City Council advertise "Cycling Officer" job

good to see in todays paper, that Dublin City Council have advertised for the position of cycling officer, I presume an engineering type qualification is required.

dub_skav

Oooh, I'm an engineer, I'm also a cyclist. Shame I'm an Electronic Engineer.

Good to see they are advertising this. I hope the job goes to somebody who understands cycling and has the patience and courage to get through the beurocracy to achieve something.

Chips Lovell

That's interesting. What paper was it?

Morgan

Bit more about it here:

http://buckplanning.blogspot.com/2008/04/city-to-get-new-cycling-officer.html

zzzzzzzz

http://www.dublincity.ie/Careers/CurrentVacancies/Pages/CyclingOfficerTemporary190608.aspx

Bicyclegadabout

SALARY:
The salary scale for the position of Cycling Officer (Temporary), Roads and Traffic Department,
is:-
€64,892 - €66,942 - €68,994 - €71,043 - €73,099 - €75,146 - €77,210 (Maximum) - €79,801
(1st LSI) (after 3 years satisfactory service on the Maximum) - €82,386 (2nd LSI) (after 3 years satisfactory service on the 1st LSI)

I'm not an engineer or a civil servant, is this a good salary for someone with this sort of experience:

Each candidate must, on the latest date for receipt of completed application forms:
(a) hold an honours degree (level 8 in the National Framework of Qualifications) or
equivalent professional qualification in engineering,
(b) have at least seven years satisfactory experience of engineering works including for a
period of not less than four years satisfactory experience in civil engineering work,
(c) be capable of dealing efficiently with the range of engineering work undertaken by a
local authority, and
(d) possess a high standard of technical training and experience and of administrative
experience.

Caroline_ie

They're looking for a Chartered Senior engineer, these guys probably already work for themselves and make this x2 ...

Chips Lovell

Bicyclegadabout wrote: »

I'm not an engineer or a civil servant, is this a good salary for someone with this sort of experience:

I used to work in Dublin City Council many moons ago. That looks like a Senior Executive Engineer's pay scale. While they may be the minimum qualifications to apply, the likelihood is that someone getting a job like that would have significantly more experience.

Damn, wouldn't get it due to a lack of experience. Someday...

WicklowRacer

They're missing the most essential qualification IMHO

(e) Must cycle to work

kona

WicklowRacer wrote: »

They're missing the most essential qualification IMHO

(e) Must cycle to work

yes because you cycle to work you magically get a vast knowlege of road plannig, road materials and automatically understand the forces placed on a road over the course of its lifetime:rolleyes: etc etc


some people who cycle to work cant even wear a helmet the right way round.

id prefer a experienced engineer to be working in this job, not some wannabe joe soap.

oobydooby

great news for Dublin cyclists. Hope we get one of us in there! Well done to anyone who was involved in lobbying for such a position to be created. There's been quite a lot of good PR for cycling lobbyists recently.

I hope bike-handling skills is part of the interview process:)

cyclopath2001

kona wrote: »

id prefer a experienced engineer to be working in this job, not some wannabe joe soap.

As long as the needs of cyclists are seen as a road engineering problem, there will never be proper cycling facilities. We've got to get rid of the 'cyclists dismount' mentality.

Sympathy and first hand knowledge of the needs of cyclists, gained by riding on Dublin's streets and attempting real commutes, coupled with engineering ability is what's needed.

flickerx

cyclopath2001 wrote: »

As long as the needs of cyclists are seen as a road engineering problem, there will never be proper cycling facilities. We've got to get rid of the 'cyclists dismount' mentality.

Sympathy and first hand knowledge of the needs of cyclists, gained by riding on Dublin's streets and attempting real commutes, coupled with engineering ability is what's needed.

Agreed.

How is someone who drives in an SUV to work every day going to have an iota of what is needed for cyclists?

kincsem

It must be a positive appointment for cyclists. At the moment the cycle ways, cycle paths etc. etc. are a right licquorice allsorts. We need some standards, even if they are not ideal.

cyclopath2001

kincsem wrote: »

We need some standards, even if they are not ideal.

There are minimum standards (in the regulations) and those in the original DTO guidelines.

Dublin City Council routinely ignores them.

