My suggested edits to the job specification of Department of Education Assistant Secretary Generals

I see that the Department of Education and Science is recruiting two additional Assistant Secretary Generals, one to be based in Athlone and the other in Mullingar. Let’s face it, running this huge part of the apparatus of the state on a perpetual ‘go-slow’ basis takes up a lot of senior management time. I’ve taken the liberty of downloading the job spec from www.publicjobs.ie and doing my own edits on the Mullingar-based position to make it more accurate. My suggested edits are in red. See below!

The Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) intends to hold a competition for the purpose of recommending a person for appointment to the positions of Assistant Secretary In the Department of Education and Science Athlone and Mullingar TLAC/388 & TLAC/389

TITLE OF POSITION: Assistant Secretary

OFFICE Department of Education and Science

LOCATION Athlone and Mullingar

Overview of the Role – Mullingar

The post-holder will be responsible for

The Department’s budgetary and finance function

· The post-holder will be responsible at Assistant Secretary level for overall co-ordination of the Department’s budget which in the current year amounts to some €9.3 bn. In discharging this role he/she will be required to have or to be capable of quickly acquiring a strong appreciation of the wider economic and social context within which education policy is framed and a clear understanding of the wide range of demands and priorities across the education sector that compete for resources .

· He/she will manage the Department’s input to the annual estimates and budget cycle. [He/she will take a lead role in mediating competing demands he/she will be required to sit on the fence in dealings with stakeholders and know when to string processes out for years in order to ensure the perpetual continuation of the status quo] and [in advancing a cohesive departmental position for discussion with the Minister developing spin for the Minister to use to evade accountability for the Ministers actions or more likely, the lack of them] and subsequently for negotiation through the estimates cycle.

· Throughout the year he/she will also be responsible for appropriate overall expenditure management across the Education Vote and in meeting the associated reporting requirements at a corporate level within the Department to the Department of Finance and to the Government.

· The post holder will also have responsibility for the operation of the Department’s finance unit, including the operation of the financial management system (FMS) and meeting government accounting and financial reporting requirements.

Curriculum, Assessment and Qualifications Policy

· [The post-holder will have responsibility for advising on policy in relation to curricular and assessment matters at primary and second level. In this context he/she will liaise closely with and provide the policy context for the work of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the State Examinations Commission. He/she will also have overall responsibility for the funding and oversight of these agencies and for driving policy changes in this complex operating environment. The post-holder will also have oversight responsibility for An Choiste Um Gaelscoileanna agus Gaelscolaiochta.The post-holder will ensure that the NCCA does not ‘get ahead of itself’ and propose anything too radical or innovative. The post-holder will ensure that the NCCA does not put the Department in an awkward position where it cannot justify doing nothing.]

· [The post-holder will have responsibility for advising on policy in relation to the further development of the national qualifications framework, including issues relating to the recognition of foreign qualifications and the regulation of private providers of education services. He/she will have oversight of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council and the Further Education and Training Awards Council. Ditto above ]

Policy on ICT in Schools

· [The post-holder will take the lead role in advising on and in the implementation of the Department’s ICT in schools strategy. The NDP provides multi annual funding in excess of €250m. for this purpose and the post-holder will have responsibility for advancing a comprehensive strategy and implementation plan to secure a genuine embedding of ICT in teaching and learning. None of the current Assistant Secretaries want this one on their desks (it was pointed out recently that the funding set aside is nowhere near what is required), so the new boy or girl should get it.]

· [He/she will oversee the operation of the National Centre for Technology in Education and collaborate with a wide range of interests in advancing this nationally important agenda. We don’t really understand the potential role of technology in education. We prefer the status quo. Keep this crowd happy and quiet.]

Department’s regional office network

· [The Department has 10 regional based offices reporting to a central co-ordinating unit. The post –holder will be charged with overseeing the diverse work programme of this networkThe post-holder will attempt to create, for the first time, the impression that the regional office structure has any value.] [This includes the provision of departmental input to a range of locally and regionally based fora, advisory and operational inputs on locally based issues and contributing to the delivery of departmental initiatives in areas such as enrolment, accommodation provision etc The post-holder should make sure that this extra layer of bureaucracy facilitates surveillance, and where necessary, interference, procrastination, and obstruction at regional level, all in the interests of control and maintaining the status quo.] The regional office service also oversees the work of the visiting teacher service for Travellers.

· [The regional office service is staffed by administrative and inspectorate staff and the post-holder will have to be capable of managing this resource to maximise coherence and delivery of results this meaning results from the Department’s perspective, not the taxpayer/citizens perspective (sure what do they know?).]

· He/she will have a strong planning and developmental capacity in advancing the role of the regional office structure within the Department.

Personal requirements

Candidates should have a record of achievement in their careers to date and have the ability and capacity to perform effectively as an Assistant Secretary in any area of the Department’s remit and as a member of the Department’s Management Advisory Committee. Many of the significant issues within the Department’s remit span individual MAC members areas of responsibility and in some instances also require collaboration across Departments. [The capacity to work within a strong team ethic at MAC level is an important element of any Assistant Secretary level job within the Department the ability of senior management to protect each other and collectively avoid accountability for anything is paramount.]

The appointee will:

· Demonstrate an understanding of or the ability to quickly acquire an understanding of the wide-ranging and multi-faceted issues in the education sector, from early childhood to adult education

· Be capable of operating effectively in a complex negotiating environment involving a wide range of interest groups

· Be able to analyse and evaluate financial matters within a wider education policy context

· Have a strong appreciation of the role of education as an agent of economic progress and social cohesion and a capacity to engage with curricular, education content and pedagogical issues as drivers of change and improvement in the education system.

· Have the capacity to deal with all aspects of the Department at Assistant Secretary level and to contribute actively to the overall leadership of the Department.

· Demonstrate a liking for works of literature such as George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four

The attention of candidates is drawn to the generic competencies that have been developed for use by TLAC for Assistant Secretary posts.

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Un-UN
• Let them dig for themselves
• Monday, 22.9.2008: There Are 8 Deputy Prime Ministers, 146 Advisors, and 56…
• Trying to Fill Those Treasury Slots

Tags: Assistant Secretary Generals, George Orwell, Mullingar, Nineteen Eighty four, www.publicjobs.ie