Candidate Information
The Teaching Council is an equal opportunities employer and all applications for employment will be considered on the basis of merit. The Teaching Council welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates irrespective of belief, gender, disability, race, political opinion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or whether or not they have dependents.
The Teaching Council is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the Official Languages Act and welcomes candidates with competence in the Irish language, or an interest in developing same.
Please note: Interviews for this position will be held in person in the Teaching Council offices in August/September 2024.
Background
The Teaching Council is the regulator of the teaching profession in Ireland. Our role is to protect the public by promoting and regulating professional standards in teaching.
We do this through the statutory registration of teachers, ensuring a highly qualified teaching profession, whose members meet and uphold high standards of professional competence and conduct.
The Teaching Council’s primary functions include (and are not limited to):
- Responsibility for maintaining a register of qualified and vetted teachers in Ireland. This ensures that teachers meet the necessary qualification, standards, competencies, and character requirements for registration.
- Establishing and upholding high standards for teachers in Ireland. The Council establishes standards across the entire career span for teachers including guidelines and codes related to their professional conduct, knowledge, skill, and competence.
- Ensuring the quality of initial teacher education programmes provided by higher education institutions in Ireland. This includes review and accreditation processes to maintain high standards of initial teacher education, which in turn contributes to the quality of teaching and learning in the country.
- Establishing standards to guide and support induction processes that are required on a statutory basis and promoting lifelong learning for registered teachers. This sets systematic benchmarks supporting the early stages of teacher’s career and encourages continuing professional learning throughout their career.
- Commissioning and conducting research, using data and evidence to inform decision making and policy development. This provides evidence-based recommendations and contributes to discussions on educational policies, practices, and reforms, with the intention of ensuring high standards in the teaching profession.
We do this for a school system including over 123, 500 registered teachers, almost 4,000 schools, and pupils and learners across primary, post-primary, and further education sectors.
The Teaching Council will form a panel of Teaching Council Associates for future vacancies that may arise. All applications for the role of Associate must meet the following short-listing criteria:
- Be eligible for secondment in accordance with the relevant Department of Education Circular, currently 0029/2018.
Location
The Teaching Council is based at its offices in Maynooth Business Campus, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. It is anticipated that successful applicants will be based in Maynooth. However, the Council has developed a blended working protocol in line with the Blended Working Policy Framework for Civil Service Organisation. Employees may apply for blended working arrangement in accordance with organisational requirements.
Occasionally flexibility may be required from Associates to travel to and work in different parts of the country. An example of this would be to attend various events or conference nationwide.
Successful candidates will be required to have their own means of transport and to possess and retain a full driving licence.
Public service travel and subsistence rates shall apply and be calculated from the Teaching Council office, or home, as appropriate.
Job Description
Associates may be assigned to work in any section of the Council, although they are likely to have a particular focus on Policy & Communications work, including the areas of initial teacher education, induction and teachers’ lifelong learning, research and communications. They support the permanent staff of the Council, and typically carry out a range of tasks, including in the following areas:
- Consultation processes with teachers and other stakeholders on policy areas related to initial teacher education (Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education), Induction (Droichead) and Teachers’ Learning (Cosán).
- This will include, inter alia:
- Conducting data collection and analysis as part of policy reviews.
- Preparing reports, briefings, and presentations to communicate findings and recommendations.
- Liaise with external stakeholders, including teacher education providers, Department of Education, and Oíde support service.
- Contribute to planning and organising consultations, focus groups, and other related events.
- Provide administrative and logistical support to their line managers (Higher Executive Officers) and to the Head of Section (Assistant Principal Officer).
- Conducting research on policy areas and educational issues.
- Review relevant research and policy literature and prepare summaries of same to support line managers in the development of policy advice for Council.
- Support the work of the Communications section with activities that may include:
- supporting the Council’s website and social media channels,
- attending various external events on behalf of Council, and compiling succinct written reports on the key learnings,
- organising meetings and events,
- drafting articles and emails to be sent to the register of teachers,
- working with a range of external service providers in the creation of videos, design content, and other digital assets.
- Support expert panels and working groups appointed by Council in a number of areas, including but not limited to:
- Review of programmes of Initial Teacher Education
- School Placement working groups
- Droichead – The newly qualified teacher induction programmes
- John Coolahan Research Support Framework
- Make presentations about the work of the Council to external groups
The above is an indicative list, and flexibility will be required from Associates as the duties to be undertaken will vary in accordance with the emerging needs and priorities of the Council.
Essential Requirements
It is essential that the successful candidate have a range of knowledge, experience, skills, and dispositions, as follows:
- An understanding and appreciation of the work and strategic role of the Teaching Council as the regulator.
- Excellent interpersonal, communication skills.
- Excellent team-working skills.
- Excellent facilitation and presentation skills.
- Excellent Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and administrative skills.
- Capacity to work independently and as part of a team.
- An ability to adapt to ways of working appropriate to a dynamic office environment, including reporting to a line manager.
- A good knowledge of the Irish education system and education policy landscape, including an awareness of significant issues across primary, post-primary, and further education sectors.
- A good knowledge and understanding of a range of national strategic priority issues, e.g., teacher workforce planning and inclusive education.
- Experience in applying creative and innovative learning and teaching approaches in the classroom.
- Flexibility to meet the needs of the Council, including a willingness to engage in travel from time to time and periodic out-of-hours work as necessary in line with the emerging needs of the Council.
