of Traffic Control Room Operator will be filled from this publicly advertised competition. Selection shall be by means of a competition conducted by or on behalf of Dublin City Council.

• Candidates should note that the information provided by them in their application form and assessment question(s) will form the basis on which eligibility and short listing is conducted.

• Dublin City Council reserves the right to undertake eligibility and/or shortlist candidates in the manner it deems most appropriate.

• A panel may be formed on the basis of interviews. A candidate whose name is on a panel and who satisfies the Council that they possess the qualifications declared for the post and that they are otherwise suitable for appointment may, within the life of the panel, subject to the appropriate Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage sanction, be appointed as an appropriate vacancy arises.

• The life of the panel shall be for a period of one year from the date of its formation.

• Dublin City Council shall require any person to whom an appointment is offered to take up such appointment within a period of not more than one month and if they fail to take up appointment within such period, or such longer period as the Council in its absolute discretion may determine, the Council shall not appoint them.

SHORTLISTING

Dublin City Council reserves the right to shortlist candidates to proceed to the interview stage of the competition. Shortlisting of candidates will be on the basis of information supplied on the Application Form, in conjunction with the answers given in the assessment question(s). It is therefore in your own interest to provide a detailed and accurate account of your qualifications/experience in your application.

The shortlisting process will provide for the assessment of each applicant’s application form against predetermined criteria that reflect the skills and depth of experience considered to be essential for a position at this level.

INTERVIEW

The interview will be competency based and marks will be awarded under the following competencies;

• Delivering Results

• Personal Performance

• Communicating Effectively

• Personal Effectiveness

• Knowledge of Local Authority Sector Services

Please see page 8 of the Candidate Information Booklet for more details.

SALARY:

The salary scale for the position of Traffic Control Room Operator is;

€35,613; €37,740; €40,759; €42,741; €44,475; €46,153; €48,417; €50,056; €51,722 (Maximum); €53,296 (1st LSI) (after 3 years satisfactory service on the Maximum); €54,911 (2nd LSI) (after 3 years satisfactory service on the 1st LSI).

A one quarter shift allowance may also be applicable. In addition, a Shift Leader Allowance may be payable. Entry point to this scale will be determined in accordance with Circulars issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. In accordance with Departmental Circular letter EL 02/2011, a person who is not a serving public service employee on or after 1st January 2011, will enter the scale for the position at the minimum point.

Rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government Policy. Under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013, the working hours for newly appointed/promoted staff are 39 hours per week.

The holder of the post will be required to work these hours on a 3-shift basis. The Control Room operates on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week, 365 days of the year.

Shifts as follows:

07:00hrs. – 15:00hrs.

15:00hrs. – 23:00hrs.

23:00hrs. – 07:00hrs

All applicants must refer to the Additional Candidate Information Booklet which can be found at https://careers.dublincity.ie

for additional relevant information pertaining to the salary scale and the recruitment process.

PARTICULARS OF POSITION

(a) The post is permanent, whole time and pensionable.

(b) Postholders are rostered to fulfil the 24/7 operational requirements of the Control Centre.

(c) Dublin City Council reserves the right to, at any time, assign an employee to any Department now or in the future.

(d) A period of one year’s probation applies where a person is permanently appointed to Dublin City Council.

CITIZENSHIP

Candidates must, by the date of application 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.

Dublin City Council welcomes all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds to join its diverse workforce and we hereby reserve the sole discretion to vary the above requirements from time to time subject to the business needs and staffing requirements.

IRISH PROFICIENCY

As part of our ongoing commitment to support the Irish language, our leadership on the Gaeilge365 programme and to comply with the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, we are gathering information on candidates’ capacity to speak Irish.

Under this legislation, public bodies are required to ensure that 20% of new recruits are capable of performing their duties through Irish by 2030. While this position is not an Irish language speaking role, we are asking all applicants to indicate their current level of Irish language ability.

This information will be used for workforce planning purposes only and will not form part of the selection process for this competition.

ADDITIONAL RELEVANT INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

• The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 to 2016 came into effect on 29th April 2016. The Act places a statutory obligation on Dublin City Council to ensure that any work or activity which is carried out by a person, a necessary and regular part of which consists mainly of a person having access to, or contact with children or vulnerable persons, will be the subject of Garda Vetting.

• Subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014, applications will be treated in strict confidence.

• Any attempt by a candidate themselves or by any person(s) acting at the candidate’s instigation, directly or indirectly, by means of written communication or otherwise, to canvass or otherwise influence in the candidate’s favour, any employee of the City Council or person nominated by the City Council to interview or examine applicants, will automatically disqualify the candidate for the position being sought.

• It is important to remember that this is a competitive process for a role where integrity is paramount. Sharing information on the selection/interview process e.g. through social media or any other means, may result in a candidate being disqualified from the competition.

• Dublin City Council does not allow the unsanctioned use of any type of recording equipment on its premises. This applies to any form of sound recording and any type of still picture or video recording, whether including sound recording or not, and covers any type of device used for these purposes.

• An applicant who is found to be ineligible at any stage of the competition will not be further considered. Provision of inaccurate, untrue or misleading information will lead to disqualification from the competition, withdrawal of employment offer or dismissal.

• A candidate who does not attend for interview when and where required by the City Council, or who does not, when requested, furnish such evidence as the City Council requires in regard to any matter relevant to their candidature, will have no further claim to consideration.

• The City Council will not be responsible for any expenses candidates may incur in connection with their candidature.

• The onus is on the candidate to keep a regular check on their Email Account as email notifications of updates may sometimes be filtered into your Junk/Spam email folders. Dublin City Council accepts no responsibility for communication not accessed or received by an applicant.