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Farm Operative

Location: Teagasc, Clonakilty Agricultural College, Clonakilty, Co. Cork. P85AX52
General - Domestic
Salary: Farm Worker / General Operative / Canteen Assistant with a Salary Scale of €35,428 to €39,619
Closing Date: 18/08/2025 12:00 PM
Permanent Full Time

Job Description

Duration:

Permanent . A panel may be formed from which future similar vacancies may be filled; such a panel will remain active for a maximum period of 12 months.

Basic Function:

To operate as part of a team in carrying out general farm operations within Clonakilty Agricultural College and to support the college in carrying out the full range of farm enterprises including educational activities and on-farm research projects.

Background:

Clonakilty Agricultural College is an education and training college and research centre in West Cork. The college offers QQI accredited Level 5 and 6 courses in Agriculture at full time, part time and through distance education. The college has developed close links with the Munster Technological University. The college is also offers training for Level 6 Farm Technician Apprentices. All courses require extensive technical and practical training to be provided for students.

In order to support the education delivery and skills training the college runs a mixed farm of 118 hectares with 190 dairy cows, 100 beef cattle and 70 ewes. The farm plays a key part in student training and skills development.

Job Objectives

Carry out day to day operations on the college farm.
Tractor driving operations with large scale machinery.
Sprayer, fertilizer spreader and slurry operations.
General animal husbandry and monitoring of animal health and welfare.
Milking the dairy herd.
Setting up of temporary fences to implement the grazing plan.
Calving and lambing supervision.
Calf rearing.
Maintaining Biosecurity and Biodiversity around the college farm.
General farm maintenance and fencing and plumbing.
Assisting with college events and open days.
Supervise placement students and external contract/agency farm staff as required.
Assisting with research measurements as part of on-farm research projects.
To fully co-operate with the provisions made for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of oneself, fellow staff and non-Teagasc staff and co-operate with management in enabling Teagasc to comply with legal obligations, including full compliance with the responsibilities outlined in the Safety Statement.
To assist management and administrative staff in achieving good governance and risk management through co-operation and adherence to administrative procedures and practices.
To assist Teagasc in meeting the commitments of the Quality Customer Service Charter and Action Plan.
To actively participate in the annual business planning and Performance Management Development System (PMDS) processes.
Such other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

* This job specification is intended as a guide to the general range of duties and is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive. It will be reviewed with the post-holder from time to time.

Skills Requirement

	Essential	Desirable
Qualifications	A Level 5 qualification, (as recognised on the National Framework of Qualifications or equivalent), in Agriculture, or passed an examination at the appropriate level within the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) which can be assessed as being comparable to Leaving Certificate standard or equivalent.	Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture or higher would be a distinct advantage. Sprayer Course. Trailer Licence.
Skills/Knowledge	Machinery operation. Dairy Husbandry. Stock handling skills. Animal health and welfare. Time management. Ability to receive and comprehend direction clearly and seek clarification as required. Strong planning and organising skills and an ability to schedule and prioritise workloads.	Chemical fertiliser application. Pesticide Application. GPS use. Experience and familiarity with the use of IT and data management tools. Computerised feed systems and associated technology. Fencing experience.
Behavioural Competencies	Ability to work positively as part of a team and to engage with all personnel in the workplace. Excellent communicator, facilitates a two way flow of information. Strives for high quality of work and demonstrates commitment to the programme. Ability to communicate effectively. Demonstrates a strong attention to detail and takes personal pride in their work. Demonstrates a positive approach to new challenges. Demonstrates a high level of ownership and commitment to the job. Flexible with an ability to adapt to changing requirements/priorities. Have strong self-motivation and an ability to work unsupervised.
Other	As this role will involve driving vehicles, candidates must satisfy and continue to satisfy during employment with Teagasc, legal requirements to drive a car unaccompanied on Irish public roads.
Eligibility	This is an open public competition. Should a current serving Teagasc staff member be successful in their application through open public competition for this post, their current contract of employment with Teagasc will come to an end on taking up this post.

Note: The ‘essential’ qualifications, knowledge, skills and behavioural competencies outlined above are ‘must-have’ which will be used in the selection process.

Attachment(s):

FarmOperative_InformationBooklet.pdf

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