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Appointment details

Independent Medical Expert Group (IMEG) – One Medical Member

Summary

• Organisation: Independent Medical Expert Group
• Sponsor department: Ministry of Defence
• Location: London
• Sectors: Defence
• Skills: Change Management, Insurance, Legal, Judicial, Regulation
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 10 day(s) per annum
• Length of term: 3 years, renewable for a further 3 years subject to agreement and satisfactory appraisal.
• Application deadline: 11pm on 14 September 2023

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   7 August 2023

2. Application deadline

   11pm on 14 September 2023

3. Sifting date

   18 September 2023

4. Interviews expected to end on

   30 October 2023

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction from the Chair

As Chair of the Independent Medical Expert Group (IMEG), I would like to thank you for your interest in this appointment. Prior to becoming Chair, I was an expert medical member for several years and can vouch that the work of IMEG is challenging, interesting and worthwhile. The provision of independent expert medical and scientific advice and recommendations to Minister Defence People and Veterans on the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme helps ensure that Scheme policy is sound and individual decisions fair, consistent and equitable. The Group works well together and is supported by the Secretariat drawn from MOD Armed Forces People Support, Compensation and Insurance Policy team.

The armed forces are a young, fit, predominantly male population. The most commonly claimed disorders are traumatic physical injuries, including combat-related, overuse musculoskeletal conditions, and mental health disorders.

Appointment description

We are looking to appoint a medical member in the specialty of epidemiology. The overall role and responsibilities of a member are to:

• engage fully in collective consideration of topics raised for investigation, taking account of the full range of the evidence based on science and medicine, including any guidance issued by the sponsor department or the responsible minister.  

• ensure that the code of Practice on Access to Government Information is adhered to. 

• ensure that the Group does not exceed its powers or functions. 

• understand that communications between the Group and the Min (DPV) will generally be through the Chair, except where the Group has agreed that an individual member should act on its behalf. Nevertheless, any Group member has the right of access to Min (DPV) on any matter which he or she believes raises important issues relating to his or her duties as a Group member. In such cases the agreement of the rest of the Group should normally be sought.

The successful candidate must abide by the Seven Principles of Public Life (Annex A) and the Code of Conduct for Board Members.

Organisation description

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is the sponsoring Department. Min (DPV) will task IMEG, receive its reports and prepare the government’s response, and will make the final decision on appointments. Min (DPV) and the Chair will meet at least once per year. Officials from the relevant policy area will provide Secretariat support.

IMEG’s role is to advise Min (DPV) on medical and scientific aspects of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and related matters. Min (DPV) will task the Chair directly with issues on which advice is requested. Issues raised in writing by any source, including members of the public and the Service and Ex-Service communities will be noted by the Secretariat and discussed with the Chair and Min (DPV) in developing the forward work programme. 

IMEG will investigate the issues on which advice is requested, reach conclusions, and make recommendations based on evidence. This evidence will comprise independent, published, peer-reviewed scientific and medical literature. In addition, IMEG will consult other experts and invite interested parties to submit relevant research. IMEG will not commission research. 

IMEG will meet at least four times per year. In addition, the Chair and Secretariat will consider whether to hold one public meeting per year to explain IMEG’s work. Additional meetings of the whole Group may be held, depending on business need, and might take the form of a formal meeting, visit or consultation. In addition, business will be conducted via correspondence and smaller bilateral expert meetings. Some meetings may be conducted virtually via video or telephone-conferencing. 

The IMEG Chair will be a member of the statutorily established Central Advisory Committee on Compensation (CAC), that advises Min (DPV). The Chair will present the advice of the Group to Min (DPV) as a member of the CAC. 

IMEG’s advice, in the form of reports, and the Government’s decisions in relation to them, will be published on the IMEG page of the gov.uk website. 

In accordance with Cabinet Office guidance on NDPBs, MOD will carry out formal reviews of IMEG. 

