IPPN

Published: 07 March 2019

On 4 March 2019, the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 was signed into law.

What does this mean for your school?
The Board of Management (BoM) following the recruitment and appointment process must provide new members of staff with the following information within five days of the commencement of employment (The Day 5 Statement):

• the full names of the employer and the employee
• the address of the employer
• the expected duration of the contract, in the case of a temporary contract, or the end date if the contract is a fixed-term contract
• the rate or method for calculation of the employee’s pay
• the number of hours the employer reasonably expects the employee to work per normal working day and per normal working week

The other terms of employment required to be given to the employee under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 will continue to be required within the existing two-month period.

Two new offences are being introduced as part of the legislation:

• An employer who, without reasonable cause, fails to provide an employee with the Day 5 statement within one month of commencement of employment, will be guilty of an offence.
• An employer who deliberately or recklessly provides false or misleading information as part of the Day 5 statement will be guilty of an offence.

Employees who do not receive statements of their core terms of employment within time, can bring a claim to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and be awarded up to four weeks’ remuneration. An employee must have one month of continuous service with that employer before they are entitled to bring the claim.

It is advisable that this information is brought to the attention of the Board of Management and clarification on its implementation in your school is sought by the Chairperson of the Board of Management by contacting the relevant management body.

Published: 07 March 2019

March – Payment of Ancillary Services Grant

4 March 2019 – Commencement of Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018

8 March 2019 - Deadline date for submission of applications to NCSE for access to SNA support

11 March 2019 – Submit expression of interest form, to be eligible to participate in the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme

21 March 2019 – Key Date for Schools to:

• Notify relevant Panel Operator of any permanent or fixed term vacancy
• Notify the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section of new Special Education Teacher cluster arrangements, using Form SET Cluster2019 (Appendix D
• Return Main Redeployment Panel Application Form (Appendix E) for surplus permanent/CID holding teachers to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section
• Return ‘CID Declaration Form 19’ (Appendix G) in respect of all teachers awarded a CID in or before the 2018/19 school year and a Main Panel Application Form, if applicable, to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section
• Submit completed Staffing Appeals Form (Appendix F) for the April meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section

22 March 2019 – Final Date for submission of applications for additional ICT funding by demonstrating evidence of effective embedding of digital technologies and Digital Learning Planning

28 March 2019 - Application deadline for submission of applications for FÉILTE showcases and workshops

29 March 2019 - Final Date for Submission of Teacher Refund Scheme Applications
1 April – SNAs to be notified of decision on their Job-share/Career Break Applications

Published: 06 March 2019

Published: 06 March 2019

IPPN is the officially-recognised professional body for the leaders of Irish primary schools. It is an independent, not-for-profit association with a local, regional and national presence. Recognised by the Minister for Education as an official Education Partner, IPPN works with the DES, management bodies, unions, education agencies, academic institutions and children’s charities towards the advancement of primary education. The Republic of Ireland has approximately 540,000 children attending 3,320 primary schools. IPPN articulates the collective knowledge and professional experience of over 6,600 Principals and Deputy Principals.

 VACANCY DESCRIPTION: 

PERSONAL ASSISTANT / ADMINISTRATOR

The closing date for applications is 12pm (noon) on Thursday 21st March 2019 to lyl.consultants@gmail.com

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview, which will take place the week beginning March 25th, 2019.

Part A – Duties and Responsibilities

Personal Assistant / Administrator

The Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) is the professional body for the leaders of Irish Primary Schools. To reflect the planned expansion of IPPN's support and services to our members, we are now extending our support team to include a Personal Assistant/Administrator.

Reporting to the CEO or another delegated staff member this person will work closely with the Support Office Team in the completion of the various projects and initiatives undertaken by the Team.

The post offers an excellent opportunity for an ambitious candidate to work in a dynamic and effective professional association.

This position is a full time, permanent role with a competitive salary.

