Children's Commissioner for Wales
- Body
- Children's Commissioner for Wales
- Appointing Department
- Welsh Government
- Sector
- Education
- Location
- Port Talbot
- Number of Vacancies
- 1
- Remuneration
- £90,000 to £95,000 per annum.
- Time Requirements
- 31 per month
Campaign Timeline
-
Competition Launched
25/10/2022
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Closed for Applications
28/06/2021 at 16:00
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Panel Sift
01/11/2021
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Final Interview Date
08/11/2021
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Announcement
10/01/2022
Announcement
An announcement has been made on the outcome of this appointment.
Date: 10/01/2022
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- Positions
Show more information
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Vacancy Description
Wales was the first country in the UK to have an independent Children’s Commissioner – a lead followed by the other UK nations.
Established by the Care Standards Act 2000, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales is an independent children’s human rights institution. The Commissioner’s remit is laid down in the Children’s Commissioner for Wales Act 2001, which amended the Care Standards Act 2000.
The principal aim of the Commissioner is to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of children.
This is a high profile role which has a significant media and public profile. Appointments are made by the First Minister following a rigorous process including children and young people, a young person’s appointment panel and a cross party appointment panel.
The Commissioner’s Office currently has more than 21 full time equivalents of staff and the Welsh Government provides a budget of £1.579 million per annum.
The Children’s Commissioner for Wales remit covers all areas of the devolved powers of the Senedd Cymru insofar as they affect children’s rights and welfare. In summary the Commissioner has the following powers:
- The power to review the effect on children of exercise of functions or proposed exercise of functions of defined public bodies including Welsh Government.
- The power to review and monitor how effective are the arrangements for complaints, whistleblowing and advocacy of defined public bodies in safeguarding and promoting the rights and welfare of children.
- The power to examine cases in respect of individual children in certain circumstances.
- The power to provide assistance to a child in certain circumstances.
- The power to make representations to the Welsh Government about any matters affecting the rights and welfare of children which concerns the Commissioner and for which they do not have the power to act.
To find out more about the Children’s Commissioner’s powers please see the attached: Children’s Commissioner for Wales powers
Person Specification
The First Minister is seeking to appoint an individual who can demonstrate the following:
- the ability to demonstrate experience of engaging with and representing the views of others, in particular leading diversity and inclusion for marginalised or under-represented groups, and standing up for their rights;
- an understanding nature alongside an understanding of the particular challenges of representing the views of children and young people;
- a sound knowledge base of and a commitment to furthering children’s human rights;
- exceptional influencing skills, including the ability to listen, communicate and inspire confidence with a diverse range of stakeholders from children and young people to decision makers at the most senior level;
- the ability to express complex issues simply and articulately and present evidence in a clear and compelling way;
- independence of judgement and the ability to quickly analyse complex problems and identify potential solutions;
- the confidence and competence to speak out on issues affecting children and young people in Wales, including to the media, Government and Senedd Cymru;
- experience of effective leadership of an organisation or distinct unit within a larger organisation, including financial and people management;
- self-motivation and the ability to be pro-active, determined, positive and resilient;
- the enthusiasm to be an effective ambassador to improve outcomes for all children and young people;
- professional integrity, credibility and sensitivity to maintain confidence and trust; and
- proven knowledge of the political landscape in Wales and legislative position in respect of children’s rights and an understanding of how the Children’s Commissioner can operate effectively in this context.
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.
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 Team on: PublicAppointments@gov.wales.