Board composition

Board Composition

IMEG will comprise: 

• A Chair who is medically qualified and completely independent of the Ministry of Defence, having not previously worked either in the Department or been a member of the Armed Forces; 

• Seven members who are on the Medical Register and are senior medical consultants drawn from relevant specialties, including trauma/orthopaedics, neurology, audio vestibular/audiological medicine, occupational medicine, psychiatry, respiratory medicine, or rehabilitation. Epidemiology is represented by an appropriately qualified epidemiologist who may or may not be medically qualified. 

• A member representing the Ex-Service Charities organisations; 

• Three ex officio members: The Chief of Defence People’s Medical Adviser; a Service representative who sits on the CAC; and an injured person who has claimed under the AFCS.

• A representative of the Surgeon General as an observer.

The Group will be able to draw on external expert advice where required.

Appointments will normally be for three years and a maximum of 6 years. The Chair or Min (DPV) may end an appointment at any time. The performance of the Chair will be appraised annually by the Secretariat and Director of Armed Forces People Support. The performance of IMEG members will be appraised once during each three-year term by the Chair and the Secretariat to provide evidence when re-appointments are to be considered. 

Members are expected to attend meetings personally and may not be represented by others. Members are expected to attend at least three of the four meetings per year. 

The roles will not be remunerated, but the MOD will reimburse reasonable travel and subsistence expenses. 

The Chair and members will be expected to follow the Seven Principles of Public Life, a text of which will be provided with the appointment letter. They will also be required to adhere to the IMEG Code of Practice (to be derived from Model Codes of Practice for Board Members of Advisory NDPBs, in CO NDPB Guide) and declare any interests to be kept in a register of interests by the Secretariat.

Regulation of appointment

This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website 

Person specification

Essential criteria

Candidates must demonstrate all the following essential criteria: 

• be an appropriately qualified epidemiologist of established standing working in the field of medical epidemiology, and be independent of the MOD, having not previously worked either in the Department or been a member of the Armed Forces;

• have the ability to apply intellectual rigour to the medical and scientific aspects of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and related matters; 

• have experience of working collaboratively on high level committees or at board level;

• have the ability to take forward investigative work and the capacity to ensure that all issues are seen through to their conclusion;

• have the ability to work flexibly and engage constructively with IMEG members and stakeholders;

• have excellent written and oral communication skills and contribute as a team-worker.

Desirable criteria

Desirable Criteria:

• have an interest in occupational medicine, disability analysis and personal injury compensation; 
• have an understanding of how the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) operates.

Application and selection process

How to apply

In order to apply you will need to create an account or sign in.

1. https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/create-account

2. https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/auth/sign-in

Once you are logged into your account, click on 'apply for this role' and follow the on-screen instructions. To apply, all candidates are required to provide:

a Curriculum Vitae (CV)

a Supporting Statement

- This should include details of 2 references; full names and email addresses. By providing your referees details, you are giving us consent to approach them should you be successful at the shortlisting stage.

We will ask you to check and confirm your personal details to ensure your application is accurate.

You will also have the opportunity to make a reasonable adjustment request or apply under the disability confident scheme before you submit your application.

The Advisory Assessment Panel reserves the right to only consider applications that contain all of the elements listed above, and that arrive before the published deadline for applications.

Overview of the application process

Public appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition process which is conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. We will deal with your application as quickly as possible and will keep you informed at key stages. We aim to conclude the appointment process within three months of the deadline for applications – this is in accordance with the Governance Code.

The assessment process

1. Ministers are responsible and accountable to Parliament for the public appointments made within their department. As a result, they must be consulted at every stage of the appointments process.

2. An Advisory Assessment Panel (“Panel”) is appointed by Ministers to assist them in their decision making. The role of the Panel is to decide, objectively, which candidates meet the eligibility criteria for the role.

