Visual Arts Officer (Open Competition)

A.         Details     

Position: Visual Arts Officer

Grade: Executive Officer (EO)

Whole time equivalent: Full Time (35 hrs. per week)

Reports to: Head of Visual Arts

Duration: 18 months

Role closing date: 12 noon, Thursday, 30th April 2026.

B.         Department & Role Overview

The purpose of the Arts Department is to lead on policy formulation, development initiatives, funding and relationship management for key artform / arts practice areas including Visual Arts to deliver on strategic objectives.

The Visual Arts Officer will be involved in a wide range of activities including

• managing the team’s work plan and capacity planning;

• researching and drafting policies/proposals;

• leading on/providing support to team project initiatives;

• training/supporting team members.

Specifically, the Visual Arts Officer will provide support and co-ordinate activities with a designated focus on Visual Arts to deliver the team and corporate plans in support of the Arts Council Strategy: Making Great Art Work: Developing the Arts in Ireland.

C.         Key Responsibilities

Policy and Strategy

• Provide overall project management and administration support on policy development initiatives;

• Co-ordinate all information to feed into the mapping of the arts profile for your area/s;

• Provide statistics and research information to support policy development initiatives;

• Invite people to focus groups, organise meetings and events, take minutes;

• Update team section of website so as to update on matters relating to policy.

Funding Applications

• Monitor queues in CRM, as appropriate, and distribute Tasks as necessary;

• Liaise with artform/practice area Advisers to ensure inputs to assessments run smoothly.

Panels

• Attend part of panel meetings for purpose of recording minutes of decisions, as required, and recording these into CRM (in line with protocol for streamlining of panel meeting processes);

• Respond to requests from applicants for written feedback from panel meetings, according to a protocol.

Minute taking

• Provide minute taking support to Heads of Team as may be occasionally required and record any meeting minutes in CRM against appropriate record.

General

• Be proficient in all standard procedures and systems;

• Collaborate with other Arts Department Officers and team members, where appropriate, in identifying, agreeing and applying consistent processes and systems that maximise efficiency;

• Provide cover for other Arts Department Officers as required;

• Actively participate as a team member with suggestions to continuously improve the funding process and service to the public, artists and organisations.

Monitoring funding relationships

• Liaise with Head of artform/practice areas to ensure online services based monitoring reports provided by funded organisations are accorded appropriate 'status' e.g. noted, issues raised/progressed, signed off.

Enquiries

Support designated artform/practice area queries as appropriate to include:

• Provide cover for first point of contact with regard to artform/practice area queries;

• Create and action artform/practice and other enquiries in CRM as appropriate (i.e. resolve on first contact or assign to appropriate team member);

• Provide advice and support in relation to artform/practice area contact queries before funding decisions. Refer application queries to Corporate Services, where appropriate;

• Provide advice and support in relation to contact queries after funding decisions;

• Record all meaningful contact with clients in CRM against appropriate record;

• Provide advice/information on other funding sources.

Partnership

• Provide support to partnership initiatives, as may be undertaken within your designated areas;

Advice;

• Coordinate inputs to and maintain designated artform/practice sections of website using it as a tool to communicate with target groups likely to be seeking funding such as individual artists, groups, organisations and public, to include e.g. drafting, editing and updating FAQs, 'How To' guides as required.

Advocacy

• Provide support to advocacy initiatives, as may be required within your designated areas.

Arts Team

• Provide inputs to team work planning to ensure sufficient resources are available to maintain smooth operation of work of relevant arts areas;

• Provide overall project administration support on team policy development initiatives;

• Liaise with Advisers on matters related to POs/invoicing/payments.

Corporate

• Participate in project team(s) on specified projects driven by the Strategic Development Department/other;

• Retrieve information/old application files to support FOI requests;

• Gather data/funding history etc. as background to press releases/Minister speeches;

• Provide information to feed into annual report;

• Provide statistics, as required, in response to requests from government Departments or other official bodies;

• Provide information on dates of events in team artform/practice area;

• Provide training and support to new team/department/organisation members;

• Provide cover to other Teams/Departments as required.

As an Officer:

• Support the values, vision and mission of the Arts Council;

• Have a clear understanding of the Officer role, objectives and targets and how they support the objectives of your Team/Department, the Arts Council’s strategic goals and the ten year strategy Making Great Art Work;

• Strive to develop, implement and support new ways of working effectively to meet objectives;

• Actively share information, knowledge and expertise to help the team to meet its objectives;

• Be flexible and willing to adapt, positively contributing to the implementation of change;

• Take responsibility and be accountable for the delivery of agreed objectives;

• Successfully manage a range of different projects and work activities at the same time;

• Maintain a strong focus on delivering high performance and service delivery;

• Create and maintain collaborative internal and external relationships;

• Utilise and promote project management guidelines and templates. 

Note:  Arts Council roles and responsibilities are subject to change as per on-going and future organisational requirements and developments.

D.        Skills Knowledge and Experiences

• A proven ability in the area of project management;

• A good understanding of the work of the Arts Council and its strategic objectives, particularly in the area of Visual Arts;

• Experience and insight in relation to the Visual Arts sector infrastructure is desirable;

• Excellent analytical skills, including the ability to gather and analyse research, engage in critical analysis and express complex information in a clear, concise way;

• Express self in a clear and articulate manner when speaking and in writing;

• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the capacity to deal with situations requiring diplomacy and tact;

• Ability to operate the various elements within the IT systems; including online services, CRM, EDM, the Microsoft Office suite of programmes;

• A commitment to high standards of public service;

• Ideally have Irish language, verbal and written skills, although this is not an absolute prerequisite for the role.