Important

You can’t apply for this appointment

The application deadline has passed or the appointment has been closed for applications.

Appointment details

National Savings and Investments (NS&I) Chair

Summary

• Organisation: National Savings and Investments
• Sponsor department: HM Treasury
• Location: London
• Sectors: Finance and Audit
• Skills: Business, Commercial, Retail, Transformation
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 35 day(s) per annum
• Remuneration: £28000 per annum
• Length of term: 3 years
• Application deadline: 11:55pm on 18 September 2023

Share this page

The following links open in a new tab

Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   10 August 2023

2. Application deadline

   11:55pm on 18 September 2023

3. Sifting date

   13 October 2023

4. Interviews expected to end on

   17 November 2023

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction

Welcome to the advertisement for the NS&I Chair role. 

Additional introductions

Introduction from James Bowler, Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury

Thank you for your interest in joining the National Savings and Investments (NS&I) Board. 

NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK with over 24 million customers and more than £218 billion invested. 

NS&I is both a government department and an Executive Agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and plays a key role in the government’s debt financing strategy. NS&I’s core objective is to raise cost-effective finance for the government, and the money savers invest with NS&I is used by the government to fund government spending and priorities.

The pace of change in the UK financial services sector is rapid. NS&I needs to be operationally resilient and able to respond in a nimble, proactive way to changes in policy or in the broader savings market. NS&I is on a journey to becoming a true digital business with full support for vulnerable customers and is looking for a new Non-Executive Director to join the board and support NS&I on the next phase of this journey. 

It is crucial that the panel finds the right candidate to support NS&I during this crucial part of their journey. To achieve this, the recruitment panel encourages applicants from underrepresented groups so NS&I can better reflect the society it serves, encourage diverse ideas, and be open to perspectives that challenge prevailing wisdom. 

If you have the skills and experience that we are looking for and are motivated to help the NS&I Board and leadership team to develop and grow our business, then I look forward to hearing from you and wish you every success with your application.

Thank you, once again, for your interest in this role and for taking the time to read through this pack, which provides further information. We look forward to hearing from you.

Appointment description

This is an exciting time to join NS&I. The business is making significant progress on a long-term transformation (the Rainbow Programme) which will take it into the next chapter. The Rainbow Programme will see NS&I transition from a single Public Private Partnership to a multi-supplier operating model from 2024, ensuring that it will have strong, resilient infrastructure and a flexible and scalable operation that can continue to serve savers and the government for generations to come. Transformation will be a key point of focus for the Board and the organisation for the next 2 – 3 years.

N&I’s Chair leads its advisory Board. The Board assists in developing NS&I’s strategy and advises on the operational implications and effectiveness of policy proposals, as well as scrutinising performance and challenging Executive Directors on how well NS&I is achieving its objectives. The Chief Executive is required to follow the advice of the Board, except where it conflicts with his or her obligations as Accounting Officer.

In particular, NS&I’s Board advises on five main areas:

• strategic clarity: setting the NS&I vision

• commercial sense: scrutinising the allocation of financial and human resources

• talented people: ensuring NS&I has secured sufficient capability and capacity to meet current and future needs

• results focused: agreeing the corporate plan and monitoring its delivery

• management information: ensuring that clear, consistent and comparable performance information is used to drive improvements.

The NS&I Board is comprised of:

• up to five independent Non-Executive Directors, one of whom acts as Chair of the Board

• the Chief Executive and other Executive Directors

• up to two representatives from HM Treasury, including at least one from the Debt and Reserves Management (DRM) team, only one of whom is obliged to attend a Board meeting at any one time.

As the Chair, you will be the lead Non-Executive Director, accountable to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury for the performance of the NS&I Board and ensuring its effectiveness in all aspects of its role, including ensuring that NS&I can continue to serve savers and the government for generations. Your primary roles as the Chair will be to:

• Provide outstanding leadership to the Board as it oversees NS&I’s transformation, ensuring the organisation gains the full anticipated benefits of its move to a multi-supplier operating model, including securing strong, resilient infrastructure and a flexible and scalable operation.

• Shape the Board and ensure that it gives clear strategic direction to the organisation.

• Use your excellent communication and engagement skills to guide your relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including Ministers, senior HMT officials, customers and the media.

• Play an inspiring role as chair for the Board’s discussions and decision-making, considering the impact of decisions on different stakeholders and providing constructive challenge and support to the management team.

• Demonstrate the high standards of integrity and behaviour expected of public body Non-Executive Director  (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-bodies-non-executive-Directors-principles-and-standards) and ensure the Board operates with probity and in line with prevailing governance requirements.

In addition to the responsibilities above, further details of the Chair’s and NS&I Board’s formal responsibilities are provided in the Framework Document between NS&I and HM Treasury and the Board’s terms of reference.