3. At the shortlisting meeting the Panel will assess applications against the eligibility criteria and decide which candidates have best met the criteria, who should be recommended for interview. Ministers will then be consulted on the Panel’s recommended shortlist. If you have applied under the Disability Confident Scheme and you meet all the essential criteria, then you will also be invited for an interview.

4. Once the shortlist has been agreed by Ministers, you will be advised (by e-mail) whether you have been shortlisted. Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview.

5. The Panel will meet again to interview candidates and determine who is appointable to the role. The Panel may invite you to make a brief presentation at the start of the interview and will go on to question you about your skills and experience, including asking specific questions to assess whether you meet the criteria set out for the post. The Panel will also explore with you any potential conflicts of interest or any other issues arising from your personal and professional history which may impact on an appointment decision.

6. Details of the panel’s assessment of interviewed candidates are provided to Ministers, including whether they have judged a candidate to be appointable to the role. It is then for Ministers to determine merit and decide who should be appointed. In some circumstances, Ministers may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.

7. Ministers may choose to meet with candidates before deciding the outcome. Candidates should therefore be prepared for a short time gap between interview and a final appointment decision being made. Candidates who have been interviewed will be kept informed of progress.

8. Once the decision on the appointment has been made, interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of their application, including whom they may approach for feedback. Successful candidates will be issued with their Terms & Conditions and a letter of appointment should they agree to take up the position.

Further information about appointments, including tips on applying, can be found on our guidance pages on gov.uk.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

Panel Chair

Dr John Scadding - Chair – Independent Medical Expert Group

Departmental Official (Department Panel Member)

Dr Anne Braidwood  - CDP Medical Adviser and Independent Medical Expert Group Member

Independent Panel Members

Professor David Delpy - Emeritus Professor of Medical Photonics, UCL

Advisory Assessment Panels (AAP) are chosen by ministers to assist them in their decision-making. These include a departmental official and an independent member. For competitions recruiting non-executive members of a board (apart from the Chair), the panel will usually include a representative from the public body concerned.

AAP’s perform a number of functions, including agreeing an assessment strategy with ministers, undertaking sifting, carrying out interviews in line with the advertised criteria and deciding objectively who meets the published selection criteria for the role before recommending to ministers which candidates they find appointable. It is then for the minister to decide who to appoint to the role.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for consideration the candidate(s) will need to be a UK National/reserved UK National.’

In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.

There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. 

You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:

• you are disqualified from acting as a company director  (under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986);

• have an unspent conviction on your criminal record;

• your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors.

When you apply, you should declare if:

• you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this. 

• you are subject to a current police investigation.

You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points. 

When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below)

If you need further advice, please contact Jennifer Regis at Jennifer.Regis100@mod.gov.uk

Security clearance

The successful candidate will be required to undertake Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks in line with the Civil Service guidelines. Additional Security Clearance may also be required for certain roles. However, where this applies, candidates will be notified during the appointment process. Further information on National Security Vetting can be found on the Gov.uk website here.

The level of clearance required for this role is BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standard) which includes Disclosure and Barring service, Employment history check and Fraud check. 

Additional information for candidates

Equality and diversity

We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they reflect the diversity of views of the society they serve and this is an important part of the Government’s levelling up agenda.

We collect data about applicants’ characteristics and backgrounds, including information about people’s educational and professional backgrounds, so that we can make sure we are attracting a broad range of people to these roles and that our selection processes are fair for everyone. Without this information, it makes it difficult to see if our outreach is working, if the application process is having an unfair impact on certain groups and whether changes are making a positive difference.

When you submit your application, your responses are collected by the Cabinet Office and the government department(s) managing your application. The data is used to produce management information about the diversity of applicants. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel who review applications against the advertised criteria and conduct interviews.

Disability confident

We are a member of the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. We use the Disability Confident scheme symbol, along with other like-minded employers, to show our commitment to good practice in employing people with a disability. The scheme helps recruit and retain disabled people. 

