Background:

Teagasc, established by the Teagasc Act 1988, is a public funded organisation that also receives funds from industry, clients, students, research funding organisations and the EU. The annual Teagasc budget is over €200m excluding pensions with pay expenditure of €116m, non-pay expenditure of €72m. It is critical that Teagasc is compliant with all internal policies, as well as external codes, legislation, circulars and research standards.

Teagasc now has more policies than ever before, governance standards and expectations have heighted over recent years, and the Teagasc Authority, associated committees and senior leadership team must be satisfied that Teagasc is being run to the very highest standards. It is recognised that this requirement places a significant burden on managers and their teams who are responsible for good governance on a daily basis as they deliver their work programmes.

One of the major objectives of the Business Delivery Unit is to deliver a project management approach through a specialised Project Management Office (PMO). The PMO is designed to support the organisation to efficiently and successfully deliver new strategies and important initiatives. In tandem with the more centralised functions of the PMO we are now appointing an Operational Excellence Specialist, focused on supporting teams and their managers who are under increasing pressures due to workload demands and increasing governance requirements.

This individual, based in the Business Delivery Unit, will assist the Operations Directorate to provide assistance to teams in Teagasc, so they become operationally excellent through a focus on continuous improvement while being fully compliant with governance requirements.

Basic Function:

The Operational Excellence Specialist will pay a key role in supporting teams across Teagasc to improve how they work and ensure strong governance. They will help business units identify smarter, more efficient ways of operating by promoting continuous improvement, embracing technology and strengthening compliance.

The role will focus on two main areas:

1. Driving Operational Efficiency and Leveraging Technology
The appointee will collaborate with teams to streamline processes, reduce administration burdens and implement tech-driven solutions, to include optimisation of M365 and AI technologies. They will empower teams to share learnings across the organisation helping to embed a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.

2. Supporting Governance and Compliance
This role supports teams across Teagasc in maintaining high standards of governance and compliance by helping them streamline systems and adopt more efficient work practices. Acting as a knowledgeable compliance partner, the post holder will provide guidance, conduct risk assessments, and promote a culture of integrity and accountability. The ideal candidate will bring strong interpersonal and analytical skills, and either hold or be willing to train in Lean, Six Sigma  or equivilant methodologies. Full support will be provided for relevant training.

Operational Excellence:

• Help to design plans and initiatives to foster a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement across the organisation.
• Collaborate with managers and their teams to help them focus on operational excellence and to continually identify process improvement opportunities within their teams.
• To analyse operational processes end-to-end and to identify improvements potentially using Six Sigma and Lean methodologies.
• Deliver organisational excellence projects that drive continuous improvement while empowering teams and their leaders to provide the highest level of quality programme and services with the minimal use of valuable organisational resources.
• Ensure operational excellence learnings are shared across the organisation and implemented to improve overall organisational efficiency.

Supporting Governance and Compliance:

• Promote a culture of good corporate governance and compliance across all levels of the organisation.
• Assist teams to continue to ensure good corporate governance within their area of responsibility in a streamlined and efficient manner.
• Act as a compliance partner by providing supports, sharing knowledge and delivering training to teams to assist them adhere to all relevant compliance, legal, regulatory, and governance standards.
• Monitor compliance issues, conduct risk assessments to identify potential vulnerabilities, and provide guidance to internal teams to foster a culture of integrity and accountability.
• Collaborate with managers and their teams to develop strategies to mitigate identified risks.
• Monitor governance and regulatory changes and liaise with policy owners to update Teagasc policies accordingly.

Other duties:

• Develop operational excellence and compliance review plans and reports for Senior Leadership Team.
• Use Teagasc project management tools to monitor progress, track milestones, and adjust plans as needed.
• Help to design and deliver training programs to educate managers and staff on compliance standards and expectations, focused on identified knowledge gaps.
• Serve as a resource for staff to address compliance-related questions or concerns.
• To assist Teagasc in meeting the commitments of its Quality Customer Service Charter and Action Plan.
• To actively participate in the annual business planning and Performance Management Development System (PMDS) processes.
• Fully co-operate with the provisions made for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of themselves, fellow staff and non-Teagasc staff and co-operate with management in enabling Teagasc to comply with legal obligations. This includes full compliance with the responsibilities outlined in the Safety Statement.
• Any 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 from time to time with the post holder.

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