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Role details

Civil Aviation Authority - Non-Executive Director with General Aviation expertise

Application deadline 24 July 2022

Summary

• Organisation: Civil Aviation Authority
• Sponsor department: Department for Transport
• Location: London
• Sector: Transport
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 60 day(s) per annum
• Remuneration: £25000 per annum
• Length of term: 3 years
• Application deadline: 11:59pm on 24 July 2022

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   13 June 2022

2. Application deadline

   11:59pm on 24 July 2022

3. Sifting date

   19 August 2022

4. Interviews expected to end on

   4 November 2022

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the role

Introduction

Aviation is facing possibly its biggest challenge since the Wright brothers first took to the air in 1903, with COVID-19 putting the industry in a situation it has never before experienced. But, at the same time, the CAA can see significant opportunities to address aviation’s environmental challenges and develop the amazing innovations the aviation industry is famous for.

The CAA’s role as a regulator, influencer and strategic partner will never be as important as it will be in the coming months and years. As a non-executive director, you know what a pivotal role you as an individual and your peers will play. The challenges and opportunities will be significant. Being excited by these challenges, the CAA expect the successful applicant to be so much more than a leading non-executive director. For example, the CAA senior team strive to lead by example on inclusivity and diversity and we expect you to play a key role.

As you’d expect, your positive influence will spread across the organisation. Your high emotional intelligence and dexterity will help enable all our colleagues to live by the CAA’s values and professionally represent what the CAA stands for. Taking the whole CAA with you on this journey will be key. In doing this you’ll need to live and breathe the CAA’s long-term vision that features the CAA’s core work in safety, security and consumer protection while also embracing new technology, space, and the environment. But delivering the now and being agile to change and challenge are equally important to the CAA.

Introduction from the Secretary of State

Dear Applicant,

This is an exciting time for the Department for Transport. The transport network touches the lives of everyone in the UK, and our ambitious programme of renewal – improving journeys, boosting economic opportunities, securing our supply chain – will shape Britain for generations to come.

The aviation side of our business is especially vital to getting the post-COVID economy back on its feet – helping businesses, creating jobs, enabling tourism and levelling up the nation.

We are recruiting for one Non-Executive Director to join our team on the Board of the Civil Aviation Authority. The CAA is the independent body that regulates the nation’s aviation safety, security, and consumer rights, as well as carrying out the economic regulation of both airports and air traffic control. It has taken on new responsibilities from the European Aviation Safety Agency, others linked to COVID risks and has also become the UK’s civil space flight regulator.

The position requires expertise in General Aviation which the appointee will draw on as they contribute to the governance of all areas of the CAA’s work.

As part of the government’s commitment to diversity, I want our public bodies to benefit from a wide variety of ideas, background, ethnicity, gender, disability and life experience. That means we need diverse candidates who can bring wide experience and dynamic ideas to our boards. We need our appointments to be open to fresh talent, expertise and perspectives, to help us better understand the needs of the communities we serve.

I would like to encourage you to consider applying for this role if you are interested in public appointments and the work of the CAA. Our dedicated DfT Public Appointments Team would be happy to talk through the process and answer your questions.

Robert Courts MP

Minister For Aviation, Maritime and Security

Introduction from the Chair

The Civil Aviation Authority has a vital public service role, promoting the safety, security, and consumer interests of those who fly, whilst also protecting those on the ground underneath. We also have a vital role in leading and enabling the aerospace sector, helping ensure that the UK continues to be a global leader in aerospace.

These are exciting but exceptionally challenging times: we need to help aerospace recover from COVID, the greatest crisis in its history; we must chart a course to environmentally sustainable aviation; we need to ensure that UK aerospace continues to thrive outside the EU; we need to create the right environment for new technologies, as well as become the UK’s Space regulator; and we need to do much more to promote innovation, STEM, and diversity in aerospace.

We also must have the People strategies within the CAA which ensure we can deliver this ambitious agenda.

The CAA Board ensures that we maintain excellence in our day-to-day responsibilities, whilst setting our organisation for the future.

Our Non-Executive Directors are at the heart of the Board’s work, providing vital insight, guidance, challenge, and support. In recruiting a new Non-Executive Director to the Board, I’m excited by the opportunity to be able to work with a great individual who will give us the skills, experience, and diversity that the Board needs to define and deliver the CAA of the future. I very much look forward to meeting you.

Sir Stephen Hillier

Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority

Role description

The Role

Your role would be to;

• Provide independent and constructive challenge to the CAA’s executive team to help ensure the CAA delivers its strategic objectives.

Person Specification

You will have;

• The ability to contribute effectively to the Board over the full breadth of the CAA’s work.
• Relevant Board level executive or non-executive experience.

Your experience in aviation (and other sectors) will ideally have given you an ability to appreciate and understand:

• The strategic issues facing General and Business Aviation (essential);
• A broad range of General Aviation activities (e.g. private, display, heritage, recreational, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, and business other than passenger carriage) (essential);
• The ability to provide strategic challenge, whilst building consensus with a range of stakeholders (essential);
• Political awareness and the ability to navigate the political landscape (essential);
• The role of General Aviation in the development and adoption of innovative technologies such as fuels, remotely piloted air systems, and machine learning (desirable); and
• Design, manufacture, operational and consumer perspectives of General and Business Aviation (desirable).

Please give examples in your supporting statement showing how in previous activity you have demonstrated this appreciation and understanding. Candidates will be sifted on these four essential and the two desirable criteria.

