Employee of the Year Award

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Employee of the Year Award

This year’s National Diversity & Inclusion Awards cover 14 categories of excellence.

This award recognises an individual who goes the extra mile to champion diversity and inclusion above and beyond their day job. Entrants should be considered as someone who promotes the opportunities related to being Inclusive and Diverse.

Please provide an outline of the activity in the entry/nomination form. Shortlisted entrants will be asked to provide evidence at a later part of the judging process.

Closing date for entries: Friday 23rd October 2026

If you have any queries about entering, please see the FAQ or email [email protected] All other queries (eg booking tables), email [email protected]

Submissions should address the following criteria:

> Evidence of the employee working to highlight the benefits and impact of inclusion and diversity

> Demonstrate the employee’s contribution to developing a culture change.

> Evidence the employee is encouraging others to also step up and champion D&I

> Evidence the employee is demonstrating allyship

Complete your Nomination

Your submission will be emailed back to you (and you may need to check ‘junk/spam’ filters)

Details

Employee of the Year Award

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Details

THE CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES/NOMINATIONS Friday 23rd October 2026

NDI Awards Frequently Asked Questions

Length of Submission

650 words per submission. Entries over 650 words will be cut at the 650 word mark and the remainder deleted before consideration

Support Material(s)

No support material can be accepted with the initial entry. If shortlisted as a finalist, you will be invited to a 30-minute interview with a judge/judges. You may use a presentation as part of the interview and the judges will accept a copy of the presentation after the interview.

Interview

If shortlisted for an interview with a judge/judges, consider which member of your team can best share the story of your D&I initiative. Plan your interview so all participants are given an opportunity to speak and consider diversity in the interview panel.

Focus

The judges are looking for strategies that had/have real impact in the workplace. Include focus on the transformation that result from the D&I initiatives. Ensure this is referenced from initial application and, if shortlisted, expanded on in the interview.

Highlight the exceptional

Impress the judges by ensuring the entry focuses on exceptional efforts.

Awards Terms & Conditions

All information submitted will be treated in confidence.

The word count limit per nomination is 650. No support material should be provided at the initial stage. If additional information is presented during the interview of finalists – judges may request a copy of the presentation.

We appreciate that D&I strategies can take time to come to fruition. The activity in the entry/nomination should be current and active within the organisation with measurable results. An example would be an initiative started in 2025, where the impact felt/the main results presented were measured in 2026

The conferring of an award is based on the unanimous view of the judge for that category and the Chair of the judging panel. Sponsors and members of the Irish Centre for Diversity team do not participate in the judging process.

No correspondence will be entered into. The judges’ decision is final.

Any attempt to influence/canvas the judging panel or tamper with the judging process will result in prompt disqualification for all entries pertaining to the entrant on whose behalf the canvassing is made.