James Connington

Position: Lecturer
Email: jconnington@ipa.ie
Telephone: 00 353 1 240 3679

James is a Lecturer in the Whitaker School of Government & Management at the IPA. His background is in the field ofOccupational Psychology and HRM/Organisational Behaviour.  James has been with IPA since 1997 and for a significant period of his time at IPA, he has played a key role as part of the HR Training and Consultancy team, involved in the design and delivery of training, learning and development programmes for the public sector, private sector and major voluntary bodies.

James has a particular focus on the areas of Equality & Diversity, Intercultural Communication, Human Rights, Dignity at Work-Workplace Bullying & Harassment and Recruitment & Selection. His current work involves the design and delivery of lectures and tutorials to certificate, diploma, degree and postgraduate students both at IPA in Dublin and internationally.

Before joining the IPA, he worked for a number of years as a University and College Lecturer and Tutor in Organisational Behaviour & Human Resource Management in both Ireland and the United Kingdom where he was involved in research into occupational stress along with lecturing in HRM and Organisational Behaviour at undergraduate and postgraduate level. 

In addition, James is a trained Adult Literacy (NALA) teacher and has a Diploma in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).  He is a fluent Spanish speaker (Avanzado 2 Advanced Level 2) Spanish National Language Certificate, Instituto Cervantes, Dublin 2004).  He is a member of the Irish Refugee Council and experienced in running language and resettlement programs for refugees from Bosnia & Herzegovina (1995 to 1996).  James is the IPA representative to SIETAR (Europa) (The Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research and attended the Institute for Intercultural Communication (ICI) in Portland, Oregon, USA (2008).

James directed, coordinated and delivered an EU Peace III Program ‘Cultural Awareness & Anti Bias Training’ in County Leitrim for employers and community groups. Participating bodies included: The Orange Order of North Leitrim, Bank of America HQ in Carrick on Shannon, Masonite Plc, HSE Sligo/Leitrim, The North Leitrim Men’s & Women’s Groups and Leitrim Association for People with Disabilities.  Input focussed on awareness of equality legislation, stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination together with factors of intercultural communication and how they impact on service provision and community well-being.

Since 1997 he has been a key contributor to the CIPD/IPA Certificate in Public Sector Human Resource Management Practice. This program is currently being delivered in a newly developed blended learning format.  James contributes as Tutor on the Diploma in Healthcare Management (HRM modules) and has acted as Programme Director of the Certificate in HRM for Line Managers (accredited by UCD).

He has supervised undergraduate dissertations (BA in Public Management & BA in Business Studies - HRM stream) and postgraduate (MA) theses on specific subject areas.

Sample inputs have included:

  • Training of interview panels for the Courts Service including The Courts Transitional Service Board Chief Executive Selection Campaign. Participants included members of the Judiciary (Judges of the Supreme & High Court)
  • Co-ordinator for the training of Interview panels and also provided briefing sessions for candidates on competency identification as part of the Department of Foreign Affairs 3rd Secretary to 1st Secretary promotion competitions.
  • Training of Interview Panels at Secretary General, Assistant Secretary and Principal Officer Levels for senior promotion competitions within the Department of Defence.
  • Intercultural Communication and Diversity and Equality Training delivered to a wide range to state agencies and local authorities.
  • Specific Social Inclusion Training delivered to Senior Managers and Social Inclusion Committees of local authorities.
  • Cultural Diversity Training delivered to staff representing Ireland in the attraction of direct foreign investment.
  • Dignity at Work (Work Place Bullying and Harassment) Awareness seminars and Designated Contact Persons training delivered across the public service.
  • Other key projects have included liaison with organisations on the launch or review of dignity at work policies and procedures including training on workplace bullying and harassment, recruitment & selection and the identification and reform of personnel/HR management practices.  The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living & Working Conditions (Eurofound) have employed him as an Advisor/Consultant on a number of senior management level selection campaigns in addition to a consultancy project on assessment of Eurofound's recruitment practices.

