Administrative Officer

The Competition Galway County Council is inviting applications from suitably qualified candidates with relevant experience for the position of Administrative Officer (Grade VII). Recruitment arrangements to this grade will now be on the following basis: Galway County Council will form three (3) separate panels of suitably qualified candidates to meet the requirements for posts confined to the local authority sector, open and those confined to Galway County Council staff, from which future relevant vacancies may be filled.

Suitably qualified persons are invited to apply for the following panel(s): - • Panel A (Confined to local authority sector) will comprise of successful applicants in order of merit from within the local authority sector only i.e. candidates serving in a local authority or Regional Assembly (where applicable). • Panel B (Open) will comprise of all successful applicants in order of merit and may include candidates serving in a local authority, regional assembly and external applicants. • Panel C (Confined to the recruiting local Authority) will comprise of all successful applicants in order of merit from within the recruiting local authority i.e. candidates serving in Galway County Council.

Eligibility criteria for all three panels are set out under Qualifications below. QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE POST Character: Candidates shall be of good character and references shall be sought.

Health Candidates shall be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render an efficient service. Successful candidates will be required to undergo a medical examination carried out by the Council’s Occupational Medical advisor prior to appointment. On taking up appointment, the expense of the medical examination will be refunded to the candidate.

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

Education, Training & Experience Each candidate must, on the latest date for receipt of completed application forms: Applicants for Panel A - Confined to the Local Authority Sector (i) (a) be a serving employee of 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 (b) have satisfactory experience in administrative procedures, including adequate practical experience in work of an executive nature, office organisation and control of staff.

Applicants for Panel B - Open Panel (i) (a) Have obtained at least Grade D (or a Pass), in Higher or Ordinary Level, in five (5) subjects (or four (4) 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 (3) subjects in that examination (or two (2) subjects if Irish and/or one of the following is included: Mathematics, Accounting, Business Organisation or Economics) OR i. Have obtained a comparable standard in an equivalent examination, OR ii. Hold a third level qualification of at least degree standard AND iii. Have satisfactory experience in administrative procedures, including adequate practical experience in work or an executive nature, office organisation and control of staff.

Applicants for Panel C - Confined to the Recruiting Local Authority (i) (a) be a serving employee of Galway County Council and have not less than two years’ satisfactory experience in a post of Clerical Officer or analogous post, AND (b) have satisfactory experience in administrative procedures, including adequate practical experience in work of an executive nature, office organisation and control of staff. • It is desirable that candidate’s hold a full unendorsed Category B Driving Licence. The Post The Administrative Officer is a middle management position within the local authority and is assigned responsibility for the day-to-day administration and management of one or more sections or departments handling specific areas of the Councils activities, including the management of employees. The Administrative Officer is an operational team lead and a crucial level between frontline staff and senior management with responsibility for resource management and service delivery. Administrative Officers are expected to contribute to the development of strategic policies to guide the work of the Council.

The successful candidate will be expected to carry out duties set out below; • To determine the nature, level and pattern of demand for the service in the function and to recommend both service level and strategic policy priorities to senior management; • To implement the agreed strategies to meet and to expand or improve the range, quantity or quality of existing services and to recommend changes in strategies as required; • To develop and maintain relationships with external agencies in accordance with policy and to ensure the agreements to co-ordinate work programmes are implemented; • To achieve and maintain the productive association between elected representatives and the executive delivery of the service; • To achieve and maintain similar co-operation with local development agencies in accordance with evolving policy on the integration of local government and local & community development; • To identify and agree work programmes, targets and deadlines and ensure their subsequent implementation; • To manage performance and to supervise multi-disciplinary staff up to the position/grade of Senior Staff Officer and analogous grades and to ensure the training and development of such staff; • To build effective teams, develop motivation and commitment and maintain sound employee relations and morale as relevant, in accordance with good employment practice and relevant legislation; • To deputise as required; • To implement the systems necessary and co-ordinate the resources to support service delivery. This includes systems to manage finance and budgets and ensure value for money, to provide information on the pattern of demand and activity and to schedule work programmes; • To undertake any other duties of a similar level and responsibilities as may be required from time to time. The Person: Preferably the successful candidate will demonstrate: • A clear understanding of local government services in order to achieve effective service delivery • Ability to work within, and lead, multidiscipline teams and have the ability to motivate, empower and encourage employees to achieve maximum performance. • A capability of working closely with the elected Councillors to deliver the full range of quality services and implement policy decisions through the Strategic Policy Committees and Municipal District Councils and other County Council departments while being able to seek co-operation and consensus from a wide range of bodies and representative groups • A satisfactory knowledge of public service organisation in Ireland. • A career record that demonstrates a high level of competence in the management of staff. • Strong interpersonal and communication skills. • Excellent influencing and negotiating skills. • Ability to manage financial resources within a budgetary control framework. • Ability to deputise at a senior level The Salary:

€58,252 - €75,728 per year