Vacancy -- Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
Vacancy details
£90-95k plus reasonable expenses
Applications are welcomed from applicants who work full time or who job share
Function of body
In Wales we are doing things differently. We have a law in Wales that helps us all work together to improve our environment, our economy, our society, and our culture.
For people, for our planet. For now, and for our future.
This is called the Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015.
Through the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (‘the WFG Act’), Wales has set out seven ambitious well-being goals which establish a long-term vision for a sustainable Wales and describes sustainable development as the way in which these goals will be achieved. This is about meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The Welsh Government is committed to leading Wales in achieving these well-being goals and changing the way that Wales works
so that sustainable development is the core principle guiding our actions to improve the well-being of people now and in the future.
To assist, support, and inspire this transformation, an independent Future Generations Commissioner for Wales (‘the Commissioner’) was established to provide advice and support on sustainable development and be an advocate for future generations.
Role description
Section 17 of the WFG Act establishes the office of the Future Generations Commissioner, an individual appointed by Welsh Ministers after consultation with the Senedd. The Commissioner is appointed for a period of 7 years. The Welsh Government provides the Commissioner a budget of £1.509 million per annum.
Summary of duties and powers
The general duty role of the Commissioner is to:
• Promote the sustainable development principle,
• Act as a guardian of the ability of future generations to meet their needs
• Encourage public bodies to take greater account of the long-term impact of their activities.
• Monitor and assess the meeting of the well-being objectives set by the public bodies subject to the WFG Act.
In carrying out the general duty the Commissioner may
• Provide advice or assistance to:
- A public body.
- A public services board (in relation to the preparation of its local well-being plan).
- Any other person that they believe is taking, or is seeking to take, action that may contribute to Wales’ well-being goals.
• Encourage best practice and promote awareness amongst public bodies to help ensure they meet their well-being objectives in a manner that is consistent with the sustainable development principle.
• Encourage public bodies to work with each other and with other persons if this could assist them in meeting their well-being objectives, sharing lessons learned and best practice.
• Promote awareness amongst public bodies of the need to take steps to meet their well-being objectives in accordance with the sustainable development principle.
• Conduct a review into the extent to which a public body is safeguarding the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
• Undertake research or study into the consistency of well-being goals and indicators with the sustainable development principle, the principle itself, and anything related to impacts on economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being.
• Provide advice to the Auditor General for Wales on the sustainable development principle.
The Commissioner must:
• Prepare and publish a Future Generations Report 12 months before each Senedd election containing their assessment of the improvements public bodies should make to achieve the well-being goals. The Commissioner must consult a wide range of organisations and representatives in preparing the report.
• Prepare and publish an Annual Report which will include a summary of the actions taken by the Commissioner, an analysis of the effectiveness of that action, a summary of complaints received, and a forward work programme. The Annual Report may include the Commissioner’s assessment of the improvements that public bodies should make to meet their well-being objectives in accordance with the sustainable development principle.
• Have regard to the work of the Auditor General’s examinations when carrying out reviews and preparing a Future Generations Report
Welsh language skills
Person specification
• Sound knowledge and understanding of sustainable development, its relevance to Wales and the challenges and opportunities that the Well-being of Future Generation Act presents.
• Proven leadership qualities and experience of successfully delivering or facilitating organisational and culture change in organisations.
• A well-developed ability to inspire confidence in a diverse range of stakeholders, to include skills in persuading, and positively influencing people at all levels, handling the media and wider public audiences.
• Experience of working with public bodies or similar organisations to support and encourage them to work in a more integrated way and/or look to the long term.
• Knowledge of, and track record of commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and practice in large and complex organisations.
• Strong financial, people management and governance experience.
• Ability to express complex issues simply and articulately and present evidence in a clear and compelling way.
• Proven knowledge of the political and public sector landscape in Wales.
• An understanding of the relative roles of public, private and third sector bodies and a commitment to Nolan’s Seven Principles of Public Life.
Interview dates
Closing date
Additional information
Please note the closing date for this vacancy was previously advertised as 8 August 2022.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
The role may involve contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults. As a result, applicants are subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). More information is available here on DBS checks.
The Disclosure and Barring Service helps employers make safer recruitment decisions. DBS is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office .
For further information regarding the role of the Future Generations
Commissioner please contact Andrew Charles (Deputy Director, Sustainable Futures) andrew.charles@gov.wales
If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please email publicappointments@gov.wales
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.
This vacancy is closed to applications.