Announcements (Archive)

Commissioner - Commission on Human Medicines

Body
Commission on Human Medicines
Appointing Department
Department of Health and Social Care
Sector
Health and Social Care
Location
London
Number of Vacancies
3
Remuneration
Remuneration will be £325 per meeting
Time Requirements
A time commitment of approximately 22 days per year, including 11 meetings

Campaign Timeline

  1. Competition Launched

    14/08/2019

  2. Closed for Applications

    08/10/2019 at 12:00

  3. Panel Sift

    23/10/2019

  4. Final Interview Date

    12/02/2020

  5. Announcement

    22/07/2020

Announcement

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

Professor Poulam Patel, Professor Marc Turner and Professor Christopher Weir have been appointed as commissioners of the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) for 4 years from 6 July 2020.

Dr Siraj Misbah has been reappointed from 1 July 2020 for 2 years and Dr Martin Wilson has been reappointed from 28 March 2020 for 4 years.

The appointments will involve a time commitment of approximately 22 days per year, including 11 meetings. Remuneration for the roles will be at a rate of £325 per meeting.

These appointments are made in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Governance for Public Appointments. The regulation of public appointments against the requirements of this code is carried out by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

These appointments are made on merit and political activity played no part in the decision process. However, in accordance with the code, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any declared) to be made public. Professor Poulam Patel is a (paying) member of the Labour party. All others have not declared any political activity.

These appointments are made jointly between the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Minister of Health, Northern Ireland and in consultation with Scottish ministers.

Date: 22/07/2020

Assessment Panel

Panel Member
Professor Sir Michael Rawlins
Added
14/08/2019
Panel Role
Panel Chair
Positions
Chair of MHRA Representative of Organisation
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Political ActivityNone
Notes-
Panel Member
Professor Stuart Ralston
Added
14/08/2019
Positions
Chair of CHM Representative of Organisation
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Political ActivityNone
Notes-
Panel Member
Dr Krishna Prasad
Added
14/08/2019
Positions
CHM Principal Assessor MHRA Representative of Organisation
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Political ActivityNone
Notes-
Panel Member
Rima Makarem
Added
14/08/2019
Positions
NICE Non-Executive Director Independent Member
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Political ActivityNone
Notes-

Vacancy Description

Ministers are seeking to make three appointments to the board of the Commission on Human Medicines: A Statistician with an expertise in clinical trials, a Haematologist (Adult or Paediatric) and an Oncologist.

Commissioners are required to:

  • possess or develop a working knowledge and understanding of the UK/European medicines regulatory procedures
  • attend all scheduled and unscheduled meetings of the CHM (and to be present for the whole meeting)
  • consider, comment and contribute by drawing on their individual expertise and judgement, as appropriate, on all agenda items and to assist the CHM to frame clear and unequivocal advice to Ministers in accordance with the CHM’s terms of reference
  • be able and prepared to speak on a range of relevant issues and not just on their own areas of specialism
  • provide formal and informal advice to Ministers between meetings when required
  • provide advice relating to applications in the European Procedures and occasionally to attend the European Medicines Agency as part of the UK delegation as necessary
  • contribute to and ensure the CHM’s advice takes account of a wider view of risk and benefit, particularly as it is perceived by patients, carers and other members of the public

The Department of Health and Social Care values and promotes diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community. The boards of public bodies should reflect the population they are there to serve. Boards also benefit from fresh perspectives, and we are always keen to encourage candidates with private sector experience to consider applying for our roles.

Person Specification

To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills and experience to meet all the essential criteria for appointment.

  • ability to operate effectively on a national expert scientific committee
  • be skilled communicators
  • ability to assimilate complex scientific information at short notice
  • ability and prepared to contribute actively to the work of the CHM

In addition, for the three specialist posts successful candidates should be recognised by their peers and/or be Fellows of the relevant Royal Colleges and be one of the following:

  • A Haematologist (Adult or Paediatric)
  • A Statistician with an expertise in clinical trials
  • An Oncologist

Additional Information

The functions of the CHM are:

  • to advise Ministers on matters relating to human medicinal products (except those that fall under the remit of ABRHP and HMAC including giving advice in relation to the safety, quality and efficacy of human medicinal products, where either the CHM think it appropriate or where it is asked to do so
  • to advise the Licensing Authority (LA) where the LA has a duty to consult the CHM or where the LA chooses to consult the CHM
  • to consider representations made in relation to the CHM’s advice (either in writing or at a hearing) by an applicant or by a licence or Marketing Authorisation (MA) holder; and
  • to promote the collection and investigation of information relating to adverse reactions for human medicines (except for those products that fall within the remit of ABRHP or HMAC) for the purposes of enabling such advice to be given.