Job Description
The Personal Assistant / Administrator core responsibilities for this position include, but are not limited to:

• Personal Assistant to the CEO and President
• Calendar and Diary Management for senior staff. Helping with schedule adherence, updating schedule and advising of other commitments
• Taking notes at meetings and helping management team to be prepared for meetings
• Schedule and communication of bi-monthly staff meeting
• Creating reports, schedules and presentations to key stakeholders i.e. Board of Directors, Council and Education Partners
• Maintaining plans – strategic and project-specific
• Managing task completion, including tracking and reporting progress of meeting actions
• Compiling the CEO Report – reminders, collation, review and upload of completed work
• Liaising with Events Manager on participant enrolment for online CPD
• Liaise with Events Manager in coordinating local, regional and national events
• General support for Support Office staff at events (includes some travel)
• Ad hoc support to team to ensure project follow-through and continuity while staff are on leave

Person Specification

Essential Skills and Experience

The successful candidate will be or have:

• A third-level degree and/or three years’ minimum experience in a similar role with an appetite to improve and develop in this role. Outstanding organisational skills
• Exceptional attention to detail with excellent verbal and written communication skills
  
• Excellent report-writing with the ability to write synopses/summaries and reports at varying levels of detail
  
• The ability to research, analyse and present complex information in an easy to understand manner
  
• Strong PC skills and familiarity with the MS Office application suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
  
• Excellent interpersonal skills with a proactive and positive attitude
  
• Capacity to work under pressure, work to tight deadlines, prioritise and revise plans as needed
  
• An understanding of confidentiality issues within the role
  
• Adaptability and flexibility will be required in order to complete a wide array of tasks
  
• Continuously strive for quality to ensure high standards of work
  
• Strong customer service ethic.

Desirable Skills and Experience

The successful candidate may also have:

• Knowledge of Salesforce (CRM)
  
• Website content management skills
  
• Call handling skills
  
• Marketing and sales experience
  
• Respect for the values and mission of IPPN
  
• Commitment to ongoing professional development and a team approach
  
• Commitment to and understanding of a working environment which promotes trust, respect and professionalism.

Please complete the linked Application Form and submit to lyl.consultants@gmail.com by 12.00pm (noon) on Thursday 21st March, 2019. Please write PERSONAL ASSISTANT in the subject line of the email.

The required Personal Statement (Section 8 of the Application Form) should give details and examples of your skills, abilities, achievements and experience (including outside interests) to demonstrate how you meet each of the Essential Skills & Experience criteria listed in the job description above.

Shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an assessment shortly after the closing date, which will take place at IPPN’s Support Office, Glounthuane, Cork, the week beginning 25th March 2019. Successful applicants will be contacted for interview later the same week.

Part B – Particulars of Office

1. The Personal Assistant / Administrator is accountable to the CEO or delegated officer on a day-to-day basis and ultimately to the Board

2. All personnel employed in IPPN are required to respect and uphold the principles detailed in their contracts and the Employee Handbook as they carry out their duties and responsibilities. In executing these duties, the Personal Assistant / Administrator is required to act in accordance with current legislation and all IPPN policies

3. It is expected that all IPPN employees would maintain an attitude of:

• Respect for the values and mission of IPPN
  
• Commitment to ongoing professional development and a team approach
  
• Commitment to and promoting of a working culture of Trust, Respect and Professionalism.

4. This is a full-time permanent position which is reviewable annually. The successful applicant will be given appropriate mentoring and training.

5. The successful candidate will be appointed subject to medical and reference checks. A six-month probationary period will then apply.

6. The successful candidate will not have succession rights to any roles that may come up in this area but may apply for any vacancy that arises in accordance with IPPN recruitment and selection policies.

7. Annual leave and public holidays are granted in accordance with the provision of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 and in conjunction with IPPN policy. The annual leave entitlement is 25 days per annum.

8. The successful candidate will work 37.5 hours per week (exclusive of breaks). The location of this work will be at the IPPN Support Office, Glounthaune, Cork. Periodically, the employee will be required to attend meetings and events outside of the office. Such instances will be infrequent, having been adequately notified and in consultation with the employee.

9. The office hours are 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. The responsibilities and nature of this role will occasionally require flexibility outside of the normal office hours.

10. In the course of his/her employment, the employee may have access to or hear information concerning the affairs of membership, staff or other related organisations. Such information and/or records are strictly confidential. Unless acting on the instructions of an authorised officer, this information must not be divulged or discussed except in the performance of normal duties. In addition, records must never be left in such a manner that unauthorised persons can obtain access to them and must be kept in safe custody at all times. These records must be returned to IPPN upon retirement, resignation or when no longer required.

11. The employee is required to give 2 months’ notice in writing prior to resigning the post.