Take your career on an unforgettable journey with Fáilte Ireland
If you want a job showcasing the beauty of Ireland and sites like the Burren, then working with Fáilte Ireland is a golden opportunity.
For far too many of us, it’s only in recent years that we’ve learned to truly appreciate our surroundings here in Ireland. The Covid-19 pandemic and the many lockdowns and travel restrictions that came with it, forcing us to embrace the ‘Staycation’ for a while, has opened plenty of eyes to the unlimited amount of beauty and adventure this small island of ours has to offer.
There are those, however, who were already planning dream holidays across the Emerald Isle well before the pandemic. In fact, there’s over 400 such people who had long ago cottoned on to just how much of the country was waiting to be explored, and who decided to do something about it. This 400-strong team make up Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority, who is responsible for promoting and supporting the development of sustainable tourism as a key driver of economic growth in Ireland. The organisation helps promote and sustain Ireland as an attractive and compelling visitor destination.
Fáilte Ireland’s teams work across the country promoting and supporting the development of tourism — and those teams are now looking to build their numbers! From roles in marketing, to finance, to sustainability, there’s a wide variety of vacancies currently being advertised, with a range of different skillsets needed to fill each one.
The first thing that could qualify you to work in any division at Fáilte Ireland, though, is relatively simple — a passion for the land we call home.
Such is the view of Patrice O’Mahony, who’s worked in Fáilte Ireland’s Commercial Development team for the past two years, and has found it to be her dream job “donning the green jersey to promote our beautiful country” as part of her role to convince some of the world’s biggest academic institutions to choose Ireland as the host destination for their next conference or event.
“I’m very proud to work for Fáilte Ireland, and be part of an organisation making such a positive impact to sustainably grow tourism across the country, which in turn facilitates job creation and benefits local economies in every county,” she explains. “Coming from Kerry myself, an area of Ireland that relies so heavily on tourism, it makes me proud to think that my work everyday can help contribute even in a small way to supporting the industry. To work for Fáilte Ireland, you definitely have to be passionate about Ireland and its people, but then again how could you not be passionate about our amazing country?”
This passion Patrice has for her work is just one trait that Fáilte Ireland looks for in all its employees, as HR Manager Viv Egan outlines. “Passion is one of our seven core values at Fáilte Ireland, with the others being collaboration, expertise, care, integrity, action and imagination. Everyone at Fáilte Ireland really does live by each of those values, it’s one of the biggest reasons that I’m proud to work there.
“Care is one of the values that stick out for me in particular — Fáilte Ireland genuinely cares about its employees and their long-term careers. There’s a lot of opportunities for growth in Fáilte Ireland, with a real commitment from the organisation to both personal and professional development for all employees across the board.”
“I joined Fáilte Ireland in 2021 in the middle of the pandemic, so I didn’t have the opportunity to meet any colleagues in person for a while” shares Patrice. “I really appreciated initiatives like Fáilte Ireland’s virtual café, where we are paired up at random with another colleague for a virtual cuppa. I learned so much about the wide variety of roles within Fáilte Ireland during those calls and really got a feel for the organisation’s inclusive culture. It made me feel very welcome, which is invaluable starting any job.”
While Viv had a very different introduction upon joining Fáilte Ireland four years ago, in the rose-tinted pre-Covid days, she feels the organisation has only been strengthened by the pandemic. “When I first started at Fáilte Ireland, what really struck me is how we all genuinely enjoy working together,” she reflects. “Obviously our ways of working have changed, we’re no longer in the office beside each other five days a week, but there’s still a real sense of togetherness. We have a number of initiatives to encourage that culture — for example, through our “Journies” programme which includes a range of wellbeing initiatives such as mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing. The programme involves online yoga classes, learn to run programmes and even a live cook along programme to name just a few. There’s always an opportunity at Fáilte Ireland, no matter where you’re based, to meet all your colleagues from all sorts of divisions within the organisation. It’s been particularly useful to meet other colleagues and get chatting about my next adventure or holiday in Ireland, because I’ve picked up plenty of tips from everyone!”
It's these kind of initiatives that have not only kept the energy alive for Fáilte Ireland’s employees, but have also kept the organisation firmly positioned on the leaderboard of Ireland’s top employers. A diverse workplace with an inclusive culture that provides equal rights for all, Fáilte Ireland is not only recognised as a Great Place to Work but also listed in the top five most trusted organisations in Ireland. For the past several years, Fáilte reland has won big at the Great Place to Work awards — having most recently been successful in both the ‘Best Workplace’ and ‘Best Workplace for Women’ categories in 2022.
“Fáilte Ireland is holding its own against some of the top companies in Ireland, including multinationals, in the Great Place to Work awards,” Patrice shares proudly. “Being relatively new to the organisation, I find that a lot of care is taken by leadership to ask for and listen to employee feedback, so it’s great to see that paying off with these awards. Our blended working model in particular has proven very popular. For me, it allows better work/life balance without sacrificing on productivity or any collaboration with my wider team. Fáilte Ireland's approach to blended working was definitely a huge draw for me.”
There are many other advantages, however, to working for Fáilte Ireland. While their competitive salary and benefits for all employees are a huge incentive, Patrice finds that the variety of the work Fáilte Ireland does is what makes the organisation most attractive.
“There isn’t anything typical about a working day here,” she laughs. “No two days are the same and that’s why I love it! I work closely with renowned universities and educational institutes to support them in bringing large scale conference events to Ireland. I could be meeting a potential ambassador to discuss our practical and financial support available in the morning, then presenting at a university in the afternoon!
“By nature of our work, my team in particular travels frequently, so one day I could be working from home or the office, the next traveling around Ireland to meet with key stakeholders or attending some of the world’s biggest conference tradeshows. It is an exciting, challenging and very rewarding role!”
If you’d be up for a similar challenge with any role in Fáilte Ireland, Viv has some advice for anyone who’ll be applying in the coming weeks. “I think anyone considering a career at Fáilte Ireland should take time to get to know us. Visit our website and read all about us — we’re very present online and in the media, lots of our achievements and initiatives have been well publicised. So I’d say take the time to get to know who we really are, and how you could fit in with us.
"By joining Fáilte Ireland you will be working in a nurturing team-based environment in a values-driven culture with excellent opportunities for professional and personal development. You will become part of a talented and diverse community of employees whose mission and passion is to promote and support the development of tourism across Ireland. You will enjoy a richness and diversity in your work alongside talented colleagues to deliver the impact we aspire to.
"All the relevant role profiles are on our careers page, so I’d recommend people to read those in detail. I would also advise them to take their time completing our application form, as that’s the first opportunity for someone to showcase their experience and skills to us!”
To find out more about the roles available, visit www.failteireland.ie/workwithus.
