Vacancy -- More than just Words Advisory Board - Members - Welsh Desirable

Vacancy details

More than just words advisory Board
Board meetings, which will be held quarterly, will predominantly take place virtually however we will aim for at least one meeting a year to be held face to face at venues throughout Wales. As part of a reasonable adjustment, consideration will be given to requests for members wishing to contribute remotely to face to face meetings.
Board Members are not employees of the Welsh Government and will serve in a voluntary, unpaid capacity. Travel and subsistence expenses you incur in attending meetings will be reimbursed by the Welsh Government at the rate currently applying to members of Government Committees. Childcare and other dependent expenses may be paid, on production of receipts, for additional costs incurred as a direct consequence of duties performed in the capacity of your work for the Board.
5
year

Function of body

More than just words is the Welsh Government’s strategic framework for the Welsh language in health and social care. Despite efforts to strengthen Welsh language provision in health and social care services, there have been inconsistencies in progress and variation in both availability and quality of Welsh language services.

The Minister for Health and Social Services therefore established a task and finish group to develop an ambitious 5-year plan to address key issues and a new More than just words plan 2022-27 (the plan) was published on 2 August 2022. Its aim is to support Welsh speakers to receive care in their first language. Launching the plan, Health and Social Services Minister Eluned Morgan AM said, " When people are receiving or trying to access care, it is usually when they are at their most vulnerable, so being comfortable in their own language is important’’.

According to research, for many Welsh speakers, being able to access services in Welsh significantly improved their overall experience and, in many cases, improved their health and wellbeing outcomes. It also showed people often found it difficult to access services in Welsh and were reluctant to ask when Welsh language services were not offered.

At the core of the strategy is the principle of the Active Offer. It places a responsibility on health and social care providers to offer services in Welsh, rather than on the patient or service user to have to request them.

The plan developed by the task & finish group, following an independent evaluation of the first More than just words five-year plan includes the following priorities:

  • Mainstreaming the Welsh language and strengthening system leadership and accountability at all levels
  • Increasing focus on workforce planning, commissioning and training
  • Ensure digital systems embed the principles of bilingualism
  • Primary care
  • Sharing best practice and an enabling approach

The vision for the plan is for Cymraeg to belong and be embedded in health and social care services across Wales. Realising this vision is the responsibility of everyone in their respective fields and roles so that individuals receive care that meets their language needs, leading to better outcomes, without having to ask for it.

Professional standards in health and social care services note that effective communication is a key requirement, highlighting the need to maintain dignity and respect. This is in the context of the Welsh language strategy Cymraeg 2050 which sets out Welsh Government’s vision for reaching a million speakers and increasing the use of Welsh by 2050.

Role description

  • We are looking for individuals who will play an active role in delivering the remit of the Advisory Board.
  • We would welcome applications from practitioners in health and social care who understand the importance of the Welsh language to the experience of the care that patients receive (dignity compassion etc) but also to the quality of care they receive (effectiveness of assessment, treatment etc) and therefore the health outcomes of the patient.
  • We would also welcome applications from service users who have a practical experience of the importance and the challenges of receiving Welsh language services in health and social care.
  • Members are appointed as individual experts and are expected to balance their representative role with the wider ‘whole system’ and ‘all Wales’ remit of the Board, drawing on their personal insight and experience to support effective delivery of the More than just words
  • Members are encouraged to act as ambassadors for the More than just words framework, particularly through promoting the ambitions and approach set out in our Welsh Language strategy: Cymraeg 2050 to their personal networks and within their own organisation and communities
  • Be prepared to commit the time necessary for regular attendance at meetings and prepare thoroughly for those meetings.
  • Be prepared to attend member development events.
  • Sharing expertise and lived experience, challenging the status quo and suggesting solutions.

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
Can read some basic words and phrases with understanding
Can write basic messages on everyday topics
Can understand routine work-related conversations
Can hold some work-related conversations

Person specification

In your application, you will be expected to demonstrate the following essential criteria:

  1. an understanding of and empathy towards the importance of the provision of the Welsh language in health and social care.
  2. to use their own area of expertise to help the advisory board to drive forward change required to improve Welsh language provision in health and social care.
  3. the ability to read, analyse documents and contribute to discussions at a strategic level.
  4. effective communication, displaying the ability to listen, influence and challenge constructively and make a practical difference.
  5. the ability to build effective relationships and work as part of a team, fostering trust and confidence in colleagues.
  6. a commitment to increasing diversity and promoting inclusion and equality, identifying and challenging discriminatory practices.
  7. a commitment to Nolan’s ‘Seven Principles of Public Life and the additional principles outlined in ‘The Conduct of Members (Principles) (Wales) Order 2001’

Interview dates

15 May 2023
19 May 2023

Closing date

28/04/2023, 16:00

Additional information

No interview will take place. A selection panel will assess candidates’ personal statements who it believes best meet the criteria for the roles. The panel will rely only on the information you provide in your personal statement to assess whether you have the skills and experience required. Please ensure that you provide evidence to support how you meet all of the essential criteria.

The Advisory Board replaces the Welsh Language in Health and Social Care Partnership Board that has provided oversight on progress over the past five years.

The More than just words Advisory Board will comprise a Chair and up to 8 members.

The role of the Advisory Board is to support the development and delivery of the More than just words plan through robust advice and challenge, ensuring that stakeholder interests are considered in a balanced way, at a strategic whole-programme level. The board will:

  • advise on how the More than just words project is making a system level impact by monitorig and scrutinising progress against the actions in the More than just words plan 2022-27, to ensure the key aims and targets are being met. This includes providing advice and scrutiny based on members’ own areas of expertise.
  • prepare an annual report for the Minister for Health and Social Services on progress and make recommendations where further progress is required.
  • advise on and support wider engagement with the public and patients to ensure the voice of individuals accessing health and social care services is heard.
  • identify and share best practice, in policy development and service provision, ensuring that it is translated into improvements to bilingual service provision that is shared across the sectors.
  • advise on audit and evaluation requirements to provide independent assessments on progress with actions in the plan.

We are looking for individuals who understand the importance of providing services in Welsh without people having to ask for it.

Time Commitment: Up to 3 days every 3 months. 4 meetings per year plus one development day in 2023.

Term of office: The term of office for your appointment will be for 5 years.

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.