Director of Services - Louth County Council

Director of Services - Louth County Council

The closing date for this vacancy is 04/06/2026, 15:00

Reporting to the Chief Executive, the Director will be expected to fulfil a key leadership role in the Local Authority with responsibility for the delivery of programmes and functions/services of the Local Authority. The role involves considerable engagement and consensus building with Elected Members, staff as well as other external stakeholders.

In addition, the Director provides policy support and advice for members of the Strategic Policy Committees, the Local Community Development Committee and any other relevant Committees. In the current economic climate, senior managers are charged with service delivery and change management in an environment of limited resource availability, both human and financial. Delivery of efficient services and value for money is crucial as is the management and motivation of staff.

A full Job Summary/Description is available in the Information Booklet.

Main Duties of the Job

The Director of Service is responsible for ensuring the delivery of quality services across the key services areas within the Local Authority such as:

• Housing & Cultural Services
• Planning and Economic Development Services
• Operations and Environment Services
• HR, Corporate and Community Services
• Major Capital Projects and Infrastructure Services

Directors of Service are members of the senior management team of Local Authorities and report directly to the Chief Executive. Each Director of Service is typically responsible for a number of functional areas and may also be responsible for a Municipal District within the County.

Directors of Service support the Chief Executive in advancing the physical, economic, social and cultural life of a County and in developing and overseeing the organisational structures and resources needed to deliver an extensive range of services to the public, in a cost effective and efficient manner.

A full list of main duties is available in the Information Booklet.

Information about the organisation

Louth County Council is the authority responsible for local government in Louth. The county of Louth is divided into the three municipal districts of Drogheda, Ardee and Dundalk. There are five electoral areas in Louth: Ardee, Drogheda Rural, Drogheda Urban, Dundalk-Carlingford and Dundalk South. There are 29 elected county councillors and an annual operating budget of €203.7 million in 2026.

The Council provides a diverse range of services across a large geographic area. Key services areas include housing delivery, planning and development, emergency services, infrastructural upgrades and projects (road improvements, public realm), community services and facilities (community/leisure centres, libraries and parks), encouraging economic development through FDI (foreign direct investment), and supporting existing and new business.

An opportunity now exists in Louth County Council for the position of Director of Services.

Salary Scale effective from 1st February 2026:

Hours of attendance will be fixed from time to time but will amount to not less than 35 hours gross per week.

The annual leave allowance for the position of Director of Services is 30 days.

Selection Process Details

A ranking and or shortlisting exercise may be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application form. The criteria for ranking and or shortlisting are based on the requirements of the post as outlined in the eligibility criteria and skills, competencies and/or knowledge section of this job specification. Therefore it is very important that you think about your experience in light of those requirements.

Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being called forward to the next stage of the selection process.

Local authorities are committed equal opportunities employers

Recruitment for this role is managed by publicjobs.