Advisory Council on National Records and Archives - 3x Members
- Body
- Advisory Council on National Records and Archives
- Appointing Department
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
- Sector
- Culture, Media & Sport
- Location
- Meetings were normally held in Kew and (occasionally) Central London but are currently being held virtually. FOI Panels and preparatory work are carried out remotely.
- Number of Vacancies
- 3
- Remuneration
- The post is remunerated at £386 per day, up to a maximum of £9,264 per annum. Actual reasonable and other expenses will be met.
- Time Requirements
- Usually four meetings annually, each lasting one day, with an annual half day training session. Participation in FOI panels. These are convened every two weeks. Each panel consists of three members, who serve by rotation. One member acts as panel lead. Members typically participate in four per year. Preparation/reading of papers before meetings, and responding to key public consultations, strategy and policy.
Campaign Timeline
-
Competition Launched
05/05/2021
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Closed for Applications
16/06/2021 at 23.00
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Panel Sift
w/c 6th September
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Final Interview Date
w/c 11th October
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Announcement
28/01/2022
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- Gemma Brough
- Panel Role
- Panel Chair
- Positions
- DCMS Deputy Director for Public Bodies, Appointments, Honours and Awards Departmental Official
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- Panel Member
- Trevor Woolley
- Positions
- Advisory Council on National Records and Archives Deputy Chair Representative of Organisation
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- Panel Member
- Rebecca Surender
- Positions
- Independent Member
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Vacancy Description
The Advisory Council on National Records and Archives (the “Advisory Council”) is an advisory non-departmental public body (“NDPB”), which provides independent advice to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on matters relating to records and archives in the United Kingdom and, in particular, England and Wales. It has several roles, which include the following:
- it advises the Secretary of State on issues relating to public records which are over 20 years old (historical public records), including public access to them, at the point of transfer to The National Archives (“TNA”)
- it advises the Secretary of State on requests from Government departments to retain historical public records under the Public Records Act 1958
- it advises the Secretary of State in his/her duty to be consulted on requests from departments for historical public records to remain closed under certain Freedom of Information Act 2000 exemptions and challenges departments to provide evidence to justify such requests; and
- it advises the Chief Executive and Keeper of TNA on matters relating to his duties as Historical Manuscripts Commissioner under the Royal Warrant through the Council’s sub-committee, the Forum on Historical Manuscripts and Academic Research.
The Advisory Council also supports government departments and TNA by providing independent advice and scrutiny on issues relating to records management and archives. This includes:
- advising the Secretary of State on major objectives, programmes and policy changes for TNA
- proposed legislation affecting TNA
- the implications for records and public services of any proposed change to the status of TNA; and
- any subjects brought to its attention by the Secretary of State.
The Advisory Council typically has up to eighteen members, who are appointed by the Secretary of State, by public appointment. They come from a wide range of fields, including users of historical records such as historians and journalists, retired senior public, civil and diplomatic servants and professionals with relevant information expertise, including (but not limited to) archivists, compliance practitioners, digital curators, lawyers and records managers.
Further information about TNA and the Advisory Council can be found at these locations:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/what-we-do/ and
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/advisory-council/
At each of these websites there are links to more detailed information.
Role:
Advisory Council Members will be expected to:
- Play a full role in assessing retention and closure applications, strategy and policy papers and communicate the resulting assessment to the Advisory Council.
- Participate in FOI panels.
- Welcome and consider the views of other members of the Advisory Council.
- Make recommendations to the Advisory Council.
- Participate at meetings.
- Read and respond to papers prior to meetings.
- Members may be asked to undergo a security check, in order to be able to view sensitive papers.
Person Specification
DCMS is committed to ensuring its public appointments are diverse, representative of society and benefit from a broad range of skills and perspectives. We would particularly welcome applications from women, those with a disability, and those from a black or ethnic minority background.
Essential skills and experience
All candidates for the Advisory Council should provide evidence of the following core skills and attributes:
- Ability to weigh up the balance of arguments objectively and independently;
- Ability to engage in and facilitate strategic thinking;
- Ability to collaborate, negotiate and influence at a senior level;
- Ability to comply with confidentiality restrictions and to work with information of a sensitive nature;
- Ability to scrutinise and influence policy; and
- Ability to demonstrate persistence and commitment to ongoing work.
