Announcements (Archive)

Chair - Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) (Exemption)

Body
Welsh Government
Appointing Department
Welsh Government
Sector
Education
Location
Meetings are generally held at HEFCW’s offices in Bedwas, Caerphilly, South Wales, although will occasionally be held at other locations throughout Wales.
Number of Vacancies
1
Remuneration
£24,264 pa plus reasonable travel and other reasonable expenses.
Time Requirements
6 days per month

Announcement

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

The Minister for Education has appointed Rob Humphreys as the Interim Chair of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales Council. He will serve from 5th January 2021 until 4th January 2022 or upon such date as a permanent Chair is appointed, whichever is sooner.

Date: 21/12/2020

Assessment Panel

Panel Member
Huw Morris
Added
11/12/2019
Panel Role
Panel Chair
Positions
Director, Skills Higher Education and Lifelong Learning (SHELL), Welsh Government Departmental Official
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Political Activity-
Notes-
Panel Member
Julie Lydon
Added
11/12/2019
Positions
Vice Chancellor, University of South Wales Independent Member
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Political Activity-
Notes-
Panel Member
Robert Lloyd-Griffiths
Added
11/12/2019
Positions
Director Wales, Institute of Directors. Other Panel Member
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Political Activity-
Notes-
Panel Member
Rosie Varley
Added
11/12/2019
Positions
Senior Independent Panel Member Senior Independent Panel Member
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Political Activity-
Notes-

Vacancy Description

The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 provides for the Council to have a membership of between 8 and 12 members, including the Chair and the CEO.

The Chair is expected to work closely with HEFCW Members, the Chief Executive and other HEFCW officials in providing strategic direction and giving advice and encouragement to the HEFCW in the fulfilment of its statutory responsibilities and in the initiation, development and implementation of policy. They will be party to key decisions concerning the Council’s strategy.

The Chair will ensure that authoritative and timely advice is provided to the Welsh Government Ministers and officials and will provide feedback to the sector itself.

Person Specification

The Chair will provide strong and effective leadership and demonstrate an ability to work in partnership and build consensus. They will have the ability to test opinion and challenge current thinking. The Chair must also be able to deal confidently with Welsh Government Ministers and officials and the Heads and Chairs of Higher Education Institutions. The Chair must uphold, and will be widely perceived to uphold, the highest standards of integrity and impartiality, and be able to maintain respect for the work of the Council.

In appointing members of the Council, the Welsh Ministers are required by section 62(4) of the 1992 Act to:

(a) have regard to the desirability of including persons who appear to have experience of, and to have shown capacity in, the provision of higher education or to have held, and to have shown capacity in, any position carrying responsibility for the provision of higher education and, in appointing such persons, have regard to the desirability of their currently being engaged in the provision of higher education or in carrying responsibility for such provision, and

(b) have regard to the desirability of including persons who appear to have experience of, and to have shown capacity in, industrial, commercial or financial matters or the practice of any profession’.

The Minister will take account of these requirements in making the Chair appointment. The Welsh Government would therefore welcome applications from candidates with a successful track record in industry, commerce, employer representation, or the practice of a profession. Whilst desirable these qualities are not essential to the post.

Essential Criteria

In addition to the above person specification, the following criteria are considered essential to the post:

  • knowledge and understanding of higher education and of the challenges it faces in the UK and international context;
  • knowledge and understanding of the wider post-16 education and training sector and an understanding of the interaction with higher education;
  • empathy for students, their experience and life chances;
  • political awareness and an ability to develop political networks;
  • a clear understanding and commitment to equality and diversity and a willingness to challenge discriminatory practices; and
  • a good understanding of governance; and
  • ability to manage relationships with senior executives to deliver organisational goals

A successful candidate who has formerly worked for one of the Welsh higher education institutions will not represent the interests of that institution whilst on the Council, but will be expected to take an impartial and holistic view of the challenges facing the whole of the Welsh HE sector.

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.

Additional Information

Contacts:

For further information regarding the selection process, please contact:

Public Appointments

Public Bodies Unit

Email: publicappointments@gov.wales

For further information regarding the role of HEFCW and the role of Chair please contact Colette Eley in the WG sponsor team:

Tel: 03000 250523

Email: colette.eley@gov.wales

or Dale Hall, HEFCW Council Secretary:

Tel: 029 2085 9665

Email: dale.hall@hefcw.ac.uk

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact:  publicappointments@gov.wales.

How to Apply

To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button on the Welsh Government online recruitment centre. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system.  You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form.  To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates.  This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4.  Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit.  The second document is a full, up to date CV.  The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.

In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities.  We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years.

It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence.  You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go.  You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.

If you’d like to apply for this opportunity in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Public Appointments Unit on 03000 616095 or PublicAppointments@gov.wales.

For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments.

This is an exemption