About The Wheel

The Wheel is Ireland’s national association of community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises. As a representative voice, we provide leadership to the charity and community sector and we advocate on behalf of our growing community of members. As a supportive resource, we offer advice, training and other opportunities to people working or volunteering in the charity and community sector. Learn more about who we are and what we do https://www.wheel.ie/about-us 

About the Role

An opportunity has arisen for a skilled and enthusiastic professional to join The Wheel’s Sector Skills team on a one-year fixed-term contract. This role will work directly with the new Director of Sector Skills once they are in post and will manage the delivery of the Sector Skills development programme, in service of the Community and Voluntary sector workforce.   

The Purpose of the Role 

This important leadership role will support the Director of Sector Skills in taking responsibility for managing the implementation of the NTF-funded Sector Skills programme.  It will also oversee the expansion and development of the Training Links Fund, the primary training funding scheme in the Community and Voluntary Sector.

Working Relationships  

The Senior Sector Skills Manager will be line managed by the Director of Sector Skills and will work alongside other Directors and managers contributing to the general management of the work of The Wheel.   

The post holder will be expected to develop and maintain positive professional relationships with colleagues, board and subgroup members and a range of external stakeholders, commercial and other organisations including community and voluntary organisations in pursuit of the interests of The Wheel.    

As The Wheel is a membership organisation, all post-holders are expected to provide leadership and support to members.   

Duties and Responsibilities

Main responsibilities and duties:

Leadership of Training Links funding programme

• Oversight and responsibility for the Training Links Fund and its development and expansion.
• Manage the current and future Training Links rounds so that they meet the evolving skills needs of the nonprofit sector in Ireland, taking into account the national skills agenda and other priorities.
• Identify opportunities and risks for further development of the Training Links funding programme.

Leadership of Team

• Working closely with the Director of Sector Skills, to coordinate the day-to-day operation of the Sector Skills Team.
• Line Management of team members as assigned.
• Overall coordination of monitoring and evaluation of The Wheel’s NTF programme, including delivery of key targets.
• Advise Director on strategic opportunities, risks and challenges within the NTF funded programme implementation.

Other

• Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with all colleagues in The Wheel.   
• Write and produce relevant and compelling: promotional materials; reports to members; and reports to donors.   
• Contribute towards the meeting of income targets, including development of new offerings
• Consider the costs of planned programmes and keep within budgets; assess the return on investment of any programme.   
• 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 Director of Sector Skills from time to time.   

Note: This job description is not a definitive list of tasks; rather it is designed to give an overview of the job. It is envisaged that the post-holder will use their own initiative and develop the job under guidance so that the goals of the organisation are achieved. It should be noted that it may be necessary to step beyond the areas outlined above to support its development from time to time.

Person Specification 

• At least 5 years’ experience in a role of similar complexity.
• Experience of leading complex projects and managing multiple streams of work, while managing their time, quality and budgets over a multi-year time-frame.
• Experienced people manager.
• A strong understanding of the importance of The Wheel’s role in workforce development in the community and voluntary sector in Ireland.  
• High motivation, positive disposition and flexible attitude in response to organisational change and development. 
• Excellent ability to use all standard computer software.

Terms and Conditions 

This is a one-year fixed-term contract to cover maternity leave, running for a duration of 12 months.

The annual gross salary for this role is between €53,000 - €57,000, 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.  

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 25 days on a pro-rata basis
• Closure of the office on Good Friday, Christmas Eve and the Christmas / New Year period which comes additional to annual leave entitlement 
• Death in Service benefit of four times salary 
• 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. 

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.  

The benefits include: 

• A 6% employers contribution to a company contributory pension scheme (subject to a 4% employee contribution) 
• Annual Leave of 25 days on a pro-rata basis
• Closure of the office on Good Friday, Christmas Eve and the Christmas / New Year period which comes addition to annual leave entitlement 
• Death in Service benefit of four times salary 
• 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-opportunity employer.