Reviewing Committee for the Export of Works of Art (RCEWA) - 2x Committee Members
- Body
- Reviewing Committee for the Export of Works of Art (RCEWA)
- Appointing Department
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
- Sector
- Culture, Media & Sport
- Location
- Central London. Due to Covid 19 meetings are currently taking place virtually.
- Number of Vacancies
- 2
- Remuneration
- This post is not salaried. However, Committee members’ travel expenses, incurred through attending meetings, are paid.
- Time Requirements
- Approximately 10 to 12 meetings a year, which may last up to a day. In addition, members will need to put aside time to consider casework and policy issues.
Campaign Timeline
-
Competition Launched
15/02/2021
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Closed for Applications
21/03/2021 at 11pm
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Panel Sift
w/c 19th April
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Final Interview Date
w/c 17th May
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Announcement
14/07/2021
Announcement
An announcement has been made on the outcome of this appointment.
The Secretary of State has appointed Professor Mark Hallett and Dr Tim Pestell as Members of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art (RCEWA) for a term of four years commencing on 13 August 2021 until 12 August 2025.
Date: 14/07/2021
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- Carrie Cooke
- Positions
- Departmental Official
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- Panel Member
- Sir Hayden Phillips
- Positions
- Representative of Organisation
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- Panel Member
- Charles Barwell OBE
- Positions
- Independent Member
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- Panel Member
- Kate Bellamy
- Positions
- Other Panel Member
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Vacancy Description
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport seeks applications for two appointments to the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.
Introduction
The Committee is a non-statutory, independent advisory body whose main role is to advise the Secretary of State whether a cultural object which is the subject of an export licence is of national importance under the ‘Waverley criteria’. These are as follows:
| History | Aesthetics | Scholarship |
| Is it closely connected with our history and national life? | Is it of outstanding aesthetic importance? | Is it of outstanding significance for the study of some particular branch of art, learning or history? |
| Waverley 1 | Waverley 2 | Waverley 3 |
The Committee reaches a view on the merits of any object which one of the Secretary of State’s expert advisers refers to it. If the Committee finds that an item meets at least one of the Waverley criteria, it will recommend to the Secretary of State that the decision on the export licence should be deferred for a specified period. This will allow institutions and private individuals in the UK a chance to raise the money to purchase the item to enable it to remain in this country.
Membership and terms of reference of the Committee
The Committee consists of eight permanent members, seven of whom have particular expertise in one or more subject areas such as paintings, furniture, and manuscripts, and a Chair. Its terms of reference are as follows:
- To advise on the principles which should govern the control of export of objects of cultural interest under the Export Control Act 2002 and on the operation of the export control system generally;
- To advise the Secretary of State on all cases where refusal of an export licence for an object of cultural interest is suggested on grounds of national importance;
- To advise in cases where a special Exchequer grant is needed towards the purchase of an object that would otherwise be exported.
Person Specification
General qualities sought
Candidates for the two posts will be able to demonstrate the following qualities and expertise:
- An ability to assess objectively whether cultural objects brought before the Reviewing Committee meet the Waverley criteria.
- An interest in the UK’s moveable cultural heritage, a broad understanding of its variety and range and the issues surrounding its protection.
- An understanding of the need to maintain the confidentiality of Committee meetings.
Essential Expertise
- An in-depth knowledge and understanding of Works of Art and other cultural objects to complement the expertise currently on the Committee. The outgoing members’ expertise being in Archaeology and early medieval material culture and 20th Century art.
- Experience of strategic thinking and making decisions at a senior level in order to help the committee to provide policy advice on the export of works of art.
- Knowledge of UK collections of fine and decorative arts, and objects of cultural interest.
- An acknowledgement of art’s important role in teaching us about our past and the need sometimes to contextualise or reinterpret, but never erase.
Term of Appointment
Committee members are appointed for a term of 4 years.
Diversity and inclusion
DCMS values and cares passionately about the diversity of it’s public appointments. Boards of public bodies should reflect our diverse society in order to ensure the sector has a leadership that draws fully on the different skills and perspectives our country has to offer.
We strongly encourage applications from all candidates and particularly welcome applications from women, those with a disability, and those from a black or ethnic minority background.
Additional Information
Eligibility Criteria
You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:
- you become bankrupt or make an arrangement with a creditor
- 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;
- you are disqualified from acting as a company director under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986;
- you have been convicted of a criminal offence, the conviction not being spent for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (c. 53);
- you become subject to a debt relief order or a bankruptcy restrictions order;
- you fail to declare any conflict of interest.
Conflicts of Interest and Due Diligence
If you have any interests that might be relevant to the work of the RCEWA, and which could lead to a real or perceived conflict of interest if you were to be appointed, please provide details in your application. If you have queries about this and would like to discuss further please contact the Public Appointments Team.
Given the nature of public appointments, it is important that those appointed as members of public bodies maintain the confidence of Parliament and the public. If there are any issues in your personal or professional history that could, if you were appointed, be misconstrued, cause embarrassment, or cause public confidence in the appointment to be jeopardised, it is important that you bring them to the attention of the Advisory Assessment Panel and provide details of the issue(s) in the statement supporting your application. In considering whether you wish to declare any issues, you should also reflect on any public statements you have made, including through social media.
As part of our due diligence checks we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This will include us undertaking searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. This information may be made available to the Advisory Assessment Panel and they may wish to explore issues with you should you be invited to interview. The information may also be shared with ministers and the Cabinet Office.
How to Apply
To apply, please send:
- A copy of your CV, of no more than two sides.
- A supporting statement, of no more than two sides, that evidences how you meet all the criteria in the Person Specification. Please provide examples of where your knowledge and experience matches the required criteria. It is important that you provide as much detail as possible, within a limit of two sides.
- You should also complete the two disclosure forms:
-the Diversity Monitoring Form concerning your personal information and political activity
-the Declaration of Interests Form
We ask all applicants to complete a diversity monitoring form. We hope you will help us by providing this information. Your data is not disclosed to the panel, but allows us to constantly evaluate any potential barriers to becoming a public appointee and whether there are any changes we could make to encourage a more diverse field to apply.
Please ensure you include a preferred telephone number, as well as a preferred email address, which will be used with discretion. Applications should be emailed to: publicappointments@dcms.gov.uk. Please include ‘RCEWA Trustee’ in the subject heading.
The appointments process will be conducted under the Governance Code on Public Appointments, and regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, which is based on three core principles of merit, openness and fairness.
All applicants are expected to be familiar and compliant with the Seven Principles of Public Life.
Disability Confident
We guarantee to interview anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the role. By ‘minimum criteria’ we mean that you must provide evidence in your application which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria. If you wish to apply under this scheme, please state this in the covering email or letter when submitting your application.
If you would like a confidential discussion regarding any reasonable adjustments during the process, please also indicate this in the covering email or letter.
Closing date
The closing date for applications is Sunday 21st March at 11pm. Please note applications received after this date will not be considered. Interviews are anticipated to take place on the week commencing 17th May.
For further information on the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, please contact Peter Rowlands on 0207 268 9671 or peter.rowlands@artscouncil.org.uk
If you have any questions on the appointments process, please contact the Campaign Manager, Rhianna Bridgewater at rhianna.bridgewater@dcms.gov.uk