Development Officer - Hospice Friendly Hospitals

Who We Are

Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) is a national charity that addresses dying, death and bereavement in Ireland. Our vision is an Ireland where people facing end of life or bereavement, and those who care for them, are provided with the care and support that they need.

Through advocacy and education, and the provision of services such as Nurses for Night Care and the Bereavement Support Line and our national programmes such as Hospice Friendly Hospitals, Dying Well at Home and Caru – Supporting Care Compassion at End of Life in Nursing Homes, Adult Bereavement Programme and Irish Childhood Bereavement Network, IHF works to ensure that every person in Ireland can die and grieve well, whatever their age and wherever the place. 

About The Role

Job Purpose:The role will be to work as part of the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) Healthcare Programmes (HCP) Team and support and deliver the work of the Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme. The primary focus of the role is to coordinate and run the 4 HFH Networks and Design Dignity.

Salary: The annual gross salary for this role is circa €37,338 - €43,927, depending on experience

Contract Type: Maternity Cover - 1 year Specified Purpose contract – start date of 10th of August 2026

Hours of Work: Full Time (37 hours a week – 5 days a week (Monday to Friday)

Job Location: Our offices are based on Nassau St., Dublin 2. We have a hybrid work model in place (a minimum requirement of 2 days a week in the office).

Reporting to: Programme Manager Hospice Friendly Hospitals

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and manage the 5HFH Networks: Acute Hospital Network, End-of-Life Care Coordinator Network, Maternity Perinatal Loss Network, Paediatric Network, and the Representative Network. This responsibility includes the delivery of annual, in-person events and requires management and planning of all elements, including scheduling, registration, evaluation and Nursing and Midwifery Board Ireland (NMBI) accreditation.
• Supporting hospital End-of-Life Care (EoLC) Coordinators, Committees and Chairs with all aspects of the HFH Programme including networks, education training, environmental improvements, resources, and quality improvement projects etc.
• Supporting the management and coordination of environmental improvements within hospitals. This includes:
• organising the Design Dignity Advisory group meetings, preparation work in advance and the recording of actions and meetings
• Supporting the management of Design Dignity, including promoting grant round opportunities, providing support and regular communication with project leads, having an awareness of each project stage and oversight to report on project status / progress made to date.
• Coordination and management of Design Dignity Small Grants Funding, from scheduling, application review through to evaluations and reporting.
• Management of the Design Dignity inbox, answering all queries and expression of interest
• Managing and supporting expressions of interest through the Mortuary Capital Programme
• As appropriate, drafting architect contracts, with support and sign-off by the HFH Programme Manager and IHF’s Director of Finance Operations
• Management of upscaled projects supported through Hospice Friendly Hospitals Quality Improvement Awards.
• Build and maintain internal and key external relationships to maximise impact of work.
• Support hospitals to develop capacity to embed the Quality Standards for End of Life Care in Hospitals
• Develop and promote the use of practical resources for EOLC in hospitals. This includes:
• Management of the EoL Symbol Guidelines and responding to any requests for Symbol use
• Maintaining and updating HFH EoLC Resources Webpage
• Communicating with suppliers to ascertain product cost prices and annual reporting
• Support with national campaigns including Palliative Care Week by providing promotional materials to hospitals.
• Provide support and routine updates of work to line manager, including generating reports, information materials, abstract proposals, presentations and articles to support dissemination of work
  

Any other tasks as may be assigned by the manager or designated person.

Qualifications And Experience

IHF is open to applications from candidates who have experience in most but not all of the following areas. The successful candidate will be supported through their induction to increase their knowledge and ability to deliver on the responsibilities outlined here. Further training and ongoing support will be available.

Essential

• Proven service development, quality improvement initiatives and project management skills (at least two years’ experience)
• PowerPoint, Canva and Excel proficiency
• Reasonable understanding of the relevance of good EoLC in hospital settings and appreciation of the issues related to dying, death and bereavement, especially for staff
• Excellent oral and written communications, and presentation skills
• A working knowledge of GDPR
• Strong empathetic and interpersonal skills
• Excellent organisational, administration and data management skills.
• Experience of creating promotional materials and developing content for social media
• Ability to multi-task, be self-directed and manage time effectively
• Knowledge of the Charity Sector
• Knowledge and familiarity of the relevant HSE clinical care programmes; acute health structures
• An understanding of the relevance of palliative care for adults and children

Desirable

The above Job Specification is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved, and, consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post that may be assigned to them from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Benefits Include

Pension As a member you will be required to make a pension contribution of 5% on your gross annual salary. IHF will contribute 10% on your behalf to a company contributory pension scheme.

Death in Service 4 times annual salary

Income Protection 75% of salary and cover pension contributions

Annual Leave 23 days per year (increased with service)

Additional Leave Days Closure of the office on Good Friday, half day Christmas Eve and time between Christmas and New Year

Sick Pay Up to 6 months certified sick leave

Hybrid Work Arrangement 2 days working from the office

Maternity Leave 26 weeks fully paid maternity leave (less social welfare benefits)

Adoptive Leave 24 weeks fully paid adoptive leave (less social welfare benefits)

Paternity Leave 2 weeks fully paid paternity leave (less social welfare benefits)

Sabbatical Leave Opportunity to take Sabbatical leave after 5 years of service

Opportunities for training and workplace development

Flexible work options

Access to our Employee Assistance Programme

Travel (bike-to-work schemes/tax saver commuter tickets)

Application Procedure

Closing date for applications is 27th May 2026

Applicants should submit a CV (max. 2 pages), detailing relevant experience, along with a covering letter outlining the reasons they believe they are suitable for this role.

• Applicants will be short-listed based on information supplied.
• Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.
• Should the person recommended for appointment decline, or having accepted it, relinquish it, or if an additional vacancy arises, IHF may, at its discretion, select and recommend another person for appointment on the results of this selection process.

Candidates must be legally entitled to work in Ireland at the time of application.

If you require accommodations to be made during the recruitment process, or have questions relating to accessibility, please contact us.