Early Resolution Officer (ERO) in the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO ERO)

Full-Time

Hybrid

Dublin City, County Dublin, Ireland

Job Details

Our Complaints and Investigations team is the largest team in the OCO and deals with over 2000 complaints every year. We offer a service that is impartial, free and independent to children and families across Ireland. This role involves receiving complaints directly from children, families and engaging directly with public bodies on the issue. All matters are dealt with in an empathetic, efficient and child centred manner.  

We uphold all of our statutory obligations under Children’s First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017. It is a regular occurrence that EROs would have to deal with matters of a child protection nature, with support and guidance from our Designated Liaison Person (DLP). Such occurrences, involve reporting and liaison with Tusla, the Child and Family Agency and or An Gardaí Síochana.


The ERO may support outreach visits to Oberstown Detention Campus, special care units run by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, direct provision centres and centres accommodating Ukrainian children and families. When we receive a complaint we oftentimes engage with a wide variety of services such as the HSE, Tusla, schools, local authorities and hospitals to try and resolve it in the best interest of children.

We are seeking dynamic, motivated persons with a strong belief in children’s rights to work with us in dealing with complaints made from or on behalf of children about public bodies, schools, voluntary hospitals and a number of other bodies in receipt of public funding. A video explaining the work of the team is available here https://www.oco.ie/complaints/

From this recruitment campaign we intend to create a panel of Early Resolution Officers (ERO) at Executive Officer level. This panel will be in place for two years and we will offer these posts as they arise to successful candidates in order of merit.

There are two functions of the Early Resolution Offices in the team. One role administers our admissibility process which includes dealing with initial queries to the office, make initial assessments, provides advice and will have a small number of cases. The second role carries a large number of cases and will occasionally administer the admissibility process as needed. Both are executive officer roles.

Key Responsibilities in the ERO role:
  • Receive complaints and enquiries by mail, email, telephone or in person and obtaining all relevant information by asking clarifying questions, requesting documentation where appropriate and conducting appropriate follow-up where necessary.
  • To effectively manage a caseload of complaints, using a variety of strategies and ensuring a timely and relevant response to all complaints assigned.
  • To regularly ensure that timelines and deadlines are met in keeping with our key performance indicators and that all complaints are dealt with in a timely fashion without undue delay and are appropriately recorded and managed.
  • Engage effectively with all bodies within our remit to ensure they fully understand our process and in accordance with OCO policies, procedures and legislation.
  • To undertake preliminary examinations as required.
  • In relation to any cases assigned, conduct and make appropriate research and make focused inquiries in order to identify opportunities for potential resolution or to promote good administration.  This includes researching applicable legislation, regulations, policies or procedures.
  • To support the work of investigators and senior management as appropriate.
  • To ensure accurate data entry on all contacts/complaints to the Office on our electronic workflow system tools.
  • To assess complaints to determine next steps with due regard our statutory remit and Ombudsman principles and child centred ethos.
  • Collaborate with the wider team to ensure consistent quality of messaging and engagement with public bodies.










Candidates must, on the closing date for this competition, satisfy the following requirements:

 
  • A qualification of at least level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications from a recognised university or other third level institution in a relevant discipline

OR

A qualification of at least level 7 on the National Framework of Qualifications from a recognised university or other third level institution in a relevant discipline along with a minimum of two years’ experience in providing intake, complaint handling and resolution services along with referral information in an Ombudsman or similar type organisation.

Essential:
 
  • Experience of direct work with children and families and or vulnerable groups.
  • Experience and knowledge of child protection policies and procedures.
  • Strong administrative skills with advanced skills in Word, Excel, Outlook, and a working knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite
  • Possess the core competencies described below.


Desirable:
 
  • At least two years’ relevant experience in the field of complaints and/or conflict resolution.
  • Understanding of the landscape of children’s services in Ireland including policy and legislation pertaining to children in Ireland.