As part of implementing the scheme, we guarantee an interview for anyone with a disability whose application meets the essential criteria for the role, set out in the advert, and who has asked that their application is considered under the scheme. Indicating that you wish your application to be considered under the scheme will in no way prejudice your application. By ‘minimum criteria,’ we mean that you must provide evidence which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria, as set out in the job-advert.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to select if you would like your application considered under this scheme.

Reasonable adjustments

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants with disabilities, physical or mental health conditions, or other needs are not substantially disadvantaged when applying for public appointments. This can include changing the recruitment process to enable people who wish to apply to do so.

Some examples of common changes are:

• ensuring that application forms are available in different or accessible formats;
• making adaptations to interview locations;
• allowing candidates to present their skills and experience in a different way;
• giving additional detailed information on the selection / interview process in advance to allow candidates time to prepare themselves;
• allowing support workers, for example sign language interpreters;
• making provision for support animals to attend.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the application process.

Principles of public life

Holders of public office are expected to adhere to and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life. These are:

1. Selflessness - Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.
2. Integrity - Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
3. Objectivity - Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
4. Accountability - Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
5. Openness - Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
6. Honesty - Holders of public office should be truthful.
7. Leadership - Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

Code of conduct for board members

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. In support of this, all non-executive board members of UK public bodies must abide by the principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. The Code sets out the standards expected from those who serve on the boards of UK public bodies and will form part of your terms and conditions of appointment.

Management of outside interests and consideration of reputational issues

Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully: 

• any outside interests that you may have, such as shares you may hold in a company providing services to government; 
• any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or public statements that you have made; 
• and/or - any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported; 

which may call into question your ability to do the role you are applying for.

You will need to answer relevant questions in relation to these points when making an application. Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being interviewed. If you are shortlisted for an interview, the panel will discuss any potential conflicts with you during that interview, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them and record that in their advice to ministers. Alongside your own declaration, we will conduct appropriate checks, as part of which we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This may include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. The successful candidate(s) may be required to give up any conflicting interests and their other business and financial interests may be published in line with organisational policies. 

Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment, but must be declared).

Status of appointment

As this is an office holder appointment, you will not become a member of the Civil Service. You will not be subject to the provisions of employment law.

Appointment and tenure of office

Appointments are for the term set out in this advert, with the possibility of re-appointment for a further term, at the discretion of Ministers.  Any re-appointment is subject to satisfactory annual appraisals of performance during the first term in the post. There is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits, taking into account a number of factors including, but not restricted to, the diversity of the current board and its balance of skills and experience. In most cases, the total time served in post will not exceed more than two terms or serve in any one post for more than ten years

Pension and redundancy

This is an office holder appointment and does not attract any benefits under any Civil Service Pension Scheme. You will not be eligible for redundancy pay as you are not an employee. No other arrangements have been made for compensation upon the end of your term of appointment because an office holder who is appointed for a limited duration would have no expectation of serving beyond that period.

Application feedback

We will notify you of the status of your application. We regret that we are only able to offer detailed feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.

How to complain

We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.

Please contact the Defence Business Service (DBS) Civilian Personnel Public Appointments Team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at DBSCivPers-ResPublicAppts@mod.gov.uk . If you are not completely satisfied with the response, please contact the MOD Public Appointments Team at DSOP-PublicAppointments@mod.gov.uk . 

We will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and aim to provide a response within 15 working days.

How to complain to Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA)

If you are not content with the appointing department’s response you may wish to further complain to the Commissioner at publicappointments@csc.gov.uk.Further information on how the Commissioner handles complaints can be found on the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ website https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/regulating-appointments/investigating-complaints/

Data protection

The Cabinet Office will use your data in line with our privacy policy.

The Ministry of Defence privacy notice can be found here

Contact details

If you need further advice, please contact Jennifer Regis at Jennifer.Regis100@mod.gov.uk