Specialist knowledge in one or more of the following areas would be beneficial:
- Archives policy, information management and digital archiving as practised in libraries, archives and records offices, or developed as a discipline in the information management and information rights communities. Experience in digital archiving is particularly welcome with a focus on the use of digital archiving, and projects using digital technologies. Also an understanding of the research use of digital technologies and computational approaches.
- Users of archives for example, for purposes of academic or independent historical research, journalism and productions in other media.
- Public policy and government such as experience of offering advice and undertaking scrutiny in the context of the national political and administrative framework of government.
This appointment is made for a term of up to four years.
Additional Information
Eligibility Criteria
You cannot be considered for a public appointment if: ● you become bankrupt or make an arrangement with a creditor ● your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors; ● you are disqualified from acting as a company director under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986; ● you have been convicted of a criminal offence, the conviction not being spent for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (c. 53); ● you become subject to a debt relief order or a bankruptcy restrictions order; ● you fail to declare any conflict of interest.
Conflicts of Interest and Due Diligence
If you have any interests that might be relevant to the work of the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives, and which could lead to a real or perceived conflict of interest if you were to be appointed, please provide details in your application. If you have queries about this and would like to discuss further please contact the Public Appointments Team.
Given the nature of public appointments, it is important that those appointed as members of public bodies maintain the confidence of Parliament and the public. If there are any issues in your personal or professional history that could, if you were appointed, be misconstrued, cause embarrassment, or cause public confidence in the appointment to be jeopardised, it is important that you bring them to the attention of the Advisory Assessment Panel and provide details of the issue(s) in your application. In considering whether you wish to declare any issues, you should also reflect on any public statements you have made, including through social media.
As part of our due diligence checks we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This will include us undertaking searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. This information may be made available to the Advisory Assessment Panel and they may wish to explore issues with you should you be invited to interview. The information may also be shared with ministers and Cabinet Office.
How to Apply
To apply, please send the following four documents:
- a CV of no more than two sides of A4;
- a supporting statement of no more than two sides of A4, setting out how you meet the criteria (NB: make sure you refer to the contents of this document);
- the Monitoring Form which must be completed by clicking this link, before submitting your application. Please note this replaces the previous PDF monitoring form.
- the Declaration of Interests Form.
Completed applications should be emailed to: publicappointments@dcms.gov.uk. Please put ‘ACNRA Board Member’ in the subject title.
Please note DCMS does not fund travel and subsistence for candidates attending interviews.
Closing Date
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 16th June at 11pm. Please note that applications received after this time will not be considered.
DCMS promotes an equal opportunities policy. Appointments are made on merit, following a fair and transparent process, and these appointments are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. More detail, including the regulations that appointing bodies are required to follow, is available at the OCPA website:
https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/
Diversity and Inclusion
DCMS values and cares passionately about the diversity of it’s public appointments. Boards of public bodies should reflect our diverse society in order to ensure the sector has a leadership that draws fully on the different skills and perspectives our country has to offer.
DCMS and the ACNRA strongly encourage applications from all candidates and particularly welcome applications from women, those with a disability, and those from a black or ethnic minority background.
We ask all applicants to complete a diversity monitoring form. We hope you will help us by providing this information. Your data is not disclosed to the panel, but allows us to constantly evaluate any potential barriers to becoming a public appointee and whether there are any changes we could make to encourage a more diverse field to apply.
Disability Confident
We guarantee to interview anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the role. By ‘minimum criteria,’ we mean that you must provide evidence in your application, which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria. If you want to apply under this scheme, simply state this in the covering email when submitting your application.
Reasonable adjustments
If you would like a confidential discussion regarding any reasonable adjustments during the process, please also indicate this in the covering email or letter, or email the appointments team.
Further Information and Queries
For queries in relation to the ACNRA, further information on the role or questions regarding the Public Appointments process, please contact Isabel Saunders at The National Archives, at advisorycouncilsecretary@nationalarchives.gov.uk, or contact the Campaign Manager, Anders Egeland-Eriksen at anders.eriksen@dcms.gov.uk