Wales Commissioner - Equality and Human Rights Commission
- Body
- Equality and Human Rights Commission
- Appointing Department
- Cabinet Office
- Sectors
- Business, Finance & Skills, Charity & Public Sector, Communities, Education, Health and Social Care, International, Judicial, Prison & Policing, Regulation, Transport
- Location
- Wales
- Skills required
- Audit and Risk, Business / Commercial, Change Management, Communication / Media / Marketing, IT / Digital, Legal / Judicial, Major Projects, Regulation, Transformation
- Number of Vacancies
- 1
- Remuneration
- A per-diem rate at £400/ day
- Time Requirements
- Approximately 1-2 days per month (up to 25 days per year)
Campaign Timeline
-
Competition Launched
29/06/2020
-
Closed for Applications
09/08/2020 23:59
-
Panel Sift
17/08/2020
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Final Interview Date
07/09/2020
-
Announcement
12/11/2020
Announcement
An announcement has been made on the outcome of this appointment.
This campaign was unsuccessful. A new campaign will be launched in due course to appoint a new Wales Commissioner to the EHRC.
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- Rt Hon Prof Lord Ajay Kakkar
- Added
- 23/07/2020
- Panel Role
- Panel Chair
- Positions
- Independent Member
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- Panel Member
- Pamela Dow
- Added
- 23/07/2020
- Positions
- Director Cabinet Office
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- Panel Member
- Alasdair Henderson
- Added
- 23/07/2020
- Positions
- Representative of Organisation
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Vacancy Description
The Secretary of State for International Development and Minister for Women and Equalities wishes to appoint a Wales Commissioner to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). This appointment fulfils the requirement of the Equality Act 2006 that the membership of the Commission must include:
A Commissioner who knows about conditions in Wales (the “Wales Commissioner”).
This appointment will be made with the consent of Welsh Ministers.
The roles and responsibilities of EHRC Commissioners are set out in the Commission’s Governance Manual.
Commissioners are responsible for:
a) working with the Chair and Chief Executive to set the strategic direction of the EHRC;
b) scrutinising the EHRC’s performance, and supporting the Chair in holding the Chief Executive to account; and
c) complying at all times with the Cabinet Office’s Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies (2011) and the EHRC’s Code of Conduct and conflicts of interest guidance (Part 4 of the EHRC’s Governance Framework).
In addition to the above, the Wales Commissioner chairs a statutory Wales Committee appointed by the EHRC’s Board. The main duty of the Committee is to advise the Commission about the exercise of the Commission’s powers in so far as they affect Wales. The Wales Committee also has delegated powers under the Equality Act 2006 in respect of certain of the EHRC’s powers affecting Wales, and to advise the devolved Government for Wales about the effect of legislation affecting only Wales.
The Wales Commissioner therefore needs to understand the social, economic and legal context in Wales, along with the bi-lingual context of Wales, and be able to apply this to inform the Commission’s work.
Appointments to the EHRC are for between 2 and 5 years. Following the Tailored Review of the EHRC in July 2018, Commissioners’ terms are likely to be a minimum of 3 years.
It is envisaged the successful candidate will take up the role in December 2020 or January 2021.
Person Specification
In addition to the responsibilities of EHRC Commissioners, as set in the Commission’s Governance Manual, the Wales Commissioner has particular responsibilities on the following matters:
- Chairing the Wales Committee;
- Engaging with other EHRC committees and working groups on Wales and GB-wide matters;
- Contributing to the process of advising the Welsh Government about equality and human rights law and its potential effects;
- Contributing to the development of the EHRC’s annual report, strategic plan and business priorities in respect of Wales;
- Representing the EHRC in Wales including stakeholder and community engagement to further the EHRC’s priorities.
Specific qualities and skills sought
Candidates should be able to demonstrate:
- Senior level leadership experience and the ability to work collaboratively and chair at Board level, including the ability to bring a business perspective and practical mind-set to discussions and the credibility to effectively challenge others;
- The ability to build constructive relationships and influence at the highest level, and to act as an ambassador for the Commission, particularly in Wales, working with key stakeholders and promoting the organisation’s role and aims to the public and a wide range of partners;
- The ability to provide strategic, knowledgeable, impartial and balanced perspectives on a range of sensitive and complex issues and the ability to contribute to the development of strategic priorities, weighing up competing arguments capable of justification under close scrutiny;
- A commitment to and knowledge or experience of equality and human rights;
- An understanding of the context in which the Commission operates and knowledge of conditions in Wales and their relationship to conditions in Great Britain;
- High standards of integrity, commitment to public service values, and an understanding of the principles and practices of corporate governance.
Applicants will be assessed against these criteria in their application and any subsequent interview.
Additional Information
The EHRC is Great Britain’s national equality body and has been awarded an ‘A’ status as a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) by the United Nations.
Its role is to help make Britain fairer and it achieves this by safeguarding and enforcing the laws that protect people’s rights to fairness, dignity and respect.
As a statutory non-departmental public body established by the Equality Act 2006, the Commission operates independently. It aims to be a centre of excellence for evidence, analysis and equality and human rights law and an essential point of contact for policy makers, public bodies and business.
The EHRC uses its unique powers to challenge discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and protect human rights.
For further information about the Commission, please visit its website at www.equalityhumanrights.com
How to Apply
The process for this public appointment will adhere to the Governance Code for Public Appointments published by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For details of how to apply, please refer to the candidate information pack which accompanies this vacancy.
Applications are welcomed from as diverse a range of applicants as possible. We guarantee to interview any disabled applicant whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post – this is known as Offering an Interview to Disabled people.
Please contact EHRC.publicappointments@cabinetoffice.gov.uk if you require this advert in an alternative form, explaining what you need and why you require an alternative format.