The Child and Family Agency was established on 1^st January 2014 and is responsible for a range of statutory functions including provision of child protection, alternative care, specified regulatory services and a range of family support services.  The Agency has commenced a major improvement programme with significant focus on Practice, Culture and Structure.

The Agency currently has responsibility for a budget of circa €1.2billion and delivers its 

services through over 5,500 people in 259 locations across the Country.

The Child and Family Agency has responsibility for the following range of services:

• Child Protection and Welfare
• Parenting, Family Support and Early Help Services
• Alternative Care
• Birth Information & Tracing and Adoption
• Tusla Education Support Services (TESS)
• Children’s Service Regulation
• Counselling and Therapeutic Supports

Further information is available on www.tusla.ie

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Operating Model Implementation

• Strategic lead for the implementation and rollout of the new Procurement Operating Model
• Develop and drive long-term procurement strategies i.e. three-year0020Corporate Procurement Plan and multi-annual plans to ensure all purchasing activities align with the new model’s objectives.

Governance, Compliance & Risk Management

• Enhance current systems to monitor adherence to national and EU public procurement law, focusing on a significant reduction in non-compliant expenditure.
• Oversee the enhancement of all standardised national procedures, business case templates, and evaluation protocols to ensure transparency and uniformity across the Agency
• Co-ordinate the implementation and continued oversight of standardised Procurement processes, internal controls and compliance checks.

• Operational Excellence & Digital Development

• Strategic lead for the oversight/maintenance of a live central digital repository for all competitively procured contracts.
• Provide oversight for complex, high-risk, or strategically important procurement projects that require specialised expertise.
• Identify and implement opportunities for procurement innovation, such as automated expenditure reporting and e-procurement solutions.

Stakeholder Relationship Management

• Represent, where requested, the Agency in high-level engagements with government procurement bodies and other large-scale public sector entities.
• Collaborate with Regional Chief Officers and other senior managers to ensure the new Operating Model supports local service delivery needs while maintaining strict national standards.
• Establish and maintain good working relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.

Leadership & People Management

• Manage the National Procurement Unit and administrative support, ensuring clear lines of accountability and high performance across the team.
• Design and oversee a national training roadmap to upskill staff and local budget holders in the requirements of the Agency’s Procurement Operating Model.
• Lead, manage and direct staff in the delivery of effective, efficient, and quality services.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and establish clear career pathways within the function to improve staff retention and expertise.

General Responsibilities

• Prepare procurement compliant/non-compliant reports as required e.g. the monthly vendor expenditure reports and annual 40/02 report, and where required, present reports to the senior finance team, Executive Management Team, Board and sub committees
• Lead on the management and oversight of the Agency's contracts register, monitoring the competitively procured contracts lifecycle, and working with contract owners/budget holders on performance monitoring and measurement.
• Provide support to budget holders to develop specifications for procurement campaigns.
• Actively promote green procurement practices and sustainable environmental initiatives in all sourcing activities.
• Maintain the highest standards of confidentiality regarding sensitive commercial data and tender information.
• Provide training and guidance to all staff as required.
• Support the directorate of National Finance and Corporate Services in the performance of the finance function.
• To keep updated with new developments in procurement.
• Respond to queries from Internal Audit and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) as required
• Lead on the implementation of relevant Internal Audit and C&AG recommendations
• Respond on FOI and Parliamentary Queries
• To undertake any other duties as may be assigned by the Head of Financial Excellence and Governance, and/or the National Director of Finance and Corporate Services.

Health & Safety

• Comply with and contribute to the development of policies, procedures, guidelines and safe professional practice and adhere to relevant legislation, regulations and standards.
• Have a working knowledge of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the service for example National Standards for Child Protection and Care and comply with associated Tusla – Child and Family Agency protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.
• To support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office

Applicants must by the closing date of application have the following:

• A relevant third-level qualification (minimum Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications)
• Have a minimum of 5 years’ senior management experience in a Procurement function setting within a large-scale Public or Private entity as relevant to the role.
• Significant management experience in managing a large diverse team.
• Have excellent IT skills including advanced Excel skills.
• The ability to work independently as well as work with a wider multidisciplinary team in a complex and changing environment.
• Experience in leadership and oversight of the management of complex, high-risk procurement projects.
• Have the requisite knowledge and ability (including a high standard of suitability and 
• Have the requisite knowledge and ability (including a high standard of suitability and management ability) for the proper discharge of the duties of the office.

Health

A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

Character

Each candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character.