Install Findmino as an app for the best experience!
(Enterprise Development Officer, LEO Business Advisor, Small Business Development Officer, Enterprise Support Officer)
Law & Public Service
Salary
€38,000 - €72,000/yr
Level
Professional
Outlook
Stable
Sector
Law & Public Service
As a Local Enterprise Officer you support start-ups and small businesses in your county or city by providing access to grants, training programmes, and one-to-one mentoring. You assess business plans, evaluate funding applications, and advise entrepreneurs on how to grow their enterprises in a sustainable way. You work closely with Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), Enterprise Ireland, and a wide range of local stakeholders including business owners, community groups, and government departments. Your day-to-day work involves organising workshops, attending networking events, monitoring the progress of businesses you support, and keeping up to date with national enterprise policy.
Listen: a day as a Local Enterprise Officer
You arrive at the Local Enterprise Office, which is based within your county council building, at half eight on a Tuesday morning. Before your first appointment you open your inbox and work through a queue of funding queries from local business owners. Several are asking about the Trading Online Voucher scheme and one is following up on a Feasibility Study Grant application you reviewed last week. You log into the LEO's internal case management system, update the status of three open files, and flag one application that needs a revised cash-flow projection before it can go to the assessment panel. At ten o'clock you sit down with a woman who has been running a small food-production business from a rented unit on the edge of town for eighteen months. She wants to expand into a larger premises and is asking whether she qualifies for a Priming Grant. You go through her accounts, ask about her current turnover and staff numbers, and explain the eligibility criteria carefully. The conversation takes longer than scheduled because her bookkeeping records are incomplete, and you spend time explaining why audited figures matter to the assessment panel. You refer her to a local accountant on the LEO mentoring panel and book a follow-up meeting for three weeks' time.
A Level 8 Honours Bachelor degree is the typical minimum requirement for this role, with relevant disciplines including Business, Economics, Enterprise Development, or Public Administration. Leaving Certificate subjects such as Business, Economics, Mathematics, and Accounting provide a strong foundation for third-level study in these areas. Programmes at universities such as UCD, DCU, UL, and Maynooth, or technological universities such as TU Dublin and ATU, offer relevant undergraduate degrees. Many officers also hold a Level 9 postgraduate qualification in Business, Regional Development, or a related field, which can strengthen career prospects. No statutory registration body governs this role, but familiarity with Enterprise Ireland frameworks, LEO operational guidelines, and public sector procurement rules is expected.
Most Local Enterprise Officers begin their careers in business development, finance, or public administration roles before moving into a LEO position, often at executive or senior executive level within a local authority structure. With experience, you may progress to Head of Enterprise or LEO Manager, overseeing a team of officers and managing larger funding portfolios. Some officers move laterally into Enterprise Ireland, Údarás na Gaeltachta, or other enterprise development agencies. Continuing professional development through postgraduate study or leadership programmes is common and can support advancement into senior management.
AI tools are increasingly used to analyse market data, automate reporting, and identify trends in business performance, which reduces administrative workload for Local Enterprise Officers. You are likely to use AI-assisted platforms to screen grant applications and generate insights on local enterprise ecosystems more efficiently. However, the core value of this role lies in human judgement, relationship building, and contextual understanding of local business communities, which AI cannot replicate. Officers who embrace AI as a productivity tool while maintaining strong interpersonal skills will be best placed for the future.
→ Local Enterprise Officer (Current role)
Organisations in Ireland that employ people in this occupation.
Dublin City
Support city start-ups with grants, mentoring and training programmes.
Cork City
Advise entrepreneurs and assess funding applications across Cork City.
Galway City and County
Deliver business mentoring and enterprise development supports countywide.
Limerick City and County
Evaluate business plans and administer enterprise grants in Limerick.
Swords, Co. Dublin
Support small businesses and start-ups across the Fingal area.
Tralee, Co. Kerry
Provide rural enterprise supports, training and mentoring across Kerry.
Lifford, Co. Donegal
Grow micro-enterprises through grants, advice and stakeholder collaboration.
Dublin (Eastpoint Business Park)
Partner agency shaping enterprise policy and co-funding LEO programmes nationally.
Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
Assess grant applications and mentor small business owners countywide.
Navan, Co. Meath
Deliver enterprise programmes and one-to-one advice to Meath businesses.
We don't know whether these employers currently have vacancies — always check their own website. And if there's somewhere you'd really love to work, it can be worth applying anyway, even without an open vacancy.
Our tools can help you with that:
We use functional cookies and — with your consent — cookies for preferences, statistics and marketing.