The Wheel

European Programmes Officer

OVERVIEW

The Wheel is Ireland’s national association of community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises. We are a representative voice and a supportive resource that offers advice, training, influence and advocacy for the sector. Visit www.wheel.ie for more information.

With over 2400 members, we are the largest representative body for the sector.

Our focus is to help make Ireland a more fair and just place for all by strengthening the capacity and capability of community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises.

We are driven by our vision of a thriving community and voluntary sector at the heart of a fair, just and inclusive Ireland.

The breadth of our training offering, and the scale of our support services makes us a valuable and value-driven resource for small and large organisations operating as social enterprise, charities, community organisations or any combination of those three.

JOB DESCRIPTION 

Position: European Programmes Officer  

Based: The Wheel office is based in Dublin 2. The Wheel is a hybrid, remote first, work environment, with a blend of remote and in-person work

Reporting to: European Programmes Manager 

Overall Purpose: 

The Wheel’s European Programme aims to increase’ civil society’s (defined as including NGOs, community-based organisations, trade unions, professional associations, social movements and networks, media, academia as well as city and county councils and regional assemblies.) engagement with, and access to, European funding and promote active European citizenship in Irish communities. We are recruiting a full-time European Programme Officer to support programme delivery. These new roles will require a high level of self-motivation, an ability to build relationships and an enthusiasm to meet targets. 

Main responsibilities and duties: 

• Support the delivery of European Programme activities within The Wheel, aiming to increase sector organisations’ understanding of opportunities available and specifically support building their capacity to secure EU funding.   
• Research and identify EU programmes suited to Irish voluntary and charitable organisations 
• Support organisations to identify EU project partners for national and transnational project rollout
• Contribute to the coordination of a programme of training and events that will inform and support organisations on EU funding
• Create and disseminate effective online resources that support the work/programme engagement
• Track and measure progress against targets and report on this for sponsors and management as required
• Provide support to our European Ambassador Schools Programme by assisting the project lead with events, communications and evaluations.
• A key focus of this role will be maintaining our EU communication channel. This includes maintaining social media accounts with quality and engaging content, developing newsletters, and coordinating outreach campaigns in collaboration with the European Programmes Manager.

Other 

• Actively protect The Wheel’s integrity through honesty, sincerity and service to its members whilst promoting nationally the benefits of association with The Wheel. 
• Participate in relevant cross-organisation teams Undertake any other duties as may reasonably be assigned by the European Programmes Manager

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

Essential criteria 

• At least three years’ experience in managing largescale projects and specifically experience with EU funding
• Excellent research skills and attention to detail.  
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and confidence to address a group. 
• Ability to build sustainable relationships with key individuals inside and outside of the organisation.  
• Highly motivated and enthusiastic team player, happy to share learning and collaborate while also able to work on own initiative.   

Desirable criteria 

• Experience of running social media accounts and creating successfully engaging content.
• Experience of facilitation, training or event management
• Knowledge of the non-profit sector in Ireland
• Previous experience supporting organisation(s) access EU funding
• Previous experience of liaising with national contact points, technical assistance leads, programme managers and project officers at national and EU level in order to gain programme insights. 
• Experience of using website updating software, bulk email, CRM (Salesforce) and social media platforms

Behavioural Competency Framework:

The Wheel uses a Behavioural Competency Framework as a key cornerstone of its performance management processes. The priority behavioural competences identified for this role are: 

Collaborative Working:

Co-operates with others and participates outside of own work area, seeks to understand fully the work of the organisation, willingly offers support where needed. Creates a friendly work environment where any conflicts can be resolved amicably.

Open Communications:

Listens attentively, speaks clearly and to the point, and responds positively to questions. Uses relevant building/linking to improve on what has been said.

Quality:

Pays attention to detail to produce high quality work; Is concerned with good outputs and thinks ahead to consider what is needed. Sets quality targets and aims to reach them; drives commitment to high quality work and ensures this through quality review processes.

Adaptability:

Understands, accepts and adapts to change quickly, finding new ways of working while continuing to be productive and effective; Responds with enthusiasm & communicates clearly. 

Successfully shortlisted applicants will be provided with the Behavioural Competency Framework prior to interview.  This will form the basis of the interview.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

In accordance with the terms of the funding for these roles from the contracting authority this contract will be offered for one year with the option to extend for a further two years

The annual gross salary for this role is between €33,880 and €39,500, depending on the knowledge and experience of the person who occupies it, and will be decided accordingly. This contract is for a 36-hour week and salary is payable monthly in arrears. 

Room to grow within the role: while The Wheel does not operate salary scales, the salary band for Officer level within The Wheel reaches a maximum of €45,837, subject to service

The Wheel has a salary-band framework and a detailed Remuneration Policy and every employee will be provided with a ‘Total Rewards Statement’ that outlines all of their benefits. 

Other benefits include:

• A 6% employers contribution to a company contributory pension scheme (subject to a 4% employee contribution)
• Annual Leave of 21 days
• Closure of the office on Good Friday, Christmas Eve and the entire Christmas / New Year period which comes additional to annual leave entitlement
• Death in Service benefit of four times salary
• The Wheel’s Time Off in Lieu (TOIL) policy applies to this position. 
• Further Education / Training investment programme
• Travel (bike-to-work schemes/tax saver commuter tickets)

A complete list of all the terms and conditions will be made available to the candidate offered the role through The Wheel’s Staff Handbook. The Wheel is an equal opportunities employer.