The Child and Family Agency was established on 1st January 2014 and is responsible for a range of statutory functions including provision of child protection, alternative care, specified regulatory services and a range of family support services. The Agency has commenced a major improvement programme with significant focus on Practice, Culture and Structure.
The Agency currently has responsibility for a budget of circa €1.2billion and delivers its services through over 5,500 people in 259 locations across the Country.
The Child and Family Agency has responsibility for the following range of services:
• Child Protection and Welfare
• Parenting, Family Support and Early Help Services
• Alternative Care
• Birth Information & Tracing and Adoption
• Tusla Education Support Services (TESS)
• Children’s Service Regulation
• Counselling and Therapeutic Supports
Further information is available on www.tusla.ie

Post Specific Service: About Tusla’s Quality & Regulation Directorate
Tusla’s Quality & Regulation Directorate is concerned with promoting continuous improvement and effective risk management in services for children and families. It delivers its functions though the following functions:
Practice Assurance and Service Monitoring (PASM): The team are responsible for conducting practice reviews and monitoring of Tulsa services independently of Tusla Operations. The team has a key role in supporting and enabling service improvement within Tusla.

The team monitors and reports on service delivery against standards, regulations and legislative requirements, and seeks to ensure that service improvement activity takes place in response to reviews. The Team is also responsible for monitoring special emergency arrangements (SEAs) for children in care.

Other functions within Tusla’s Quality and Regulation Directorate:

Children’s Services Regulation:

Early Years’ Inspectorate: The Early Years’ Inspectorate is the independent statutory regulator of Early Years’ Services and is responsible for registering and inspecting pre-schools, playgroups, crèches, day care, school age care and similar services. Its role is to promote the quality, safety and appropriate care of children by robust regulation of the sector.

Alternative Education Assessment: Children who are educated at home or who attend a non-recognised school (i.e. a school that is not funded by the Department of Educational and Skills) must be registered with Tusla by their parents/guardians. The registration process requires that an assessment or assessments be carried out to determine whether the child is receiving a certain minimum education and therefore can be placed on the statutory register of children educated outside of a recognised school. Children who are educated in an independent school setting can also be placed on the register where it is determined that the school is providing a minimum education to the pupils who are enrolled there.

Alternative Care Regulation: The team monitors and reports on alternative care settings for children who cannot live with their families The service is responsible currently for the registration and inspection of non-statutory residential care settings for young people, as well as the monitoring and audit of non-statutory foster care providers.

Child Safeguarding Statement Compliance Unit (CSSCU)
The CSSCU has a national centralised function for the receipt and processing of referrals and notifications of failure to furnish Tusla with a copy of a relevant agency’s safeguarding statement made under Article 12(1) of the Children First Act 2015. The office is also responsible for appropriately supporting relevant agencies to achieve compliance under section 12 (1) – (5) of the legislation.

Regulatory Practice Development
The Regulatory Practice Development Team is responsible for a range of functions to provide support to Children’s Services Regulation. There are five distinct functions which are; management and analysis of data and business process design and re-design, implementation and maintenance of the Quality Management system across Children’s Services Regulation, co-ordination and delivery of Learning and Development, provision of expert advice and guidance on matters relating to children attending early years services and management of Children’s Services Regulation communications which includes the website and the publication of inspection reports.

Service Experience, Governance and Risk Systems:

Service Experience and Feedback
Part 9 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 governs complaints procedures and reviews, complainants’ rights, referral to the Ombudsman, and annual report requirements. “Tell Us” is Tusla’s policy governing feedback and complaints. The team is responsible for managing Tell Us, including training other Tusla staff nationwide, collecting metrics, channelling complaints and feedback, and dealing with individual complaints. The team is also involved in encouraging participation of children and listening to the voice of the child in Tusla and Tusla-funded

Risk and Incident Management: The team is responsible for the corporate risk register, and all aspects of risk and incident management systems within the Agency. The team aims to ensure Tusla is aware of the nature of its risks, their status and how they are being managed.

Integrated Reporting and Outcomes
Performance Reporting and Information: the Performance Reporting and Information team collates analyses and reports on quality and risk data relevant to the child and services. It identifies trends and performance data to support accountability and transparency, inform policy development and legislative reform, to demonstrate where standards and targets are being met, and identify risk and support decision-making at all levels of the organisation.

Main Duties and Responsibilities
• Under the direction of the Quality Management System Development Manager/Project Manager and Director of Quality and Regulation, to provide support and subject matter expertise in relation to implementation of Quality Management Systems - requirements in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 and to support organisational readiness;
• Support the implementation of a document management system (DMS) to include controls, audit and verification functions
• To assist with any required research in relation to the implementation of a QMS in social service organisations of similar scale to identify best practice, implementation challenges and learning.
• Provide oversight and support in relation to the agreed project plan and business cases for additional resources which will be required as part of the annual estimates process to support QMS implementation.
• As a member of the project team, ensure systems of oversight are in place to provide the required assurance that project milestones are being delivered, and highlight any risks to the project implementation plan objectives and timelines.
• Support the systems and processes in place, including the delivery of progress reports to monitor project performance and attainment of project indicators against agreed milestones in Tusla’s annual business plan.
• Engage, actively contribute, advise, and support the project activities to enable achievement of the project objectives.
• As a member of the project team, responsibility for assigned tasks and responsibilities for managing and delivering multiple project components including managing resources, tasks, stakeholder management and consultation, timelines and delivering status reports.
• Support the process owners in the implementation of the required elements and components of a Quality Management System in the Tusla organisational context.
• Liaise and engage with relevant Tusla services, including National Operations, Information Managers, Tusla Commissioning, Tusla ICT and Workforce Learning and Development, to support the development and integration of the identified project requirements including staff training supports.
• Support the management of external relationships with key stakeholders as required
• Support and contribute to the oversight and co-ordination of the design and implementation of all policy, procedures, and standard operating procedures which may be required.
• Support the provision of reports for Tusla Board, Executive Management Team and DCED as requested/required by the Director of Quality and Regulation
• Support the release of data and performance information for PQs, Reps and media queries including the preparation of draft responses for the responsible manager
• Contribute to and promote the work of the Quality and Regulation Directorate as requested.

Education & Training
• Maintain standards of practice and levels of professional knowledge by participating in continuous professional development initiatives and attendance at courses as appropriate.
• Engage in career and professional development planning.
• Oversee the provision of a framework for the promotion of staff development and training by making recommendations with regard to the ongoing education, mentoring, training and in-service needs

Health & Safety
• Comply with and contribute to the development of policies, procedures, guidelines and safe professional practice and adhere to relevant legislation, regulations and standards.
• Have a working knowledge of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the service for example National Standards for Child Protection and Care and comply with associated Tusla – Child and Family Agency protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.
• To support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Please refer to the Candidate Information pack attached to this campaign for full and further detail.

Applicants must by the closing date of application have the following:

Essential
• Have a third level qualification
• Knowledge of Quality systems and /or ISO standards
• Experience of working in a Quality/Regulation function
• Must have the requisite knowledge and management potential for the proper discharge of the duties of the office.

Desirable
• Experience of implementing a Document Management System
• Project Management experience

Health
A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.
Character
Each candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character