Vacancy -- Member - Human Tissue Authority

Vacancy details

Human Tissue Authority
London
The Welsh Member is entitled to receive a taxable remuneration of £7,883 per annum.
3
month

Function of body

The HTA is one of two competent authorities with UK-wide responsibility for regulating tissues and cells for patient treatment in accordance with European Directives. It is also the UK competent authority for the purpose of the Organ Donation Directive which sets minimum standards for the quality and safety of organ donation and transplants across the EU.

The HTA licenses more than 800 organisations that store and use human tissue in connection with the activities covered by the Human Tissue Act 2004, the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 and European Directives.

The HTA has a general role of overseeing compliance with the Human Tissue Act 2004 and the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013, including providing advice and guidance to people carrying out activities covered by these Acts, members of the public and Ministers. For example, the HTA provides advice to members of the public wishing to donate their bodies to medical schools for anatomical examination after their death (what most people call “leaving your body for medical science”). The HTA also publishes codes of practice giving practical guidance to professionals carrying out activities that lie within its remit, including organ donation.

Regulations made under the Human Tissue Act 2004 and the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 also require all donations of organs from living people, and donations of bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) from children and adults lacking capacity to be approved by the HTA. This is to ensure that no reward has been given; that no duress or coercion is involved and that valid consent is in place. Members of the Authority play a key part in the approvals process. The HTA also assesses cases of living organ donation in Scotland under an agreement with the Scottish Government.

Role description

The Welsh Member to the HTA is one of a number of independent members who are responsible for holding the HTA to account for it activities and ensure it delivers its strategic objectives. The Welsh Member will in addition ensure accountability of the HTA to the Welsh Ministers and that Welsh Government policies are being taken into account in the HTA’s work.

Welsh language skills

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.
Not necessary to undertake the duties of this post

Person specification

Knowledge and Experience – please cover these in your personal statement 

  • Experience of being committed to the objectives of a Board or Committee and the interest and drive to make a real contribution to a Board or Committee;
  • Experience of effective scrutiny and challenge of a Board or Committee, and of holding them to account for their performance or the delivery of its strategy;
  • Experience of thinking strategically and exercising sound judgement on complex and sensitive issues; and
  • Experience of demonstrating the highest standards of personal propriety in relation to governance, accountability, risk and financial management.

Experience or skills in one or more of the following:

  • Professional experience in any of the sectors regulated by the HTA;
  • Experience of organ donation and transplantation either from a patient or practitioner perspective;
  • Medical, clinical or research ethics;
  • Data and analytics as drivers for digital transformation.

 

Personal Attributes and Skills – please cover these in your personal statement

  • Strong interpersonal skills with personal impact and credibility to be an effective advocate and ambassador with strong influencing and negotiating skills 
  • Drive and determination, with the ability to instil vision and develop defined strategies to pursue long and short-term goals 
  • Excellent communication skills, with the ability to be clear and succinct and to facilitate understanding of complex issues while demonstrating respect for the views of others;
  • Ability to absorb large amounts of information and to evaluate complex evidence within a short time frame;
  • Sound judgement, sensitivity and political awareness; and
  • Capacity to be independent and resilient.

 

Candidates must also demonstrate:

  • A clear understanding and commitment to equality issues and challenging discriminatory practices; and
  • A clear understanding and commitment to Nolan’s ‘Seven Principles of Public Life’.

 

Welsh language skills are desirable. All candidates will be expected to display empathy towards the language and demonstrate leadership to strengthen bilingual service provision within the NHS in Wales.

Candidates shortlisted for interview will be required to expand on how they meet the criteria above using examples and evidence.

Interview dates

28 February 2021
12 March 2021

Closing date

01/02/2021, 16:00

Additional information

For further information regarding the selection process, please contact:

Public Appointments Team
publicappointments@gov.wales.

For further information or to arrange an informal discussion about the role of the Welsh Member to the HTA, please contact:

 

Prof Chris Jones, Deputy Chief Medical Officer.

Tel: 03000 257143

Email: chris.jones@gov.wales.

 

Further information about the HTA is available at:

https://www.hta.gov.uk/about-us

How to apply

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

This vacancy is closed to applications.