International assignments have included:

  • June 2012: Delivered lectures and classes on the MA in Leadership & Strategy to Civil & Public Servants at the Lesotho Institute of Public Administration (LIPAM), Maseru, Lesotho.
  • 2011: Delivered a series of workshops at ReSPA the Regional School of Public Administration located in Danilovgrad, Montenegro. Subjects included Intercultural Communication and Non Discrimination in HR Practice, Recruitment & Selection, Performance Management and Dignity at Work. - Delegates came from the Western Balkan region: Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina.  The program was attended by 28 Senior HR practitioners (4 delegates from each of the 7 locations)
  • 2010: EU Project’ Technical Assistance to the Civil Servants Agency FYR Macedonia on strengthening the implementation of the National System for Training Co-ordination (HRM-April, July and September)  Key contribution to this project in FYR Macedonia on improving the capacity of the Civil Servants Agency (EU funded).) Role included design and delivery of HR training specifically in the areas of performance management and review, effective selection, equality (EU) for HR managers and issues of anti discrimination and intercultural communication in HR policy and practice specific to Balkan region.
  • 2007: A key role in a year long project conducted in Bulgaria and Ireland (2007) ‘Improving Recruitment & Promotion Procedures in the Bulgarian Civil Service’: Funded by Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and run through Bulgarian Ministry of State Administration under auspices of the Institute of Public Administration & European Integration (IPAEI) Sofia, Bulgaria. This project commenced in immediate aftermath of Bulgarian accession to EU in January 2007.
  • Design and delivery of HR training programs to Bulgarian Public Service Managers for the  Bulgarian Institute of Public Administration and European Integration (IPAEI), Sofia. Training delivered in Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Sozopol, Borovetz and Tryavna throughout 2005 and 2006.
  • Design and delivery of week long HR Training module to Croatian Public Service Managers as part of the EU Public Administration Reform Project, Zagreb, July 2004
  • Responsible for the delivery of the Human Resource Management Module of the EU Tempus Programme for the Development of Public Managers, Slovenia, April 2001. Further training delivered in October 2001 and November 2002.
  • Represented IPA (on occasion with Department of Foreign Affairs) at meetings relating to The EU Project on Training for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management (EU Commission Project) in Madrid and Brussels (June 2002 and September 2003).
  • Design and delivery of skill based HR training programmes (June and November 1999) to government and public service employees as part of the EU Phare Project on public administration reform in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Further training delivered in June & November 2000.

Conference & Study Group Presentations:

  • June 2011: Opening address given to the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) / FRA (EU Fundamental Rights Agency) Conference. ‘Human Rights Education & Training for Civil & Public Services’.
  • Presentation to SIETAR EU Congress, Krakow, Poland September 2011: ‘A Training & Education Provider’s (IPA) Experience of Delivering an EU Cultural Diversity Programme’.
  • Presentation to final year students at Polish Institute of Public Administration (KSAP), Warsaw (Sept 2011) on Anti Discrimination & Intercultural Training to Civil Servants.
  • Presentation to study visit group from Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) (2011) ‘Human Resources & Intercultural & Equality Training to the Local Government System’.
  • Presentations (2005 and 2006) to HRM and Medical Conferences run by University of Ljubljana and GV Training, Slovenia + Interview for GV Training Magazine (HRM) published in Slovenia in autumn 2005.
  • Delivery of presentation on Effective Recruitment and Selection and Performance Management in the Irish Public Sector to the 4th  and 5th Annual Human Resource Management Conferences run by the Bulgarian Institute of Public Administration and European Integration (IPAEI), Sofia, June 2004 and May 2005.
  • Article published in Local Authority Times (Ireland) ‘A Snapshot of Equality and Intercultural Communication’, January 2010.
  • Presentations on Equality & Antidiscrimination Considerations for Effective Board Management and Human Rights & Codes of Practice to the IPA Governance Forum.

Since joining IPA he has designed, directed and chaired conferences and seminars on Dignity at Work: Bullying in the Workplace, Workplace Racism and Work Life Balance.

Education:

  • BA, Psychology
  • MA, Occupational Psychology & HRM
  • Academic Assoc, CIPD.

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