1. What does the role of an Executive Officer entail?

Executive Officers are employed across Government Departments/Offices, covering a wide range of functional responsibilities. While engaged in a variety of activities, typically Executive Officers are responsible for managing people and delivering results, while maintaining a strong customer service ethos. An Executive Officer could be placed in any Government Department and may involve responsibilities such as researching and drafting proposals relating to policy issues and legislation to acting as a junior manager on key strategic projects. You may also deal directly with the public in support of services provided to them by the Civil Service.

2. Where am I likely to be working if I am successful?

Executive Officers are employed in Government Departments/Offices across the 26 counties. On your application form you will be given the opportunity to indicate two county locations in Ireland that you would like to / be available to work in if successful.

3. What is the starting salary?

The starting salary for this position is €31,698. There are certain circumstances that this may differ. Further information can be found in the information booklet.

4. How do I apply?

First, you need to set up a publicjobs account. You can do this on www.publicjobs.ie. Once you have signed up, there is a short application form that you are required to complete. This will be partially completed using the information you provided when setting up your publicjobs.ie profile.

5. Accessibility and reasonable accommodations – what if I need assistance?

The Public Appointments Service has a key role to play in attracting candidates from all sectors of society, ensuring that routes to career opportunities are accessible to all who are interested. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all candidates.

If you have a disability or need reasonable accommodations made during the selection process, we strongly encourage you to share this with us so that we can ensure you get the support you need.

Reasonable accommodation in our selection process refers to adjustments and practical changes which would enable a disabled candidate to have an equal opportunity for this competition. Examples of adjustments we provide include the use of assistive technology, extra time, scribes and/or readers or a range of other accommodations.

Please be assured that having a disability or requiring adjustments will not impact on your progress in the selection process; you will not be at a disadvantage if you disclose your disability or requirements to us. Your disability and/or adjustments will be kept entirely confidential.

Should you be successful, the disclosure of a disability for this stage of the process will not be passed onto the employing department unless you request that we do so.

If you have indicated on your application/profile that you require reasonable accommodations, please submit a psychologist/medical report be to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The purpose of the report is to provide PAS with information to act as a basis for determining reasonable accommodations, where appropriate. The information within these reports that is useful for us to see includes the outcome of any diagnostic tests conducted by your psychologist/doctor, and their summary of recommendations in relation to your requirements. You may redact (block out) parts of medical reports/psychologist’s reports that you feel are sensitive or unnecessary for the decision to make reasonable adjustments.

These reports must be forwarded to the Assessment Services unit by close of business on Thursday, 31st March, 2022. You should email a scanned copy of the report to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you have previously applied for a competition with PAS and submitted a report, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to confirm that your report is still on file.

If you would like to talk about your application or any accommodations that may be of benefit during the recruitment process, please contact our Disability Champion, Amanda Kavanagh, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For further information on the accessibility of our service please see our Accessibility page

6. I am not an Irish citizen – am I eligible?

Eligible Candidates must:

• (a) A citizen of the European Economic Area. The EEA consists of the Member States of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway; or
• (b) A citizen of the United Kingdom; or; or
• (c) A citizen of Switzerland pursuant to the agreement between the EU and Switzerland on the free movement of persons; or
• (d) A non-EEA citizen who is a spouse or child of an EEA or Swiss citizen and has a stamp 4 visa; or
• (e) A person awarded international protection under the International Protection Act 2015 or any family member entitled to remain in the State as a result of family reunification and has a stamp 4 visa or
• (f) A non-EEA citizen who is a parent of a dependent child who is a citizen of, and resident in, an EEA member state or Switzerland and has a stamp 4 visa

To qualify candidates must meet one of the citizenship criteria above by the date of any job offer.

7. What are the differences in the eligibility criteria for Interdepartmental, Open and Irish Positions?

The Interdepartmental position is for people who are already working as civil servants, while the open position is for people who are not working in the Civil Service. Irish positions are For individuals who have proficiency in the Irish language

8. Am I eligible for both the interdepartmental and open streams?

To be eligible for the Interdepartmental stream you need to be a currently working as a civil servant for two years by the closing date for application. To be eligible for the open stream you must have certain qualifications which are detailed in the information booklet.

9. What are the stages of the recruitment process?

We use a number of different selection methods to find the most suitable candidates for the available roles. The selection process for the Executive Officer competition will comprise a number of elements. These may include some of the following:

• Completion of an online Assessment Questionnaire;
• Online and/or paper-based assessment test(s);
• Short listing;
• An online video interview;
• Language tests (oral and/or written);
• Competitive Interview(s);
• Presentation/Analysis exercise;
• Work sample test or any other tests or exercises that may be deemed appropriate.

10. How long does the process usually take?

We envisage the first panel to be in place from this competition in September with assignments from this panel to commence at this point.

11. How long will the competition be active for / when does the competition expire?

It is not envisaged that appointments will be made from this competition after June 2024.

12. What happens if I am not available to attend a stage of the recruitment process?

Reschedule requests may only be considered under exceptional circumstances as deemed acceptable by us (e.g. Bereavement/Illness). Candidates who are afforded an opportunity to reschedule will be processed in the next candidate batch invited to test/interview. Further information is available in the information booklet.

Requests must be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. within the booking window as specified in the invitation message.

13. How will the interview be held in light of Covid-19?

Interviews will be held remotely, from the comfort of your home, via video call. The recruitment team will be in touch with you ahead of your interview, with all the details, including your login details to access the video call. If you have difficulty logging into the call, please email the recruitment team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You can access our tips for Video interview

14. What does ‘equal opportunities employer’ mean?

The Public Appointments Service is an equal opportunities employer. This means that we welcome applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds and we recognise the positive contribution that a workforce that reflects society brings to the public service. Importantly, we do not discriminate based on any of the nine grounds set out in the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015. We value applications from candidates with different ages, abilities, gender identities, ethnicities, skin colour and sexual orientations. We recognise that candidates will have different religious and non-religious beliefs. We also recognise that candidates will have different socio-economic backgrounds and civil status and that their caring and family responsibilities may change.

15. How will Covid-19 impact how I work, should I be successful at interview and take up a role as an Executive Officer?

Due to Covid-19, work practices have largely changed from office to remote working to ensure the safety of all those working across the Civil Service. As an Employer of Choice and under the Programme for Government, the Civil Service is exploring opportunities for employees to work remotely, should you be successful.

16. Can I withdraw my application?

You can withdraw your application at any stage during the process. Simply, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and tell us that you do not want to be considered for the position anymore.

17. Are you on social media?

Absolutely! You can find us on

Have a question we didn’t answer? You can send us a message on social media, or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..