More information about NS&I can be found on its website at www.nsandi.com

Organisation description

Who we are

National Savings & Investments (NS&I) is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK with more than £218 billion invested. NS&I is both a government department and an Executive Agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and our origins can be traced back more than 160 years to 1861. This means that we are backed by HM Treasury – which keeps every single penny of our 24 million customers' savings safe. When people save money with us, they are lending money to the government, and being part of NS&I means customers are contributing towards something that will positively impact millions of lives.

Our purpose

We want to inspire a stronger savings culture. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to save confidently.

Our mission

‒ Providing cost-effective financing for government and the public good

‒ Offering trusted savings and investments propositions

‒ Delivering valued services for government

‒ Supporting a fair and competitive market and balancing the interests of our savers, taxpayers and the market

Board composition

Non-Executive Board Members: 

Ed Anderson – Chairman of the NS&I board and independent Non-Executive Director

David Woodward - Non-Executive Director, Chair of Audit & Risk committee

Nina Hingorani-Crain - Non-Executive Director

Jill Lucas - Independent Non-Executive Director, Chair of Remuneration Committee

Azin Roussos – HM Treasury Deputy Director – Sits on the Board as HM Treasury’s representative.

Executive Members: 

Dax Harkins –Chief Executive Officer of NS&I

Matthew Smith – Chief Operating Officer and Senior Responsible Officer for Rainbow Programme 

Ruth Curry – People and Finance Director 

Paul Henry – Risk Director

Gareth Headon –Communications and Strategy Director

Jill Waters – Retail Director

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

1. Experience - candidates for this role must have the following experience:

• We are looking for an exceptional individual with prior Board experience, ideally as a Chair, who will maintain the open transparent culture in the Board, where constructive challenge is embraced; and incidents and emerging issues are brought forward promptly. We are looking for someone who will leverage this experience to provide challenge to plans and proposals, whilst also supporting NS&I to pave the way forward.
• Candidates are required to have experience in the consumer finance sector with experience of taking a retail customer-centric approach to development and delivery of retail products and services, ideally gained in consumer centric financial services or similar.
• The ideal candidate will also bring extensive experience of major change or transformation programmes, to bring specific insight to Board discussions, together with commercial experience, which may come from consultancy, relevant to our broader business.
• Good practical understanding of UK financial markets.

2. Requirements – candidates for this role must display the following characteristics:

• Independence and impartiality, including an ability to question or challenge the NS&I Executive, using and applying their experience from elsewhere, and to challenge constructively the existing way of doing things.
• Business strategy skills, including an ability to interpret business and management information to determine business performance and development, an ability to simplify and focus on big issues, an ability to understand and appreciate the impact of the transformational change that has already taken place within NS&I and to support the continuing need for change.

3. Key competencies - candidates for this role must demonstrate the following:

• Influencing and communicating skills, including an ability to develop an effective and constructive relationship with the Chief Executive, other Executive and Non-Executive Board members and other key external stakeholders and influencers.
• An understanding of government and public sector governance requirements and the way of working; or the ability to quickly gain this understanding. Direct experience of the public sector is not required.

Application and selection process

How to apply

In order to apply you will need to provide:

1. A  Curriculum Vitae which provides your contact details, details of your education and qualifications, employment history, directorships, membership of professional bodies and details of any relevant publications or awards;
2. A supporting statement setting out how you meet the criteria for appointment, as set out in the person specification for the role;
3. Information relating to any outside interests or reputational issues; 
4. Diversity monitoring information. This allows us to see if there are any unfair barriers to becoming a public appointee and whether there are any changes that we could make to encourage a more diverse field to apply. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be used as part of the selection process and will not be seen by the interview panel;
5. Disability Confident – please state if you want to be considered for the disability confident scheme;
6. Reasonable adjustments - requests for reasonable adjustments that you would like to the application process (if applicable);

Please provide the information at points 3-6 above on the relevant form, or as part of your supporting statement. 

Completed applications should be submitted through this website: https://www.gatenbysanderson.com/job/GSe100579/ 

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)

The recruitment panel will consist of:

• Ruth Curtice (Chair), Director of Fiscal Group at HM Treasury

• David Woodward, Non-Executive Director at National Savings and Investments

• Stephen Van Rooyen, Executive VP & UK and Europe Division CEO of Sky

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

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 devon.coates@gatenbysanderson.com.

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.

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

Remuneration, allowances and abatement

Remuneration for this role is treated as employment income and will be subject to tax and National Insurance contributions, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.

You can claim reimbursement for reasonable travel and subsistence costs which are properly and necessarily incurred on official business, in line with the travel and subsistence policy and rates for the organisation to which you are applying. However these payments are taxable as earnings and will be subject to tax and national insurance, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.  

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 Devon Coates in GatenbySanderson public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at devon.coates@gatenbysanderson.com. They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond 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.

HM Treasury's privacy notice is also attached. 

Contact details

Please contact devon.coates@gatenbysanderson.com.