Vacancy -- Appointment of a Board Member for Wales and Chair of the Welsh Food Advisory Committee

Vacancy details

Food Standards Agency
Board meetings are held around England, though at least once a year a meeting is held in either Northern Ireland or Wales. Most of the WFAC’s meetings will be held at the FSA’s office in Cardiff. However, Committee meetings may be held elsewhere in Wales.

Remuneration for the role totalling £14,000 will be paid per annum for working approximately 35 days per annum. This is made up of as follows:

 •              The Non-Executive Member for Wales will receive remuneration of £8,000 per annum for working approximately 20 days per annum.

 •              The Chair of the WFAC will receive a remuneration of £6,000 per annum for working approximately 15 days per annum.

 •              Remuneration is taxable, and subject to National Insurance contributions, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid. Remuneration is not pensionable. Board members are not employees of the FSA.

 •              You may claim travel and subsistence expenses, which are properly and necessarily incurred in carrying out your role and responsibilities as Non-Executive Member of the FSA, in line with travel and subsistence policy and rates for the FSA. A copy of the policy and rates can be obtained  from the FSA.   

35
year

Function of body

The statutory role of the FSA is to protect the health of the public and the interests of consumers in relation to food. Since it was established in April 2000, it has made its mark as a new kind of public authority – independent, proactive, energetic, open about policy and honest about risks.  

The FSA is led by a Board of up to 12 non-executive members, including the Chair and Deputy Chair (in practice, since the creation of Food Standards Scotland in 2014, two of these Board roles which were reserved to appointments by government in Scotland, the Board has been 10 members strong). Collectively, Board members share responsibility for the whole FSA.  

The Chair and Deputy Chair are appointed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care acting jointly with the appropriate Ministers in Wales and Northern Ireland. One Board member is appointed by Welsh Ministers, and one member by the Health Minister in Northern Ireland. In Wales and Northern Ireland there are Food Advisory Committees which act as a route through which information and advice relevant to their country’s FSA interests is relayed to the Board. A Board member chairs each of these Committees. The remaining FSA Board members are appointed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The appropriate authorities consult each other before appointments are made. There are no specific geographical qualifications for these roles.  

The FSA remit covers food and feed safety regulation and policy across the whole food chain (from ‘farm to fork’). It works to protect consumers by improving the safety of food and by giving honest, clear information. There is a complex pattern of responsibilities for policy and delivery on food and feed safety and standards, nutrition, and non-safety labelling and composition of food, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This means that it has slightly different remits in each country.  

The FSA is also an enforcement authority. Its staff work in meat plants to check that the requirements of the regulations, including animal welfare standards, are being met. It works closely with Local Authority Environmental Health Officers and Trading Standards Officers in 387 local authorities to ensure food from the over 600,000 food premises across England, Wales and Northern Ireland is safe and accurately labelled.  

The FSA works closely with a very wide range of stakeholder groups to improve food safety at every step of the food chain. It has won recognition for restoring the trust of UK consumers in the way food safety is regulated.  

Role description

Role description

The Member of the FSA Board for Wales has a responsibility to:

·     ensure the FSA discharges its statutory duties in line with the requirement to protect public health and consumer interests in relation to food

·     set and to reinforce the FSA’s core values through the development and monitoring of strategic objectives, plans and policies

·     represent the FSA and its values in communications with key stakeholders

·    monitor the performance of the Executive in meeting agreed objectives and targets, including: the delivery of services; continuous improvement;     financial performance, and risk management

·     assist with the appointment of the Chief Executive

·     play an effective part in Board meetings, discussions and decisions and work towards shared success

·     participate as a member or Chair of one or more of the Board Committees: Business, and Audit and Risk Assurance

·     act in the public interest at all times, not as a representative of the interests of any particular sector, and without regard to any personal interests

·     advise the FSA Board on matters relating to Wales; and

·     commit up to 20 days per annum to the FSA and to travel to meetings across the country, for which expenses are payable. In addition, Board     Members are expected to read widely to develop personal skill and ensure effectiveness in the role.

 Board members receive advice and support from the Executive in respect of their duties and are provided with background information in order to carry     out their responsibilities. There is a dedicated secretariat to support the Board. The FSA Board is a paperless body.


 In addition to the responsibilities of a Board member, the Chair of the Welsh Food Advisory Committee’s responsibilities are to:

·     serve as a member of the WFAC and to chair meetings in a manner that facilitates the effective contribution of Committee members by creating an environment in which they can share their knowledge and expertise

·     plan the business for Committee meetings with the FSA Director in Wales, including pro-actively raising issues for the Committee to discuss

·     guide the WFAC on the provision of advice or information to the FSA about matters connected with its functions, in particular those relating to Wales

·     encourage the WFAC to reflect the Wales consumer voice and strengthen the consumer perspective, in relation to key issues that the FSA Board     consider

·     support the FSA in communications with key stakeholders in Wales and to build the relationships necessary for the effective operation of the     Committee

·     undertake a once per term appraisal of the performance of Committee members

·     act in the public interest at all times, not as a representative of the interests of any particular sector, and without regard to any personal interests; and

·     give approximately 15 days per annum in addition to any time commitment as Board Member, to the FSA and to travel to meetings across Wales.

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 parts of a basic conversation
Can hold a basic conversation in Welsh

Person specification

   

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 Criteria

  • Strong decision-making skills, able to assess complex evidence and explain the basis for a decision
  • Experience of working with, or on behalf of the public and an ability to represent consumer interests
  • Strong strategic thinking and experience, able to help shape the FSA’s strategic direction
  • Ability to achieve significant change, operate across complex networks
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including championing diversity and confidently deal with difficult situations sensitively
  • Evidence of ability to chair meetings of a significant national organisation, and support and sustain an effective board with strong Board relationships.

 

Desirable Criteria

In order to achieve a balanced Board, new Members will ideally be able to bring skills and experience in one or more of the following areas:

  • Experience in the food sector (primary production, manufacture, retail)
  • Expertise in safety and standards in the food industry
  • Experience in local government
  • Insight into public (or environmental) health in relation to food
  • A senior scientist working in a field closely related to the FSA’s portfolio
  • Expertise in (or understanding of) innovation which is relevant to food products/processes or delivery routes to the consumer 
  • Understanding of (or experience in) a government regulatory body
  • Welsh language skills

Interview dates

26 June 2023
30 June 2023

Closing date

30/04/2023, 16:00

Additional information

Tenure of office:  Welsh Ministers determine the length of the appointment, which will be for an initial appointment of up to 3 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.