About the National Dairy Council

The National Dairy Council (NDC) is a farmer-funded representative body that advocates for dairy as part of an increasingly sustainably produced food system; as a key component in a healthy balanced diet; and as a sector, indispensable to Ireland’s social and economic wellbeing.

The NDC is currently structured across three pillars: Marketing, Communications & Farm Advocacy; Schools; and Nutrition.

The EU School Milk Scheme (SMS) has operated in Ireland since 1982. Its purpose is to reconnect children with agriculture and to teach healthy eating habits for life, by distributing milk to children, supported by educational activities. Since 2017, the scheme is operated by the National Dairy Council (NDC) under its Moo Crew educational platform. For the purposes of EU funding, NDC is the aid applicant. Supporting national funds are provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine (DAFM) under an Oversight and Performance Delivery Agreement.

The rules for the operation of the scheme are set down under a six-year strategy for the implementation of the SMS (2023/24–2028/2029 school year) as provided for under an EU Regulatory framework [1].

School Milk Scheme Co-Ordinator

Profile: Experienced, detail-orientated administrator with a track record in co-ordinating projects and managing financial records. He or she will have strong inter-personal skills, comfortable engaging with third parties for the purposes of procurement of goods and services, planning and onboarding; with colleagues to deliver our projects; and with auditors who oversee the scheme. This role requires a strong focus on accuracy, gathering information, the maintenance of records and meeting deadlines.

Responsibilities

This role will involve the day-to-day coordination of the school milk scheme in Ireland.

• Developing and maintaining strong relationships with school milk suppliers and schools.
• Managing day-to-day interaction and communication between schools and school milk suppliers through phone and email enquiries.
• Facilitating an efficient invoicing process with School Milk suppliers nationally
• Managing online School Milk Scheme portal, provide support to third party users and liaise regularly with IT Support to resolve technical issues & updates when required.
• Supporting the Programme Manager in delivering communications to schools including direct mail and online resources
• Ensuring the completion of all paperwork and documentation in relation to EU funding and liaising with the accounts department on an ongoing basis
• Feeding into the planning of the roll out of the programme in conjunction with the programme manager and various service providers
• Managing the service providers and liaising on issues that arise during the running of the scheme
• Managing the Quarterly Claims Process
• Liaising with key stakeholders on implementation of the programme, including responding to various queries
• Preparing various invoices and claims for submission to Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
• Preparing reports/statistics for NDC and DAFM as required
• Supporting the pilot testing of any new elements of the scheme.
• Managing internal quarterly audits of subsidy claims
• Supporting external audits with information required.

Qualifications & Experience

Candidates must have:

• A minimum of 3-5 years’ experience in an administration role
• Experience and proficiency in Microsoft Office and managing data and online information portals.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• The ability to work on their own initiative and unsupervised, but also in a busy team environment
• Excellent attention to detail
• The ability to manage multiple tasks
• A positive can-do attitude.

Experience dealing with invoices and EU funded programmes is a distinct advantage.

How to apply:

Applications are invited from qualified candidates. Please apply directly to the Schools Programme Manager, swhelan@ndc.ie, enclosing a current CV and cover letter and including the following information:

• Confirmation of eligibility to work in Ireland.
• Available Start Date/ Notice Period

[1] Council Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 (Articles 22 to 25 and Annex V) , Council Regulation (EU) No 1370/2013 (Article 5 and Annex 1), Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/39 (Articles 3a, 4 and 5) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40 (Articles, 4,5 6, 7 and 8), Article 6 of the Delegated Regulation.