Vacancy -- The Welsh Language Partnership Council Appointment of Members (up to 4)

The first Partnership Council was established in April 2012 to support the Government in implementing A living language: a language for living – Welsh Language Strategy 2012–2017 and the first set of Welsh Language Standards.

The Government's current Welsh language strategy, Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers, was launched during the summer of 2017 alongside a Work Programme for 2017-21. We will prepare a new work programme next year for the next government to continue on the journey towards the million.

The Council’s Role

The Partnership Council will contribute to the implementation of the Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers strategy by advising and making representations to Welsh Ministers. Members will also be expected to promote the strategy with the organisations and sectors they represent.

As a Council Member, you will contribute to the implementation of the Welsh language strategy, Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers, by advising and making representations to Welsh Ministers. You will also be expected to promote the strategy with the organisations and sectors you represent.

The Welsh Government acknowledges the importance of developing and growing bilingual capabilities in public appointments in Wales, and welcomes applications from candidates who demonstrate their capability to work in both English and Welsh.  The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the recruiting body of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

In order to be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills and experience to meet each of the criteria essential for the appointment. 

In order for the Partnership Council to operate effectively, its Members will need to have a wide range of experiences in matters relating to the Welsh language, from all areas and sectors in Wales, and from every part of the country. This includes individuals working in the public, private and third sectors. 

To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the following qualities, skills and experience:

• Be able to work independently as well as part of a team.

• Be an effective and persuasive communicator, capable of making relevant and appropriate contributions to meetings.

• Have a clear understanding and commitment to equality and diversity.

Essential Criteria 

In addition, Members will need to demonstrate how they meet each of the following three criteria:

• Have experience and / or knowledge of matters relating to the Welsh language as well as a speciality in one or more of the following areas:
• Education
• Equality
• Language planning
• Increasing language use in the community and / or in the workplace
• Economy and business
• Health and care
• Marketing or behaviour change techniques
• Linguistic infrastructure (including technology, corpus work, lexicography)
• Have experience and/or knowledge of at least two of the following:
• Strategic planning and managing change
• Developing balanced, evidence-based policy advice
• Influencing others within an organisation, including influencing senior members of an organisation.
• Have experience and / or knowledge of the varying extent to which the Welsh language is used by those living in Wales. 

The Welsh Language

We want to appoint six members with varying experiences of Welsh language matters 

It is important that the Partnership Council is made up of people from different backgrounds and from all parts of Wales, and we therefore welcome applications from confident Welsh speakers, new speakers, and those who do not speak the language.

We are keen to attract members of communities currently under-represented to join the Partnership Council, whether they are new speakers, or members of ethnic minority communities.

Meetings are held through the medium of Welsh. Four of the six new members will need to speak Welsh confidently, and simultaneous translation will be available at meetings as required.

 

01/02/2021, 16:00

Thank you for expressing an interest in the appointment process for Members to the Welsh Language Partnership Council. We hope to appoint six members to join the six members already on the Council. If more than six candidates are eligible for appointment, we may keep details of eligible candidates not appointed on a reserve list for up to 12 months.

Members will contribute to the implementation of the Welsh Government's Welsh language strategy, Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers, by advising and making representations to Welsh Ministers. The attached Annexes provide details of the role of Members and the person specification, the role and responsibilities of the Partnership Council and the selection process.

To make an application, please visit the Welsh Government public appointment website here: https://cymru-wales.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/mobile-0/appcentre-3/brand-2/candidate/jobboard/vacancy/7/adv/.

On the website, click on the post ("Members of the Welsh Language Partnership Council") and then select the “Apply” button at the bottom of the page on the left hand side. The first time you apply for a post with the Welsh Government, you will need to complete a registration form to access the Government's online application system. You only need to register once, and in doing so, you will be able to track your application, and any other applications you send through your account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form. To apply, you will need to upload a personal statement and CV to the “Reasons for applying” section of the online application form.

Personal Statement

The personal statement is your opportunity to demonstrate how you meet each of the criteria set out in the person specification. How you choose to present the information is up to you. However, you should aim to provide detailed examples that demonstrate how your knowledge and experience matches each of the criteria, and which describe what your role was in achieving a specific result. It will also aid the selection panel if you can be clear which evidence you provide relates to which criteria. Providing separate paragraphs in relation to each criterion is common practice.

Please limit your personal statement to two pages. Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit.

CV 

Please ensure your CV includes brief details of your current or most recent post and the dates you occupied this role. Please identify any past or present Ministerial appointments.

References

Please provide two referees (employer and personal) who can be contacted to request references. We will only contact these individuals in the case of successful candidates.

 

To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button below. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system.  You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form.  To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates.  This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4.  Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit.  The second document is a full, up to date CV.  The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.

In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities.  We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years. 

It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence.  You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go.  You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.

If you’d like to apply for this opportunity in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Public Appointments Team on  PublicAppointments@gov.wales.

For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments