Job Title: Chief Fire Officer
Employer: Kerry County Council
Location: Co. Kerry
Closing Date: 3pm, Thursday, 23 April 2026
Salary: Starting at €92,770
About the Employer
The Local Government sector in Ireland is made up of 31 local authorities and 3 Regional Assemblies. Local authorities are the closest and most accessible form of Government to citizens. They have responsibility for the delivery of a wide range of services in their local area with a focus on making cities, towns and the countryside areas attractive places to live, work and invest.
Kerry County Council is the authority responsible for Local Government in County Kerry. The Council headquarters are located at Áras an Chontae, Rathass, Tralee County Kerry and there are five Municipal Districts (Municipal District of Tralee, Municipal District of Killarney, Municipal District of Listowel, Municipal District of Kenmare and Municipal District of Castleisland-Corca Dhuibhne). Kerry County Council has 33 elected members and approximately 1500 staff.
County Kerry has a population of approximately 156,500 people in an area covering 4,700 square kilometres and 3 peninsulas. Kerry County Council is responsible for the delivery of the full range of local government services in the county. Kerry County Council seeks to enhance the county’s attraction as a place in which to invest, work, and live, and takes the lead role in shaping the strategic vision of the county. It provides a diverse, multi-layered and evolving range of services to across a large geographic area, which includes the provision of housing, climate action, planning, development, environmental, roads and traffic, leisure, culture, economic development, and community services. The Council works in partnership with communities, other state, public and private bodies in the delivery of infrastructure, regeneration and a broad range of services and shared services. It also operates the Local Government Operational Procurement Centre which is a national shared service with responsibility for managing, developing, and promoting procurement best practice for Plant Hire and Minor Building Works & Civils contracts for the entire public and civil service.
Its overall operations are supported by internal services which include ICT, Corporate, Finance, Legal and People Development.
About the Role
The mission of the Fire and Rescue Service is to protect and rescue persons and property from injury or damage by fire or other emergency. The service responds to emergencies other than fires, such as road traffic collisions, hazardous materials incidents, water rescues, flooding, and other major accidental hazards. The service also aspires to prevent emergencies happening in the first place through a range of fire prevention and technical fire safety work carried out within the County and through various community fire safety initiatives.
Kerry Fire and Rescue Service operates ten front‑line fire stations with a vehicle fleet of 48 vehicles. The Fire Service Headquarters is located at Balloonagh, Tralee.
The Chief Fire Officer’s primary function is to manage the County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service which provides the following services for the county of Kerry:
Fire Service Operations
Technical Fire Safety
Community Fire Safety
Building Control
Major Emergency Management
Civil Defence
Reporting to a nominated Director of Services, the Chief Fire Officer will manage and administer an efficient and effective Fire and Rescue Service in accordance with the Fire Service Acts and applicable associated legislation. They will hold responsibility for the management and administration of Major Emergency Planning and Building Control and will also have responsibility for strategic planning and the implementation of any associated change requirements throughout the Fire and Emergency Services. The Chief Fire Officer may also be assigned responsibility for the management of any other relevant function(s) at the discretion of the Chief Executive.
The Chief Fire Officer will be expected to prepare budgetary estimates for their area of operation and to work within allocated finances to the best overall effect. They must have the ability to work across section teams and interact with other area/teams and with Chief Fire Officers in adjacent local authority areas.
The post holder will also be required to have contact with property owners/organisations, Government Departments, the public, media, courts, etc. as required, as well as interaction with elected members and liaising with staff/union representatives.
Essential requirements are available in the Information Booklet.
We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and encourage applications under all nine grounds of the Employment Equality Act.
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