Civil Service

The aim of the Assistant Principal Programme is to support individual and collective leadership capacity in public sector organisations and to support Assistant Principals (APs) in meeting the challenges of delivering and adapting to change, while maintaining performance and service quality standards.

The aim of the Higher Executive Officer (HEO) programme is to further participants’ development as middle managers to enable them to manage their own and others’ work to a high standard and thus contribute to the achievement of their organisation’s priorities. This Specialist-Led online course will cover the key competency areas of managing change, influencing and persuading, staff management, work organisation and performance management. This programme is designed for staff at Higher Executive Officer level in Government Departments, Offices and State Agencies.

The aim of this Executive Officer programme is to provide an opportunity for staff at Executive Officer level, whose role is part operational and part management, to further develop the competencies required to enable them to successfully undertake their functions at junior management level.  

The aim of this programme is to provide Clerical Officers with an opportunity to further develop the core competencies required so that they can contribute effectively in their role and support senior staff in achieving organisational goals. Participants will acquire insights, techniques, and tools to strengthen their confidence in dealing with a variety of situations. They will learn about their personal working and communication style and its impact on others and get practical tips on planning and organising work,  including working remotely.

The Emerging Leaders Graduate Programme (ELGP) aims to cultivate the individual and collective capabilities of Administrative Officers and Third Secretaries to meet the challenges of their role, be future focused and chart a path to future public sector leadership. It will support them to deliver strategic objectives, contribute to the overall success of the civil service, and foster network building among participants.

Over a series of one day modules, delivered mainly in person, the programme will provide participants with an overview of the institutional context within which they operate, a practical understanding of the workings of government departments, including the principles and institutional structures of the Irish system of democracy; a deeper understanding of the roles of various actors in that system, with the focus on the role of the civil servant as the agent of the Minister and the rules and procedures that determine the civil servant’s role in the process.

For further information, please download the ELGP Programme Brochure here. (pdf)

The Civil Servant in the Democratic Process programme aims to equip staff who are new to the civil service, with information, knowledge and understanding of the principles and institutional structures of the Irish system of democracy and roles of various actors in that system, with specific focus on the role of the civil servant as the agent of the Minister.

The course will look at the rules and procedures that determine the civil servant’s role in the process and the systems and processes most commonly used by the civil servant in a Government Department.