Job Specification and Terms and Conditions
Job Title and
Grade
Assistant Staff Officer, Grade IV, Specified Purpose Contract
Location of Post
Pensions Management, HR Department, HSE West, Merlin
Park, Galway.
HSE West
Organisational
Area
Overview of
Pension
Management
Function
Pensions Management: Provides a comprehensive and
professional pension service to employees who are members
of pension schemes administered by the HSE. This
encompasses an information and advisory role in relation to
pension planning and the timely processing and payment of
pension entitlements.
Reporting
Relationship
The post holder will report to the Section Officer or nominated
Manager.
Purpose of the
Post
 To provide administrative support to the pensions
management function and to supervise Clerical Staff under
their remit.
 To support management in the development and delivery
of optimum pensions management services to scheme
members and employing organisations where applicable.
 Supervise and ensure the well-being of staff within own
remit,
 Checking and certification of work output to ensure
accuracy and compliance with pension scheme rules,
Verified Service, Bills/Costings for Optional and
Compulsorily Reckonable Service,
 Preparation, checking and processing of data, including
the use of SAP, ADOS, Financial/Payroll Systems, Excel
worksheets/calculation tools etc. to :
 Prepare all Pension Scheme Awards, e.g.
Retirement Benefits and Estimates/Statements of
Retirement Benefits,
 Maintain records as required using SAP and ADOS
systems.
 Dealing with the customers* – phone calls, e-mails and
meetings in relation to work appropriate to Grade IV role,
including escalated issues from Grade III staff (*scheme
members and pensioners),
 Approve invoices for payment
 Extract personnel data to plan Mid Career and PreRetirement training courses and to quantify future
retirement numbers,
 Preparing training materials,
 Reconciliation of time in “Flextime” system,
 Undertake Induction with newly appointed staff,
Principal Duties
and
Responsibilities
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 Comply with and make staff aware of Health and Safety
requirements
 Manage and control staff attendance and absence,
 Ensure the efficient day-to-day administration of the
assigned area of responsibility,
 Ensure that deadlines are met and service levels are
maintained,
 Ensure an even distribution of workload among team,
 Monitor performance in a timely and constructive manner,
 Maintain own knowledge of relevant procedures, practices
and legislation to perform the role effectively and to ensure
standards are met by own team,
 Ensure policies and procedures are well documented,
understood and consistently adhered to by staff in own
section,
 Co-operate with agreed changes to administration of the
service and encourage and support staff through change
processes,
 Preparation and issuing of office documentation
(correspondence, reports etc) to the highest possible
standard
 Use appropriate technology where available to ensure work
is completed efficiently and to highest standards possible
 Maintain such archives, records and statistics as are
required by management,
 Maintain confidentiality of documentation, records etc
 Support a client focused environment and ensure that
service-users are treated with dignity and respect,
 Record feedback from service users and report same to
supervisor,
 Co-operate and work in harmony with other teams and
disciplines in the pursuit of the HSE’s organisational
objectives,
 Liaising with other Agencies and HSE Areas,
 Where required :
 assist in the definition of business requirements to
progress the development of technical solutions,
 specify test case scenarios, and
 conduct and sign off associated user acceptance
testing,
 Perform such other duties as may arise from time to time.
This Job Specification is intended for use as a general
guide to the position. It is neither definitive nor
restrictive and will be the subject of periodic review.
Desirable skills,
competencies
and/or knowledge




Planning and organising skills including using
computer technology effectively
Problem solving and initiative skills including the ability
to adapt to change
Leadership potential and strong team skills
Commitment to maintaining work standards and
delivering a quality service to service users (customer
2




service skills)
Good communication and interpersonal skills
Competent knowledge of the pension management
function and relevant legislative provisions.
Demonstrate analytical and decision making skills
Commitment to on -going training and development
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