Galway County Councils Information Systems Department provides critical ICT support to the operational Directorates of the Council. It assists them in achieving their specific operational targets and corporate objectives as well as providing essential Information Technology infrastructure and support to Galway County Council.
The Geographical Information Systems Project Leader will work closely with the Head of Information Systems and will lead a department with responsibility for planning, development, control and maintenance of Information and Communications Technology. This department will implement and develop the ICT strategy/vision to support Galway County Council’s overall Corporate Plan and ensure best practice standards and codes of practice.
Duties for the position shall include but are not limited to:
 

• Working as part of the Council’s I.S. Department the I.S. project leader will be responsible for project management of ICT GIS projects;
• Manage the preparation and implementation of the GIS elements of the ICT Work Programme and Strategy;
• Support sections in the implementation and use of GIS systems and applications;
• Data collection, integration, manipulation and management;
• Project management of GIS systems implementation;
• Spatial analysis for internal customers;
• GIS application development (web and desktop);
• OSi and GeoDirectory liaison support;
• Administration and development of GIS technical architecture including software licensing
• Liaise with web, systems development and infrastructure teams;
• Manage the ICT GIS team, including Training & Development needs;
• To continue to develop ICT skills as technology changes and to enter into an agreed personal development plan;
• Overall responsibility for the day-to-day technical management and development of Galway County Council’s GIS web and desktop-based services, ensuring they meet the Council’s business needs;
• Supporting the Head of Information Systems in the development and communication of the organisation’s Information Communications Technology (ICT) and Information Systems (IS) strategies;
• Evaluating and developing the potential of modern ICT to enhance the business objectives of the Council and ensure maximum impact of emerging technologies;
• Preparing operational and service plans for the ICT Unit to ensure that all necessary ICT tools, processes and systems are in place to meet the requirements of the business and contribute to the achievement of the organisation’s short- and long-term goals;
• Assist the Head of Information Systems in setting and monitoring ICT budgets for routine expenditure and one-off projects;
• Building the capacity of the organisation to maximise ICT opportunities;
• Ensuring the adequacy of IT systems in the Authority, and in particular their support by adequate information systems;
• Investigating and recommending new technologies that would contribute to the improvement, efficiency and enhancement of existing information systems;
• Working with the Head of Information Systems to provide an infrastructure that will maximise the potential of and promote the use of e-business/e-service;
• Ensuring the security and integrity of Council data and ICT infrastructure;
• Procuring ICT hardware, software and licenses (including contract negotiation). Procuring and managing appropriate external technical support services ensuring service quality, standards and targets are achieved;
• Effective leadership and management of ICT staff;
• Implementation of the Performance Management Development System (PMDS) process in the Section;
• Analysing, interpreting and communicating effectively technical information and concepts to the Council’s management and staff;
•  Assisting in the development and implementation of a disaster recovery/business continuity solution to minimise the risk of system outages and data loss/corruption;
• Contributing effectively to business process improvement initiatives;
• Liaising with other sections of the Council to ensure that the ICT functions and capabilities align with the business goals of the Council;
• Other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned from time to time.

• Have a proven track record in managing IT staff and 3rd party service providers;
• Have project management experience in managing projects with many shareholders and complex interdependencies;
• Have excellent planning and organisational skills and the ability to lead and manage diverse project teams;
• Have knowledge/awareness of latest developments and trends in IT;
• Have knowledge/awareness of Development and Information Technology Infrastructure;
• Have a high level of interpersonal, leadership, team-building and motivational skills;
• Demonstrate the ability to deliver within budgetary constraints while identifying, developing and implementing indicators of value for money in respect of all IT operations;
• Demonstrate the ability to implement plans and projects and to support and maintain the ICT vision across the organisation;
• Have knowledge and experience in managing procurement processes, including appraisal and evaluation techniques, contract negotiation and award, and subsequent management through to implementation;
• Have knowledge and experience in managing budgets for operational and project management, with a continuous focus on value;
• Demonstrate management skills including the ability to provide effective leadership and direction;
• Have a strong record of collaboration, excellent motivational skills and a commitment to meeting deadlines and delivering high quality customer service;
• Possess in depth knowledge of a local authority environment, culture and operations and a strong awareness of the strategic direction of local government;
• Have a good understanding and appreciation of the role of ICT in a statutory body, where there will be a reliance on a robust technological infrastructure to support the activities and operation of the organisation;
• Have a proven record of willingness to take the initiative and adopt a proactive approach to the introduction of ICT-based solutions;
• Have proven management skills in an ICT area, keen intelligence, strong detailed analytical ability and sound judgment;
• Have a strong focus on quality of customer service;
• Be a self-starter, capable of continuous self learning, new thinking, working to very tight deadlines and committed to achieving high quality results;
• Be decisive and innovative;
• Have excellent motivational skills and be capable of working equally well as a member of a team and as a leader;
• Have a strong commitment to the implementation of strategic change;
• Have a commitment to developing staff through Performance Management, training and on the job experience.

Each candidate must, on the latest date for receipt of completed applications have:

A qualification of at least Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) in Computing, GIS, Geography or a comparable qualification and at least 5 years directly relevant, recent GIS hands-on experience from your employment to date
AND

1. Extensive experience of managing ESRI Mapping and Spatial Analytics product suite for on premise and cloud services.
2. Have excellent project management and team leadership skills.
3. Experience of databases and database design and system implementation would be an advantage.

• In the management of GIS Projects from inception to delivery.
• GIS principles and mapping concepts, e.g. grids, projections, transformations, generalisation, accuracy, precision etc.
• Experience with ArcGIS Enterprise and/or ArcGIS Online.
• Hands on experience with ArcGIS Pro and/or ArcGIS Map.
• Spatial analysis and visualisation techniques.
• Processing, cleaning, creation and maintenance of spatial datasets.
• Geospatial data storage and management.
• The ability to lead a team and work effectively as part of a team.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills.
• To be a self-starter, capable of continuous self-learning, new thinking, working to very tight deadlines and committed to achieving high quality results.

• Project Management using an established methodology (E.g. PRINCE2, PMP).
• Experience in requirements analysis and business process analysis.
• Hands on experience with the ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS online components, in particular but not limited to:
  • Portal Administration
  • User account administration
  • WebApp Builder
  • Field Maps / Survey123
  • Operations Dashboard
• Hands on experience with ArcGIS Pro extensions, in particular Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst.
• Operational and configuration experience with data manipulation and integration software such as FME
• Experience with Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) tools.
• Familiarity with computer programming and scripting languages.
• Production and use of map services. (ArcGIS REST, OGC).
• Knowledge of web technologies and skills.
• Data Analytics methodologies and experience with BI applications such as PowerBI or Tableau.
• Experience with GIS applications such QGIS.
• Data Governance and familiarity with Open Data concepts.

Further Information is available in the Candidate Information Booklet available on our website.