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Chair

Body
Acas
Appointing Department
Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Sectors
Business, Finance & Skills, Regulation
Location
London
Skills required
Business / Commercial, Change Management, Legal / Judicial, Regulation, Transformation
Number of Vacancies
1
Remuneration
Remuneration will be calculated pro-rata with a full-time equivalent salary between £120,000 and £130,000.
Time Requirements
2/3 days a week

Campaign Timeline

  1. Competition Launched

    17/07/2019

  2. Closed for Applications

    26/08/2019

  3. Panel Sift

    W/C 16/09/2019

  4. Final Interview Date

    W/C 14/10/2019

  5. Announcement

    15/05/2020

Announcement

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

Business Secretary Alok Sharma appoints Clare Chapman as Chair of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) Council.

View Announcement

Assessment Panel

Panel Member
Jaee Samant
Panel Role
Panel Chair
Positions
Director General, Market Frameworks Departmental Official
Show more information
Political Activity-
Notes-
Panel Member
Bryan Sanderson
Positions
Chair of Low Pay Commission Representative of Organisation
Show more information
Political Activity-
Notes-
Panel Member
Amerdeep Somal
Positions
Senior Independent Panel Member
Show more information
Political Activity-
Notes-

Vacancy Description

The Chair of the Acas Council leads the Acas Council to develop Acas strategy and voice.Working closely with the Chief Executive the Chair ensures that the Council and executive operate effectively and with propriety. The Chair needs to be an effective advocate and ambassador for Acas; and will need to ensure that the Council works effectively in holding the executive to account for delivery against its strategic and business plansand for the efficient discharge of its statutory functions.

The Chair of the Acas Council is responsible for: 

  • Leading the Council in setting the strategic direction for the organisation and supporting the Chief Executive to deliver Acas’strategic and business plans and effectively discharge its statutory responsibilities, taking account of Government’s wider strategic priorities;
  • Leading the Council in addressing key employment relations issues and promoting good practice in Britain’s workplaces;
  • Providing visible and strong leadership anddeveloping a positive culture for the Council and organisation as a whole;
  • Representing Acas in discussions with Ministers and forging strong relations with Whitehall, Parliament;social partners that includethe business community, unions and wider stakeholders;
  • Ensuring that the Council operates effectively, efficiently and with due propriety;
  • Supporting the Chief Executive to promote the efficient and effective use of staff and other resources in the context of financial constraints, and drive change, performance and improvement; and
  • Raising the external profile of Acas(including Acas’ profile in the media).

Person Specification

The Chair of the Acas Council is an important appointment,requiring a high calibre individual with the skills and experience to provide strong leadership to the Council. The successful applicant will also support the Chief Executive’s leadership of the organisation. The new Chair of Acas will quickly need toget to grips with the policy and political environment in which Acas operates and be able to:

  • Articulate a clear vision of how Acas can support a fair, efficient and competitive labour market in Great Britain (GB) and work collaborativelywith BEIS to maximise Acas’ impact and contribution to driving economic growth, while maintaining Acas independence as set out in the TradeUnion and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;
  • Effectivelychair the Acas Council and work with the Chief Executive and Council members to set the strategic direction for Acas, ensuring that Acas is able to deliver high quality services for a diverse range of customers including meeting the needs of small and micro-employers, the wider business community and  employees,  across a range of diverse communities;
  • Ensure thatAcas is in a position to identify and take advantage of new opportunities whileproperly and efficiently continuing to discharge its statutory duties; and
  • Develop Acas’ key relationships with the social partners, Government, sector bodies and other major stakeholders and contribute to policy development.

Essential Skills

The Acas Chair should bring strong employment relations experience from either a private or public sector background, and be able to demonstrate the following skills and experience:

  • Ability to develop a strong and credible relationship with Ministers and senior officials;
  • A record of high achievementin the candidate’sfield of experience;
  • Relationship skills, communicationability, and havethe authority to inspire confidence and credibility across Acas’ many and varied stakeholders;
  • The ability to understand the impact of employment relations across employment sectors andits significancefor growth and organisational success and champion employee engagement and good employment relations;
  • Sound judgement to be able to maintainAcas’ statutory independence and impartiality while maintaining the confidence of Ministers and maximising the organisation’s impact on driving GB growth and productivity;
  • The ability to lead and develop the Council with a diverse membership that represents often competing priorities;
  • A commitment to providing a high–quality service to stakeholders, delivering value for money for the taxpayer; 
  • Ability to contribute to resolving the most intractable employment disputes;
  • The ability to understand and interpret financial information and to provide effective challenge to the Chief Executive who is personally accountable to Parliament for the regularity and propriety of Acas’ spend and business activities; and 
  • Provide a commitment to the Nolan principles of public service (Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty and Leadership); and the principles of diversity and equal opportunities.

Desirable criteria 

The Acas Chair would also be able to offer some of the following:

  • Sound judgement – An ability to influence with confidence in controversial or difficult situations in order to reach desired outcomes, whilst maintaining the confidence of stakeholders;
  • Strong personal commitment to best practice in good governance and securing value for money; 
  • Proven track record of  leadership at senior level securing strategic change; and;
  • The ability to maintain independence and impartialityof thought and judgement in situations where strongly opposing views may be held by others.

Additional Information

BEIS is 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.

BEIS offers professional training courses on public sector finance and governance for those new to the public sector.

How to Apply

The closing date for applications is 11pm 26thAugust 2019

Late applications will not be accepted.

For further information or to apply, please visit:www.odgers.com/73119

If you are unable to apply on–line please email:73119@odgersberndtson.com

Please submit the following documents: 

  • A Statement of Suitability (no longer than two pages) – this should explain how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the points highlighted in the essential criteria. Please note that the statement of suitability is an important part of your application and is as much the means by which you will be assessed as your CV.
  • A CV
  • Application form enclosed in the candidate pack (following receipt of your CV and cover note, this will be shared with you and you will be asked to send it separately toanne.neill@odgersberndtson.com) 
  • Diversity Monitoring Form – all candidates are requested to complete an online Diversity Monitoring Form which you will receive an email prompt to complete at the end of the application process. This will assist BEIS in monitoring selection decisions to assess whether equality of opportunity is being achieved. Any information collated from the Diversity Monitoring Forms will not be used as part of the selection process and will be treated as strictly confidential.For an informal discussion please contact Odgers Berndtson: Laura Spurgin on + 44 20 7529 3967; or Nicky Oppenheimer 078 0245 6751

All applications will receive an automated response.

Please note that failure to submit both your CV and Statement of Suitability will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the essential criteria. 

This role has been advertised on HM Government Public Appointments website. If you have any questions and want to discuss directly with the BEIS Public Appointments team, please email publicappointments@beis.gov.uk.