Ofcom - Non-Executive Board Member
- Body
- Ofcom
- Appointing Department
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
- Sectors
- Culture, Media & Sport, Regulation
- Location
- Meetings are usually held at Ofcom’s London offices although these are being held virtually during the pandemic. Board Members will sometimes be expected to attend meetings/functions in different parts of the UK.
- Skills required
- Communication / Media / Marketing
- Number of Vacancies
- 1
- Remuneration
- £42,519 per annum
- Time Requirements
- The successful candidate must be prepared to commit to up to two days per week. In addition to attending meetings of the Board, the new member will be expected to serve on one or more Board Committees (including the People Committee, Content Board and/or the Risk and Audit Committee). Short-listed candidates will have an opportunity to visit Ofcom and to be briefed by the Chief Executive.
Campaign Timeline
-
Competition Launched
13/10/2021
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Closed for Applications
12/12/2021 at 23:00
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Panel Sift
TBC
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Final Interview Date
TBC
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Announcement
TBC
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- Susannah Storey
- Panel Role
- Panel Chair
- Positions
- Director General for Digital and Media Departmental Official
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- Panel Member
- Maggie Carver
- Positions
- Chair, Ofcom Representative of Organisation
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- Panel Member
- Samir Shah
- Positions
- Independent Member
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Vacancy Description
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is seeking to appoint a new Board Member to Ofcom.
The appointee will be expected to have a strong media background with senior editorial experience, including experience or knowledge of online media and an understanding of associated policy issues and regulatory issues.
DCMS is committed to equality of opportunity and is committed to ensuring that public appointments better represent the views of the communities which they serve. We particularly encourage applicants from underrepresented groups, those based outside London and the South-East and applicants who have achieved success through non-traditional educational routes. We want to ensure any appointee is committed to promoting diversity, in its broadest possible sense. This will include embedding a commitment to the principles of levelling up and championing opportunity for all across the organisation, helping to ensure that the organisation is one in which a genuinely diverse range of views can be expressed, without fear or favour.
About Ofcom
Ofcom is the regulator for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications, wireless communications, radio and postal services. Ofcom has also taken on new duties in 2021 in regulating content on Video Sharing Platforms and has a new role in making sure telecoms networks have adequate cyber security. Ofcom is also preparing for new online duties to help make the internet a safer place. Ofcom is accountable to Parliament but is independent of both Government and those it regulates.
Ofcom was created by the Office of Communications Act 2002, and its functions and duties are set out in a range of further primary and secondary legislation, including, in particular, the Communications Act 2003, the Broadcasting Acts of 1990 and 1996, the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, the Postal Services Act 2011 and the Digital Economy Acts of 2010 and 2017. A new Online Safety Bill is expected to be enacted in 2022.
Ofcom operates at the cutting edge of the digital communications industries in the UK, with a duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers, encouraging and enforcing competition. It has responsibility for overseeing television and radio broadcasting throughout the United Kingdom including regulating the BBC and ensuring news is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality; it regulates the postal and telecommunications sectors, taking steps to protect consumers and overseeing universal service obligations. It supports the delivery of new network infrastructure through regulation and has further duties in relation to the security and resilience of communications networks. Ofcom also ensures the effective use of spectrum and that a wide range of electronic communications services are available (such as broadband and mobile telephony).
Role of the Board
The Ofcom Board currently comprises nine Directors (including three Executive Directors), with the overall number of Directors currently capped at twelve.
The Ofcom Board has oversight over the fulfilment of Ofcom’s general duties and specific statutory responsibilities and its overall funding and expenditure. The Board is also responsible for approving the strategic objectives and priorities for Ofcom, agreeing an appropriate level of risk appetite and ensuring management maintains an effective system of internal control.
The Board acts on a collective basis and operates on the principles of collective responsibility, support and respect. It takes decisions after considering recommendations made to it by the Ofcom Executive, which has operational responsibility and answers to the Board. The work of both the Board and Executive is informed by the contribution of a number of advisory bodies.
All Board Members are also members of the ‘People Committee’, and Members may be asked to sit on the Risk & Audit Committee and the Content Board. One Member is appointed by the Ofcom Board to be Chair of the Content Board. The Ofcom Board also has three Members representing Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively (the NI Board Member recruitment process is currently underway).
Person Specification
Essential Criteria
All candidates will need to demonstrate in their application that they meet the majority of following essential criteria to a high standard:
- Media background with editorial experience and an understanding of associated policy issues and regulatory issues;
- The ability to understand the business and economic principles underpinning media and, in particular, commercial media in the digital environment;
- An understanding of issues affecting the communications sector, including an appreciation of the competitive and consumer dynamics in this fast changing area;
- Sound judgement and decision-making to ensure successful delivery in a highly complex organisation;
- The ability to operate at Board level and be a team player working with the Chair and other colleagues; and
- Personal integrity of a high order, demonstrable understanding of Ofcom’s need to make independent and impartial judgements under pressure.
It would also be desirable for candidates to have:
- knowledge and understanding of the UK’s political and constitutional context; and
- relevant international experience in broadcasting and/or online media
The individual should be at ease with fast moving high technology environments where innovation is commonplace and markets are constantly adapting. The ability to translate technology innovation into potential market effects and structural shifts would also be an advantage.
This individual will also be expected to understand and participate in all the Board’s discussions across its entire remit including the impact of convergence within broadcasting for consumers and regulation of the BBC, fixed-line and mobile telecoms, postal services and spectrum.
Additional Information
Length of term
This appointment is for up to four years.
Operating openly and transparently
As a public entity, Ofcom is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), and the Board is required to carry out its work openly and transparently, for example publishing its meeting minutes.
Disclosure or publication of certain information about Board members, and the work of the Board, may be required by FOIA, legislation or Ofcom’s Management Agreement with the Department. This may include the fees / salary, expenses, hospitality and external interests of non-executive directors.