Chair - Post Office Limited
- Body
- Post Office Limited
- Appointing Department
- Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- Sector
- Business, Finance & Skills
- Location
- London with regional operations throughout the UK
- Skills required
- Business / Commercial, Retail, Transformation
- Number of Vacancies
- 1
- Remuneration
- Upto £150k per annum
- Time Requirements
- 2 days per week
Campaign Timeline
-
Competition Launched
23/03/2022
-
Closed for Applications
25/04/2022 at 22:00
-
Panel Sift
w/c 9 May 2022
-
Final Interview Date
w/c 6 June 2022
-
Announcement
TBC
Announcement
An announcement has been made on the outcome of this appointment.
Date: 02/09/2022
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- Sarah Munby
- Panel Role
- Panel Chair
- Positions
- Permanent Secretary, The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Departmental Official
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| Notes | - |
- Panel Member
- Charles Donald
- Positions
- Chief Executive Officer, UK Government Investments Other Panel Member
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- Panel Member
- Zarin Patel
- Positions
- Senior Independent Director, Post Office Limited Representative of Organisation
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- Panel Member
- Michael Prescott
- Positions
- Managing Director, Hanover Communications Senior Independent Panel Member
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Vacancy Description
For over three centuries, the Post Office has connected communities and customers with the products and services they need. With over 11,500 branches, Post Office has the biggest retail network in the UK, bringing essential services within reach of communities and businesses alike – whether that’s posting parcels to loved ones, depositing cash at the end of the working day or topping up the gas meter. Providing over 170 services in person and online, we enable customers access to critical services they need as part of their daily lives. We are above all driven by our purpose, which promises the public that we’re here, in person, for the people that rely on us. This commitment remains unwavering even as we seek to evolve into a sustainable, successful and sought-after franchise business that continues to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers.
Transformation is critical to the Post Office’s future. We are working to resolve past failures and fundamentally reform our culture, practices and operating procedures, prioritising strong and trusting relationships with Postmasters whilst we look ahead to ways in which we can adapt and innovate to better serve our customers across the UK.
As our Chair, you will lead an energised board of executive and non-executive directors driving significant transformation to modernise the network, introduce more customer-friendly formats, and effectively address historic failures. You will provide outstanding leadership to this organisational transformation, to ongoing culture change programmes, and to rebuilding our relationships with Postmasters and other key stakeholders. At heart, Post Office is a commercial business with a social purpose, and our Chair will take the lead in ensuring that the future of the organisation reflects the best of what these two strands can offer consumers.
You will be an experienced leader with a significant track record of delivering organisational transformation within a commercial environment. You will be a highly capable strategic thinker, able to demonstrate the ability to turn ideas into tangible outcomes. You will have a track record of building and maintaining effective relationships with a complex and diverse range of stakeholders, able to win the confidence of senior colleagues, partners and the public alike. You will be an experienced non-executive within comparably complex environments, preferably as a Chair, and ideally with exposure to one of our key delivery areas. Your values are as important as your experience, and you will demonstrate a commitment to delivering the Post Office’s social purpose alongside your commercial outlook.
This is a hugely exciting and challenging role that will provide you with the opportunity to shape the future of one of the most historic and admired institutions in the UK.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria
- A record of leadership in delivering organisational transformation in a commercial environment;
- A commercially focused outlook combined with a commitment to delivering Post Office’s social purpose;
- Independence, personal resilience, and excellent inter-personal skills and experience of managing complex senior stakeholder relationships; and
- The ability to think strategically, set clear direction and communicate effectively to command the confidence of a range of audiences.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience at Board-level as senior Non-Executive or preferably Chair of a complex organisation;
- Ability to deliver culture change in a commercial environment;
- Experience in one or more of the Post Office’s delivery areas including franchise retail, logistics and banking;
- An understanding of the public sector context and the values of public service; and
- Experience of media handling during a time of scrutiny.
Additional Information
We are committed to providing equal opportunities for all, irrespective of race, age, disability, gender, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, transgender and working patterns and to the principle of public appointments on merit with independent assessments, openness and transparency of process.
We offer professional training courses on public sector finance and governance for those new to the public sector.
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
It is anticipated that the appointment will be for a period of around 3 years, renewable by mutual agreement.
How to Apply
To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process by no later than 10pm Monday 25th April 2022. All applications must be submitted using the link http://www.gatenbysanderson.com/job/GSe82108
You will be asked to submit the following:
- A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements (please tailor this the role criteria). Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
- A Statement of Suitability (no longer than three pages) explaining:
- Your motivation for applying for this role
- How you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the person specification
Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.
Please ensure that both documents contain your full name.
In addition, to be considered for the role, you must complete a Diversity Monitoring Form and a Declaration of Conflicts of Interest/Political Activity form.
Should you encounter any issues with your online application, are unable to apply online or require any reasonable adjustment (due to a disability) please contact tracy.kilkie@gatenbysanderson.com.
We value the unique differences that each of our colleagues bring to work every day and are committed to creating an environment where everyone feels respected, included, and able to perform at their best.
At the Post Office we are committed to creating a workplace that is diverse and inclusive, and we therefore particularly welcome applications from women, BAME, LGBT+ and disabled candidates.
For a confidential discussion please contact our recruitment advisers at GatenbySanderson:
Peter Guilder, Principal Researcher
Peter.guilder@gatenbysanderson.com
07545 441127
Matt Malone, Associate Consultant, Central Government
matt.malone@gatenbysanderson.com
07471 037070
Michael Dobson, Partner and Practice Lead, Central Government
michael.dobson@gatenbysanderson.com
Candidates should note that this campaign is being run in conjunction with UK Government Investments (UKGI) and should read the UKGI data privacy (Appendix 1) notice prior to applying to understand how their data will be used. This notice will be available to all candidates as part of the application process with GatenbySanderson.