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What does the role of an HEO ICT Specialist look like?

muahahahaha

Hi guys,

I've recently been assigned to a department in Dublin as an ICT Specialist at the HEO level. Coming from a private-sector background, I’m completely new to the civil service, and I imagine the work culture and daily routine will be quite different here.

Could anyone give me an idea of what a typical day looks like for an HEO in ICT? Additionally, I’m based in Galway while the department is in Dublin, so I'm wondering about the possibility of a hybrid work arrangement—perhaps two days in the office and three days working from home? I imagine finding accommodation in Dublin could be challenging.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

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dory

The WFH depends on the department. They all seem to have different rules. Have you been assigned one yet?

muahahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122834712#Comment_122834712

Yes, I was assigned to a department yesterday. I haven’t received any updates from the department yet.

dory

You probably don't want to name the Dept here, so we can't help on the WFH side of things. There's a thread around here somewhere on WFH in the civil service, and people said how many days were WFH on that in certain departments. Yours might have gotten a mention.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122835149#Comment_122835149

Yup, all departments were mentioned in that thread, but it's about a year old now. Some departments will have reviewed their WFH policy - though I'm not sure any PS employer increased their office days. (I must do another survey soon!) Our office, it's two days in-office and three days WFH as standard, and yeah, people commute from well outside Dublin - generally we accommodate them with two days rostered back to back in the office so they can stay up in Dublin overnight, rather than have a commute >4 hours both days.

As to what the working day is like - it all depends! What stream were you recruited from? My employer has staff recruited from the Infrastructure and Software Dev streams. The typical HEO-level roles include helpdesk manager, sysadmins, senior developers and senior tester managers for our major systems. All of those roles are obviously quite different, and days will vary depending on what's happening - projects, upgrades, new releases, having to support events, etc.

muahahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122836913#Comment_122836913

Thanks @dory and @TaurenDruid for the details.

I was recruited from the Software Development stream @TaurenDruid so please let me know if you have any idea of a HEO day to day work for this stream.

I think your department provides a great working arrangement for employees. I’m just curious about the part that you mentioned "generally accommodating with two consecutive days rostered in the office so they can stay overnight in Dublin". Does this mean the office provides overnight accommodation for those days?

doc22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122837656#Comment_122837656

You'd need to speak to your line manager/AP to see what the story is in your specific team. Take nothing for granted. No one will be paying for your accommodation.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122837656#Comment_122837656

No, they sort their own accommodation, at their own expense. Which is fair, as you would have signed up for assignment to Dublin if you're being assigned to a Dublin-based department. As I understand it, it's a mixture of couchsurfing with friends and relatives, and the occasional B&B or hotel stay.

I should have mentioned, when you start, even if your office has blended working as standard, you may be required to attend the office more often initially for induction, training, etc.

The best thing to do is get in touch with HR, ask for contact details for your AP, and give them a call. Some HR departments are very weird about GDPR and won't pass on new employee details to managers until right before they start, when the manager would love to be able to chat, get a handle on your skillset, etc., so they're not putting a square peg in a round hole.

muahahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122839038#Comment_122839038

Many thanks @TaurenDruid for the details.

pauliebdub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058380522/what-does-the-role-of-an-heo-ict-specialist-look-like

I joined as a HEO in the spring also moved from the private sector to the public sector for the first time. It's massively different and not in a good way.

The job I was assigned doesn't at all match my skills and experience so I've really struggled with it. My manager is tough to work with and lacks people skills.

It's blended working. My team is in the office three days a week. I don't actually mind that so much.

The office is rather neglected and run down, not much money is spent on its upkeep. Boxes of junk, broken furniture, old fridges, dirty windows etc.

Another annoyance is the amount of contractors that keep the place going. I work mainly with contractors, they're great at their jobs but it's personally quite isolating, they're not really colleagues and there is a detachment between the staff and the contractors.

