The Ideal Candidate:
The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated person, with drive and commitment to
delivering quality public services and continual professional development who can
demonstrate clear knowledge and understanding of:
1. Local authority services, its key stakeholders and relationships
2. Local government structures and its democratic role and mandate
3. National and international public library policy and strategy
5. Have an excellent knowledge of the structure and functions of the local government
library service, of current issues, future trends and strategic direction of library services
in the 21st century and an understanding of the role of the Senior Executive Librarian in
this context.
6. Have the ability to plan strategically for the future development of the library service.
7. Demonstrate a strong sense of commitment to modern and innovative service delivery
and be willing to take on a challenge.
8. Have excellent IT skills including knowledge and understanding of relevant technical ICT
packages, Library Management System (LMS) and an awareness of AI and other
emerging technologies.
9. Have good understanding of the role of digital technologies in the delivery of public
library services.
10. Be self-motivated with the ability to work on their own initiative and work within and
lead multi-disciplined teams and have the ability to motivate, empower and encourage
staff under his/her control to achieve maximum performance.
11. Excellent interpersonal, communication, networking and advocacy skills.
12. Relevant management and administrative experience at a sufficiently high level.
13. A career record that demonstrates a high level of competence in the management of
staff.
14. The ability to develop and deliver programmes and projects and experience of
planning/prioritising to meet targets/deadlines for multiple tasks and delegating work
appropriately.
15. Have excellent experience of creative cultural and community programming, literacy
development, collections development, and innovative services for all age groups
16. The ability to ensure policies, procedures and quality standards are adhered to and
maintained, in particular those that support safe services.
17. The ability to develop and maintain strong and productive working relationships both
within the organisation and with service users and outside agencies.
18. Have excellent experience in community and stakeholder engagement and demonstrate
the skills to work collaboratively with other departments within Westmeath County
Council, with other library authorities and with relevant stakeholders to accomplish
common goals and achieve desired outcomes.
19. The ability to effectively manage financial resources within a budgetary control
framework.
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