In addition, experience and competence in the following areas would be an advantage:
- Teaching or working through the medium of Irish and fluency in the language
- Working within a team to achieve specific project goals
- The organisation and delivery of elements of Initial Teacher Education programmes or professional learning activities
- Curricular innovation/development
- Mentoring and/or coaching in a professional capacity
- Carrying out individual or collaborative research, including practitioner-based research and/or research for the purposes of an academic award
- The use of data gathering, presentation, and assessment ICT tools
Competition Process
Secondment
- Secondment to the team will be effective as soon as practicable after a vacancy arises.
- Successful candidates will be appointed on a secondment basis for one school year (182 working days), subject to satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period. Appointments may be extended in accordance with the Department of Education arrangements for secondments, currently Circular 0029/2018.
- A teacher who was on secondment and who returned to school must have served for a period equal to the duration of the previous secondment arrangement before being eligible for this post (e.g. if a teacher has been on a secondment for 3 years, he/she must return to duty in the school/Education and Training Board (ETB) for 3 years before again being eligible for release).
- A return to duty in the school/ETB which granted the secondment shall not be permitted other than on the start of a succeeding school year. In exceptional circumstances, an employer may authorise a teacher to commence a secondment during the course of a school year and terminate not earlier than the end of that school year. This is deemed to be a one-year secondment.
- The duration of a secondment may not extend beyond the date of compulsory retirement age.
Department of Education sanction
- Each appointment is subject to the sanction of the Department of Education.
- No definitive offer of appointment can be made before sanction is given.
Contract
- The successful candidate will be required to sign a secondment contract, which will provide for an ongoing performance and development process.
- A person’s secondment is subject to annual renewal and to Board of Management/Management Authority, Teaching Council and Department of Education approval.
Other
- In considering candidates for appointment under this competition, regard may be had to the duration of contract that may be offered to a candidate.
- The appointment is subject to satisfactory Garda Vetting clearance and to satisfactory references, including from the applicant’s current employer.
- An applicant’s health and sick leave record must be satisfactory.
- The Teaching Council reserves the right to re-advertise the post where it is considered there are an insufficient number of eligible applicants. Eligible applicants will be informed and given the option of leaving their application on file.
- The successful candidate will be required to work exclusively for the Teaching Council and may not take on other employments for the period of their contract without the appropriate approval.
If you are unsure as to your eligibility for secondment, please email TES@education.gov.ie.
Conditions of Secondment
Annual Leave
Annual Leave entitlement for the duration of your secondment to the Council will be in line with the primary school calendar. However, Associates may have to participate in project preparation or other work during the time that primary schools are closed.
Hours of Attendance
Hours of Attendance will be fixed from time to time, in line with Teaching Council staffing arrangements, but shall amount to not less than 41 hours and 15 minutes gross per week (or 35 hours net of rest breaks). Some flexibility with regard to working hours is required from time to time. Successful candidates will be required to work such additional hours from time to time as may be reasonable and necessary for the proper performance of his/her duties subject to the limits set down in the working time regulations. The rate of remuneration payable, together with the secondment allowance, covers any extra attendance liability that may arise from time to time.
Salary
The salary for an Associate will be in accordance with Circular Letter 0043/2024 and Circular Letter 0029/2018. Associates will be entitled to retain any qualification allowances they are currently in receipt of, in accordance with Appendix 2 of Circular Letter 0043/2024.
In addition, Associates will also be entitled to a Category 4 allowance of €11,979, in accordance with Appendix 4 of Circular Letter 0043/2024. This Category 4 allowance is pensionable.
Renumeration is at all times subject to the relevant Department of Education and Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform policies and regulation. Current Department of Education Pay Circulars will apply – current Circular is 0043/2024.
- Position: Associate
- Teachers’ Commons Basic Scale: As applicable
- Qualification Allowance: As applicable
- Category 4 Secondment Allowance: As applicable
Any additional allowances, such as post of responsibility allowances will not be payable to seconded personnel who are in receipt of the above secondment allowance.
Selection Procedure
Selection will be by way of competitive interviews which are expected to take place during August or September and will be in person in the Teaching Council offices in Maynooth, Co. Kildare. Shortlisting will apply, based on the completed application form.
Applications should be made by submission of a completed application form. This should be submitted in MS Word format by 10am Tuesday, 6 August 2024 to recruitment@teachingcouncil.ie.
- Late applications will not be considered.
- A selection committee will be established to carry out all aspects of the selection process.
- It is the responsibility of candidates to make themselves available for interview. Candidates should note that it may not be possible to provide an alternative date.
- Those called for interview may be asked to make a presentation to the interview panel and/or engage in a written exercise.
- A panel may be formed from which future vacancies at Associate level may be filled. The Council reserves the right to consider the need to have an appropriate balance e.g., sectoral, in drawing from the panel.
Release from present post
- It is a matter for successful candidates to secure the agreement of their school managerial authority for release to take up a post for the period concerned.
- The Teaching Council is seeking to form a panel for future vacancies that may arise so successful candidates will be expected to be available as soon as a vacancy may arise.
- Commitment of release from your employer will be required. On receipt of an offer, the successful candidates will be asked to seek immediate confirmation from his/her employer (e.g. Chairperson of the Board of Management). This signed statement should indicate that the employer (e.g. Chairperson of the Board of Management) is in a position to release the successful applicant.