Vacancy -- Chair

NRW’s board consists of a Chair and twelve members, one of whom is the Chief Executive.   Its role is to:

 

• provide effective leadership, defining and developing strategic direction and setting challenging objectives;
• Provide effective leadership for the operation of the organisation; holding the Chief Executive to account for ensuring that NRW’s activities are conducted efficiently and effectively;
• promote high standards of public finance upholding the principles of regularity, propriety and value for money;
• monitor NRW’s performance to ensure that it fully meets its statutory duties, aims, objectives and performance targets.

 

The current board membership is as follows:

 

• Sir David Henshaw, Interim Chair (tenure ends 31 October 2019)
• Elizabeth Haywood, Board Member
• Zoe Henderson, Board Member
• Chris Blake, Board Member
• Karen Balmer, Board Member
• Catherine Brown, Board Member
• Julia Cherret, Board Member
• Howard C Davies, Board Member
• Dr Rosetta Plummer, Board Member
• Prof Steve Ormerod, Board Member
• Sir Peter Rigby, Board Member
• Geraint Davies, Board Member
• Clare Pillman, Chief Executive

 

The Executive

 

The Executive works in Partnership with the Board when developing strategy for NRW.  The Executive is accountable for the day-to-day activities of the organisation and provides corporate leadership.  

The Chair of NRW is appointed by Welsh Government Ministers and is responsible for ensuring the sustainable management of the natural resources of Wales .  The Chair is  responsible for leading the board in developing, approving and monitoring the long-term strategy for NRW to meet its statutory duties. 

 

NRW is seeking a Chair who will lead the Board and, together with them, continue to set the strategic direction for NRW.  This includes monitoring the delivery of the organisation’s business strategy, plans and performance objectives.  The Board will be responsible for steering and developing the overall work of the organisation, while the Chief Executive will manage its day to day running.

 

The work of the Board is supported by four committees:

 

• Audit and Risk Assurance;
• People and Remuneration;
• Business Finance and Planning; and
• Flood Advisory group.

 

In addition to chairing the Board, the Chair may be required to attend other Committees.  The Chair will be required to work a minimum of 72 days per year.

 

The key responsibilities for the Chair include:

 

• Providing vision and strategic leadership;
• Chairing meetings and supporting the development of the Board, ensuring an appropriate balance of skills and experience;
• Ensuring that the Board is effective in working with the Executive to develop strategy and corporate business plans that are properly scrutinised and monitored;
• Working with the Chief Executive, in their role as Accounting Officer, ensure that appropriate governance arrangements are implemented in line with best practice and the requirements of a public body;
• Ensuring that the governance arrangements deliver the legal responsibilities, functions and duties placed on the body by Statute;
• Working closely with the Chief Executive to ensure a relevant organisational strategy remains in place;
• Working closely with the Chief Executive continue to build and mature the organisations structure and positive approach to its work;
• Overseeing the work of the Chief Executive, providing appropriate support as necessary, including managing their performance;
• Representing the Body externally and fostering close working relationships with key stakeholders.

 

The Chair will be responsible for ensuring the Board, collectively and individually, adhere to the Nolan seven principles of public life:

 

• Selflessness
• Integrity
• Objectivity
• Accountability
• Openness
• Honesty
• Leadership

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.

To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills and experience to meet all the essential criteria for appointment. 

 

Essential

 

• Lead and chair a Board to ensure its effective functioning and the appropriate discharge of responsibilities of the organisation;
•  An ability in leading organisational transformation and development at Board level or equivalent in a complex organisation;
• Track record of inspiring and enthusing staff and stakeholders which demonstrates an inclusive and collaborative approach;
• An exceptional ability to communicate, including handling the media and wider public audiences, and building relationships at all levels.  Strong interpersonal skills are required, including the ability to negotiate, persuade and influence;
• First class analytical skills and judgement based on an expert ability to process and interpret complex and often technical information;
• Ability to ensure the organisation’s financial dealings are prudently and systematically accounted for, audited and publicly available showing a commitment to transparency and openness;
• Understanding of, and commitment to, the principles of public life; and
• Able to demonstrate a track record of commitment to and notable delivery against principles of equality and diversity.

Desirable

 

• Demonstrate an interest in the environment and sustainability criteria;
• Experience of working in a regulatory environment.
• Ability to communicate in both Welsh and English.

22/05/2019, 16:00

For additional information regarding the assessment and selection process, please contact publicappointments@gov.wales.

 

For queries regarding the requirements for the role, please contact the Public Appointments Unit (PublicAppointments@gov.wales or tel 03000 253205) or Tim Render, Director for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Tim.Render@gov.wales or 03000 258574).

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