No regrets about joining but I don't see myself in it for the long term.

muahahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122969074#Comment_122969074

After reading your post, I’ve started to feel more concerned. I still have the option to stay in my current job, so I’m uncertain whether I would face the same situation if I decide to join. It seems working in CS seems challenging. In my current job, I work fully remotely with a great team and an excellent manager. The only concern is the possibility of layoffs at my company."

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122969699#Comment_122969699

Don't be put off by one person's relatively poor experience!

I mean, sure, that person's experience of one workplace might not be great - but, after two years, they can apply for a mobility transfer to another department.

And their experience is quite different to my own; I mean, I've had good managers and poor ones, but far more of the former than the latter. And I've also seen plenty of examples of poor management and poor workplaces in the private sector, too - it's not like the private sector is a paragon of virtue!

pauliebdub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122969915#Comment_122969915

I'd agree with this assessment. I think I've been unlucky with the project I've been assigned to. Others I know really enjoy it and find the work really rewarding.

caviardreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122969699#Comment_122969699

Keep in mind if layoffs are on the cards, your manager might jump ship too and you could have a new one any time, so don't base your decision on that imo

blue_blue

someone referenced HEOs being ‘senior devs’ above. Hahah. No.
Contractors will be doing dev, you’ll end up doing technical grunt work whilst the contractors will be paid 3.5x of a HEO.
Also, with new Gov coming into place, a greater reversal of WFH is going to be undertaken (ref:today’s Path to Power podcast with Ivan Yates). Leo was pro-WFH but he’s gone now and top civil servants are sick of people going MIA / impossible to organise meetings when WFH.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122977850#Comment_122977850

Unfounded speculation. It's not going away, not least because it's far easier and less disruptive to organise a meeting over Teams or Webex than in person, productivity is demonstrably higher with WFH, and it's f'n impossible to recruit people to work in Dublin on EO/HEO wages.

JobTalkBoards

A reversal of WFH wont happen. Unions won't let it. You'll have civil servants rioting.

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979479#Comment_122979479

How is productivity demonstrably higher?

Is this evidence based.

Op you say

I've recently been assigned

What does assigned mean, dos sound like you are making up a full PPP in the CS

doc22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979544#Comment_122979544

Maybe not disappear but standardised min for everyone, and referenced in the paths to power podcast I think it was ministers having issues with senior civil servants not been available for meetings etc.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122979577#Comment_122979577

Well, if common sense isn't enough for you, productivity is demonstrably higher according to many studies that have examined it over the past few years. Here's a few:

https://www.forsa.ie/remote-working-productivity-increased-or-steady-in-most-firms/
https://www.ul.ie/sites/default/files/business/new-world-of-work-omt-global-report-2020_final.pdf
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07500-2

https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/16/hybrid-working-makes-employees-happier-healthier-and-more-productive-study-shows

blue_blue

If WFH is so productive, every commercial business in the world would shutting down all their offices.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122982761#Comment_122982761

If WFH is so unproductive, no government or commercial business in the world would permit it.

The reality? For every manchild Elon Musk CEO saying "I don't trust you, get back in to the office or you're fired!" there are hundreds of smaller companies successfully implementing blended working. Apart from the productivity benefits (which you're just ignoring, but proper studies back this up), it's good for the employee, the environment, and the employer, who can cut down on office costs.

Proof? Look at the number of empty offices around Dublin. Companies, and the public service, are voting with their feet. The anti-WFH propaganda is (absolutely coincidentally, I'm sure!) being spewed by the newspapers that tend to have a disproportionate amount of income coming from commercial property advertising. As more leases come up for renewal in the next few years, you're only going to see more WFH as companies look at savings from not having to lease office space.

Anyway - this is all off-topic. Bottom line is blended working isn't going away from the civil or public service, which is what this thread is about.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122977850#Comment_122977850

No idea what you mean by 'technical grunt work'. HEOs would generally be managing the work of contractors, managing the programmes and projects, often doing the client-facing roles - but will also be involved in hands-on design.

[Deleted User]

does it take long to move upto senior ICT specialist from ICT specialist level?

muahahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123110297#Comment_123110297

Minimum requirement is 3 year hand on experience.