Background on some aspects of the CHM’s work:

The secretariat to the CHM produces an Annual Report at the end of each calendar year which is laid before Parliament and made public. A link to the 2017 report is available through the Gov.UK website:-  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-medicines-regulations-2012-advisory-bodies-annual-report-2017

Meeting dates can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/commission-on-human-medicines/about/membership#meeting-dates

How to Apply

Thank you for your interest in the appointment of a Commissioner to the Commission on Human Medicines.

The Department of Health and Social Care’s Appointments and Honours Team is managing this recruitment campaign on behalf of MHRA.  To make an application please email your CV, a supporting letter and completed monitoring forms to:

appointments.team@dhsc.gov.uk – please quote VAC-1655 in the subject field.

If you are unable to apply by email you may send your application by post to:

Sally Brough-Hirst, Department of Health and Social Care, Room 1N09, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7UE

Applications must be received by midday on 8 October 2019.

In making an application please note the following:

Supporting letter

The supporting letter is your opportunity to demonstrate how you meet each of the criteria set out in the person specification. It will benefit the Advisory Assessment Panel if you can be clear which specific evidence you provide relates to which criteria. Providing separate paragraphs in relation to each criterion is common practice. Please write all acronyms in full first.

Please ensure your full name, the role to which you are applying and the corresponding reference number for the post are clearly noted at the top of your letter.

Please limit your letter to two pages, and type or write clearly in black ink.

Conflicts of interest

If you have any business or personal interests that might be relevant to the work of Commission on Human Medicines, and which could lead to a real or perceived conflict of interest if you were to be appointed, please provide details in your Supporting letter.

If appointed, you will also be required to declare these interests on appointment and they will be entered on a register which is available to the public.

Standards in public life and ensuring public confidence

Given the nature of public appointments, it is important that those appointed as members of public bodies maintain the confidence of the public and Government. If there are any issues in your personal or professional history (including any convictions or bankruptcy) that could, if you were appointed, be misconstrued, cause embarrassment to Ministers or Commission on Human Medicines or cause public confidence in the appointment to be jeopardised, it is important that you bring them to the attention of the Assessment Panel and provide details of the issue/s in your Supporting letter. In considering whether you wish to declare any issues, you should also reflect on any public statements you have made, including through social media and blogs. Due Diligence may be carried out on any publicly available information and shared with the Advisory Assessment Panel.

The panel may explore any issues you declare with you before they make a recommendation on the appointment.

Failure to disclose such information could result in an appointment being terminated, as those who hold public appointments are expected to demonstrate the highest standards of corporate and personal conduct and are required to subscribe to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, as part of agreeing to the terms and conditions of appointment. You can access this document at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/board-members-of-public-bodies-code-of-conduct

There are also circumstances in which individuals may not be considered for appointment, due to them not meeting certain eligibility criteria for appointment. For further information, please refer to Section 2.3: Eligibility Criteria

If you wish to discuss any queries on conflicts, please see the contacts section.

CV

Please ensure your CV includes:

  • Your full name, title, home address, personal contact telephone numbers (land line and mobile), personal email address and details of any Twitter accounts and LinkedIn accounts including your Twitter handle/username.
  • Similar contact details for two referees who will support your application. One referee should be the person to whom you are/were accountable in your current/most recent appointment or position of employment. Please indicate the relationship of each referee to you. References will be requested for short-listed candidates prior to interview
  • Brief details of your current or most recent post and the dates you occupied this role. Please identify any past or present Ministerial appointments.

Monitoring form

Please complete the monitoring form. Diversity monitoring information will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel assessing your application.

Political activity information is primarily for monitoring purposes only, however if you are shortlisted for interview, this information will be shared with the selection panel. The reason for this is that it is appreciated that such activities may have given you relevant skills, including experience gained from committee work, collective decision-making, resolving conflict and public speaking. If you have had such experience and you consider it relevant to your application for this post, you should also take the opportunity to include it separately in your supporting statement. If possible, you should not, however, identify the relevant political party in your statement.

If you are appointed to this role, please note that any political activity you declare will be published in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The Department of Health and Social Care operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) for disabled people. The Equality Act 2010 defines a person as disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Under the GIS a disabled candidate will be selected for interview if they meet the essential criteria for the post.

If you wish to apply under the GIS please complete the GIS form and return it with your application.

All applications will be acknowledged by email after the closing date.

Contacts

For further information regarding the selection process, please contact

Sally Brough-Hirst

Appointments Team

Tel:  0113 2546138

Email: Sally.Brough-Hirst@dhsc.gov.uk

For further information regarding the role of the Commission on Human Medicines and the role of a Commissioner please contact:

Panayiota Nicola

Tel:  020 3080 6060

Email:  Panayiota.Nicola@mhra.gov.uk & ECS.Appointments@mhra.gov.uk

Please quote reference VAC-1655 on all correspondence.

If you choose to apply, we would like to thank you in advance for your time and effort in making an application.