Vacancy -- Senior Independent Panel Members for Public Appointments in Wales

Vacancy details

Welsh Government, Public Bodies Unit
Sifts and Interviews to be held virtually until futher notice
This is a fee paid role and you will be paid a standard fee of £290 a day plus reasonable expenses.
10
year

Function of body

The Welsh Government sponsors over 50 regulated public bodies in Wales and, every year, numerous Ministerial public appointments are made to these bodies. Public bodies in Wales carry out a wide range of important functions such as independent regulation, advice, adjudication, ombudsman services, funding, partnership, commercial and health services. All appointments made by Welsh Ministers are made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments and are regulated by the UK Commissioner for Public Appointments (the Rt Hon Peter Riddell CBE).


Role description

Whenever there is a significant public appointment to a regulated public body, an appointment panel (otherwise known as an Advisory Assessment Panel) will be assembled to oversee the process. The Senior Independent Panel Member (SIPM) will be a member of that panel and will play a vital role in ensuring that the recruitment process is carried out in a fair and transparent way, in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. This helps to provide assurance to the relevant Minister who will make the final decision on who is appointed. The role of the appointment panel is not to choose candidates for the appointment in question but to provide Ministers with a list of candidates capable of undertaking the appointment—from which Ministers can make their selection.


The SIPM must be independent of the Welsh Government and the public body/health board/trust to which an appointment is being made and must not be currently politically active*.


Appointment panels also have a key role in exploring potential conflicts of interest and due diligence, so SIPMs need to have an understanding of the public interest and the Nolan Principles of Public Life.


SIPMs also have a responsibility to report any concerns about the appointments process to the Public Appointments Team and, if necessary, to the Commissioner.


The Welsh Government holds a list of SIPMs who can be called upon as and when needed. Each time a SIPM is proposed for a particular campaign, Welsh Ministers are required to consult the Commissioner for Public Appointments on that choice, before the process commences.

Senior Independent Panel Members may also be invited to take part in Welsh Government Senior Civil Service recruitment campaigns. 


For each recruitment campaign, the SIPM would need to be available for approximately 4 days to allow time for sift meetings, interviews and post-interview discussions. In addition, the SIPM would need to be willing to undertake some training and development during the term of their appointment.


Interview panels should be as diverse as possible and reflect the population we serve in order to make appointments which are themselves diverse. We are therefore keen to attract assessors from different backgrounds and walks of life and with different life experiences.


Senior Independent Panel Members will wish to familiarise themselves with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. They will also wish to note the list of significant Welsh Government appointments. These appointments specifically require a Senior Independent Panel Member for chair appointments.


[*Politically active is defined as an individual being employed by a political party, holding significant office in a party, standing as a candidate for a party in an election, having publicly spoken on behalf of a political party or having made significant donations or loans to a party. Significant loans and donations are those of a size which are reported to the Electoral Commission, in line with a central party’s reporting threshold.]

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.
Desirable
No skills
No skills
No skills
No skills

Person specification

Job Specific Criteria:

Senior Panel Members must:

  • Have a clear commitment to and understanding of promoting equality, diversity and inclusion;
  • Have experience of senior recruitment or other comparable experience to bring this perspective;
  • Be familiar with the Governance Code for Public Appointments, the public appointments principles and the Nolan Principles;
  • Have an understanding of the work of public bodies in Wales;
  • Have an understanding of how diverse groups bring their lived experiences as transferable skills and experiences;
  • Have good inter-personal skills and be willing to challenge, where necessary, while working as a member of the appointing panel.

Welsh Language Skills

The Welsh Government acknowledges the importance of developing and growing bilingual capabilities in public appointments in Wales, and whilst Welsh language skills are not essential for this role, they would be beneficial to the work of the Advisory Assessment Panels. Panel members are expected to show an appreciation of bilingualism and a commitment to promoting and mainstreaming the Welsh language. We welcome your application whatever your skills level.


Interview dates

12 October 2020
16 October 2020

Closing date

01/09/2020, 16:00

Additional information

It is our policy to promote and integrate equality of opportunity into all aspects of our business including appointments.

We welcome applications from individuals regardless of age, marriage (including equal/same sex marriage) and civil partnership, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, disability, race, religion or belief or pregnancy/maternity.

Wales has made great strides in relation to gender equality (for example, in 2018/19, 63.5% of those appointed to Boards in Wales were women, according to the UK Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Annual Report), however, there is concern about the low proportions of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people (3.0%) and people declaring disability (5.1%) appointed to Boards in Wales.

In the coming years, the challenge of under-representation of BAME and disabled people requires urgent redress. We therefore encourage applications from these protected groups in particular.

There is a wide range of terminology for ethnicity and different groups and individuals may prefer different labels. Currently BAME is in wide use in Government publications.

Although the relevant field of interest refers to Health and Social Care, these posts cover public bodies across all portfolio, including health boards and health trusts.

How to apply

Applications should be submitted via the Welsh Government online system and submitted no later than 16:00 on Tuesday 1 September 2020.

To apply, you will be asked to register for an account on the online system using an email address. It is recommended that you select an email address to which only you have access, as this will be our main method of communication with you regarding the selection process. 

If you have an impairment that would prevent you from applying online, please email public appointments to request an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to impairment in order to submit your application.

As part of the recruitment process, you will be asked to provide the following:

  • A completed application form;
  • An up to date CV setting out your career history with key responsibilities and/or outlining your lived experience and any achievements;
  • A personal statement of no longer than two sides of A4 explaining how your qualifications, skills, qualities and experience, which may include ‘lived’ experience, demonstrate your suitability for the role and, in particular how you meet the person specification.

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.