DBCyc

I am a cyclist and also a transport engineer. I would have to say from experience that the some of the best and most experienced engineers that I know would not have a clue about good design of cycle facilities. It would be ideal if DCC appointed an engineer who was also a cyclist and it hopefully is a requirement of the job. I doubt it though.

kona

cyclopath2001 wrote: »

As long as the needs of cyclists are seen as a road engineering problem, there will never be proper cycling facilities. We've got to get rid of the 'cyclists dismount' mentality.

Sympathy and first hand knowledge of the needs of cyclists, gained by riding on Dublin's streets and attempting real commutes, coupled with engineering ability is what's needed.

yes another steven staunton,


Im the geaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafar!!!!!!!!!!!!:D;)

im sure if you had the qualifications, the person with cycling experience would get the advantage.

the needs of cyclists is fecking common sense, so that would imply that since its ireland we will be eternally ****ed.

kona

DBCyc wrote: »

I am a cyclist and also a transport engineer. I would have to say from experience that the some of the best and most experienced engineers that I know would not have a clue about good design of cycle facilities. It would be ideal if DCC appointed an engineer who was also a cyclist and it hopefully is a requirement of the job. I doubt it though.

what experience?? do you actually know the muppets who design the roads and cycle tracks?? If you do I wouldnt call them the best engineers.

kenmc

DBCyc wrote: »

I am a cyclist and also a transport engineer. ... It would be ideal if DCC appointed an engineer who was also a cyclist and it hopefully is a requirement of the job. I doubt it though.

I hope you're applying then - you're a shoe-in. Oh wait, the first 4 words probably renders you overqualified. Damn.

kenmc

kona wrote: »

what experience?? do you actually know the muppets who design the roads and cycle tracks?? If you do I wouldnt call them the best engineers.

No offence Kona, but you seem to be confusing the Civil Service with the Real World. They're kind of like parallel universes

kona

kenmc wrote: »

No offence Kona, but you seem to be confusing the Civil Service with the Real World. They're kind of like parallel universes

ah right!!

niceonetom

yeah- the more i think about it the more this job looks like an ideal one for the incompetent but unsackable fcukers with which the council is rife. someone in there is probably contractually due a 'promotion' of some sort but is too much of a liability to be given anything important to look after. so a lateral promotion it will be - out of harms way - cycling officer? perfect, sure that'll keep him out our hair.
[/cynicism]

that is how the public sector works though...

Capt'n Midnight

They should have a history of cycle commuting or some involvement with it. Off roading , racing and other recreational cycling would be less relevant.

On a related note how many of the road engineers haven't got experience of commuting by road ??

cyclopath2001

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

They should have a history of cycle commuting or some involvement with it. Off roading , racing and other recreational cycling would be less relevant.

Some political ability will be needed too.

I really don't think that lack of knowledge or ability is the true cause of the abysmally corrupt 'Strategic Cycle Network' in Dublin.

Capt'n Midnight

cyclopath2001 wrote: »

Some political ability will be needed too.

some ?

SerialComplaint

Just thought that this position with the DTO - Sustainable Travel Officer might be of interest to some people on this forum.

cyclopath2001

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Just thought that this position with the DTO - Sustainable Travel Officer might be of interest to some people on this forum.

The salary suggests it's a fairly junior position, somewhere equivalent to EO in the Civil Service.

This is the same DTO that allowed cycle tracks to be legislated out of practical use back in 1998 and which has failed to ensure that the money it granted to the councils was spent on applying its own guidelines.

SerialComplaint

cyclopath2001 wrote: »

This is the same DTO that allowed cycle tracks to be legislated out of practical use back in 1998 and which has failed to ensure that the money it granted to the councils was spent on applying its own guidelines.

Maybe with the right person in the job, things might just be a bit better in future.

Al Wright

The appointed officer may cycle to work. But what about 'at work'?
Earlier this year in London, employees involved on the cycling initiative were banned from cycling in the course of their work due to limitations of the employers liability insurance.

SerialComplaint

Al Wright wrote: »

Earlier this year in London, employees involved on the cycling initiative were banned from cycling in the course of their work due to limitations of the employers liability insurance.

The same reason was quoted as an explanation for the reason why a number of bikes purchased by one of the government departments headed by a Green minister are lying idle. It sounded like a shaggy dog story to me.

Is there really a insurance policy that provides cover for staff walking around town, or taxiing around town, or bussing around town, and driving a private car around town (all of which have their own inherent risks) but not for cycling?