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Announcements (Archive)

VisitEngland Non-Executive Board Member

Body
VisitEngland
Appointing Department
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Sector
Culture, Media & Sport
Location
London
Number of Vacancies
3
Remuneration
£275 for 1.5 days a month.
Time Requirements
The Board meets 5 times a year, plus a joint strategy board in conjunction with the BTA Board Members.

Campaign Timeline

  1. Competition Launched

    17/07/2017

  2. Closed for Applications

    29/09/2017

  3. Panel Sift

    23/10/2017

  4. Final Interview Date

    22/11/2017

  5. Announcement

    16/03/2018

Announcement

An announcement has been made on the outcome of this appointment.

The Culture Secretary has appointed Fiona Pollard and Allan Lambert as trustees of the VisitEngland Board for a term of 4 years, from 5 March 2018 to 6 March 2022.

View Announcement

Assessment Panel

Panel Member
Perdita Hunt (OBE)
Positions
Panel Member Independent Member
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Political Activity-
Notes-
Panel Member
Giles Smith
Positions
Deputy Director Departmental Official
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Political Activity-
Notes-
Panel Member
Denis Wormwelll
Positions
Chair Representative of Organisation
Show more information
Political Activity-
Notes-

Vacancy Description

Tourism is a crucial industry for the UK. The Office for National Statistics estimates that tourism directly contributed over £62 billion to the UK economy in 2014, accounting for over 3% of the UK’s Gross Value Added (GVA). Last year, the Prime Minister launched the Tourism Action Plan, through which the Government aims to grow the tourism industry further, and to spread the benefits of growth across the whole of Britain, by encouraging more visitors to travel beyond the capital. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport wishes to appoint three new Board Members for the VisitEngland Advisory Board. The VisitEngland Advisory Board is responsible for providing advice on English tourism matters to Ministers and the Board of the British Tourist Authority. About the VisitEngland Advisory Board (VEAB) The VEAB has been in existence since the 1969 Development of Tourism Act, and is legally constituted as the English Tourist Board, an unfunded advisory Non-Departmental Public Body. It is responsible for advising the executive and board of the British Tourist Authority, which trades as VisitBritain and VisitEngland, on matters relating to tourism in England, and thereby helping to drive economic growth and excellence in English tourism. This takes the form primarily of the development and implementation of an England Action Plan, which sets out a strategy for support of English tourism.

The new advisory function of the VEAB is the result of a significant restructure of governance and functions at the BTA, to enable it to deliver on Government’s priorities for tourism following the recent Spending Review. The VisitEngland Board has become the VisitEngland Advisory Board, taking on an advisory rather than an executive function. The BTA continues to trade as both VisitBritain and VisitEngland, retaining ringfenced funding for England and Britain-wide activity, but reports to the Secretary of State through one Chief Executive and one Board. The 2015 Spending Review provided significant investment in the tourism sector, with flat cash settlements for both VisitBritain and VisitEngland to 2020, an increase in overall funding for the GREAT Britain campaign to £60 million per year, and a new £40m Discover England fund to provide direct investment into English tourism.

The Secretary of State’s priorities for English tourism are:

  • Implementation of the £40m Discover England fund. This fund will incentivise collaboration between destinations and public and private sector partners to improve the English tourism offer and encourage more tourists to visit English regions beyond London.
  • Activity to support and grow business visits and events for English destinations.
  • The maintenance of distinct activities and ringfenced budgets to develop and market English tourism.

The Role

All Board Members are expected to contribute effectively to the overall work of the VEAB , currently comprising 4 members, in providing expert advice and support to the VEAB Chair and Board of the BTA.The chief responsibilities of the Board Members will be to:

  • Provide effective contribution to the VisitEngland Advisory Board and to support the Chair of the Board.
  • Support the Chair in advising the Board of the BTA on matters relating to English tourism. This advice will be submitted both routinely through the implementation and monitoring of the England Action Plan, and in reacting to unforeseen events, such as flooding.
  • To support the Chair in ensuring that the VEAB membership and governance is constituted in such a way as to provide the most relevant and expert advice and experience on a range of topics, including (but not limited to) the needs of English destinations, strategic partnerships and digital marketing.
  • The Board Members must provide support and challenge as necessary to the VEAB Chair to ensure that the BTA retains an appropriate separation of England only activity and funding, and delivers on the England Action Plan, and on the MoU between the BTA and VisitEngland.
  • Champion England domestically as a visitor destination.

Person Specification

Candidates must be able to demonstrate:

  • The ability to participate as part of a team of Board Members in a high profile organisation, providing effective support and challenge to the organisation;
  • The ability to operate successfully at Board level, managing the interests of a diverse range of partners and the management of change, or equivalent skills and ability.
  • An understanding of the differing demands of the public and private sectors.
  • An understanding of and insight into, the travel and tourism industry.
  • Strong relationship building skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively, and work with and through others to achieve objectives;
  • Excellent communication skills including the ability to operate effectively and comfortably as an ambassador for the organisation.

Demonstrable expertise in one or more of the following areas is desirable:

  • An understanding of the operating environments in the accommodation/hotel, transportation (including rail) or retail sectors in the context of tourism and travel.
  • Digital and marketing preferably gained in a global organisation.
  • Strong powers of analysis and financial literacy sufficient to enable a real contribution to the Board coupled with a sound working knowledge of corporate governance.
  • A track record of business/commercial success.

In addition, for those currently employed in the industry, candidates will need to be clear about any potential conflicts between this role and their other professional activities and be able to propose ways to manage conflicts should they arise.

Additional Information

Further information on VisitEngland and the BTA can be found through the VisitBritain and VisitEngland websites: www.visitbritain.org and www.visitengland.com

Current membership of the board

  • Denis Wormwell (Chair)
  • Sarah Stewart
  • Nigel Halkes
  • John Hoy
  • Suzanne Bond (Observer)
  • Giles Smith (Observer)

More information on our current Board Members can be found at https://www.visitbritain.org/our-team.

How to Apply

To apply, please send:

  • a CV
  • a supporting statement of not more than two sides of A4, setting out how you meet the criteria
  • the two Monitoring Forms concerning your personal information and political activity, and the Declaration of Interests Form.

Completed applications should preferably be emailed to: publicappointments@culture.gov.uk

Please put ‘VisitEngland Advisory Board’ in the Subject line.

If you have any questions about the appointment process please contact Kerry Allison  in the DCMS Public Appointments Unit on 020 7211 2813