Organisation description

The CAA is the UK’s civil aviation regulator. Recognised as a world leader in their field, the CAA is at the cutting edge of the exciting and ever-changing aviation environment. Never standing still, the CAA’s work includes diverse activities such as;

• Driving world-class safety standards
• Managing security risks, safeguarding passengers and the general public
• Minimising the environmental impact of aviation on local communities
• Running the ATOL holiday financial protection scheme
• Helping innovators to deliver the future of aviation.

Thanks to the efforts of the CAA’s organisation and our people, consumers have choice, value for money and protection when they fly. As part of the CAA’s team, you could help us deliver this vision and be a part of something great. In return, you can expect to feel welcome and to have your voice heard.

The CAA is a public corporation, established by Parliament in 1972 as an independent specialist aviation regulator. The UK Government normally requires that the costs are fully covered by charges to those the CAA provide a service to or regulate.

Regulation of appointment

This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website 

Person specification

Essential criteria

To succeed you will have:

• leadership experience and knowledge of effective governance at a senior level in complex organisations in the private, public or voluntary sectors, preferably at Board level; and

You may have:

• a background in General Aviation either professional and/or voluntary work
• excellent commercial business understanding.

Desirable criteria

To be successful in this post you should also be able to demonstrate the following attributes which may be explored at interview:

• strong communication skills, including an ability to offer challenge in a constructive, straightforward and open manner;
• the ability to challenge and support the development of management and strategic policies by applying relevant private sector approaches and/or experience in a public sector context;
• the ability to successfully deliver change: experience of transforming business processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness at significantly lower cost;
• a solid appreciation of risk management: significant experience of assessing and managing risks, including high risk and high value projects and risks with a public interest element;
• a good understanding of large and complex organisations operating in a political environment with experience in an industry which can draw strong parallels with the business of government, and direct experience of working with Government; and
• a solid commitment to high ethical standards of integrity and honesty, and an understanding of the value and importance of the Seven Principles of Public Life.

Application and selection process

How to apply

In order to apply you will need to provide:

1. A  Curriculum Vitae which provides details of your education and qualifications, employment history, directorships, membership of professional bodies and details of any publications or awards;

2. A supporting statement setting out how you meet the eligibility criteria;

3. Information relating to any outside interests or reputational issues;

4. Diversity monitoring information. This allows us to see if there are any unfair barriers to becoming a public appointee and whether there are any changes that we could make to encourage a more diverse field to apply. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be used as part of the selection process and will not be seen by the interview panel.

5. Disability Confident – If you want to be considered for the disability confident scheme, please declare this on your monitoring and supporting evidence form.

6. Reasonable adjustments - requests for reasonable adjustments that you would like to the application process (if applicable).

Completed applications should be submitted to DfTPATApplications@dft.gov.uk

The Advisory Assessment Panel reserves the right to only consider applications that contain all of the elements listed above, and that arrive before the published deadline for applications.

If you have any questions about the appointments process, please contact DfTPublicAppointments@dft.gov.uk

Candidate Pack

Monitoring and Supporting Evidence Form

Overview of the application process

Public appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition process which is conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. We will deal with your application as quickly as possible and will keep you informed at key stages. We aim to conclude the appointment process within three months of the deadline for applications – this is in accordance with the Governance Code.

The assessment process

1. Ministers are responsible and accountable to Parliament for the public appointments made within their department. As a result, they must be consulted at every stage of the appointments process.

2. An Advisory Assessment Panel (“Panel”) is appointed by Ministers to assist them in their decision making. The role of the Panel is to decide, objectively, which candidates meet the eligibility criteria for the role.

3. At the shortlisting meeting the Panel will assess applications against the eligibility criteria and decide which candidates should be recommended for interview. Ministers will then be consulted on the Panel’s recommended shortlist.

4. Once the shortlist has been agreed by Ministers, you will be advised (by e-mail) whether you have been shortlisted. Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview.

5. The Panel will meet again to interview candidates and determine who is appointable to the role. The names of all appointable candidates are provided to Ministers. It is then for Ministers to determine merit and decide who should be appointed. In some circumstances, Ministers may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.

6. The Panel’s recommendations will be provided to Ministers in a report which details the assessment method used and the outcome of each interview. They will then be asked to agree on the candidate(s) who should be appointed.

7. Once the decision on the appointment has been made, interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of their application. Successful candidates will be issued with their Terms & Conditions and a letter of appointment should they agree to take up the position.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

Advisory Assessment Panels (AAP) are chosen by ministers to assist them in their decision-making. These include a departmental official and an independent member. For competitions recruiting non-executive members of a board (apart from the Chair), the panel will usually include a representative from the public body concerned.

AAP’s perform a number of functions, including agreeing an assessment strategy with ministers, undertaking sifting, carrying out interviews in line with the advertised criteria and deciding objectively who meets the published selection criteria for the role before recommending to ministers which candidates they find appointable. It is then for the minister to decide who to appoint to the role.

The panel for this role will be:

Olivia Grant - Panel Chair - Independent Panel Member

Sir Stephen Hillier - CAA Chair - Representative of Organisation

Dr Rannia Leontaridi - Interim Director General for Aviation, Maritime and Security - Departmental Official

Eligibility criteria

In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.

There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. 

You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:

• you are disqualified from acting as a company director  (under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986);

• have an unspent conviction on your criminal record;

• 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.

When you apply, you should declare if:

• you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this. 

• you are subject to a current police investigation.

You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points. 

When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below)

If you need further advice, please contact DfTPublicAppointments@dft.gov.uk

Security clearance

The successful candidate will be required to have or be willing to obtain security clearance to Security Check (SC) level. Further information on National Security Vetting can be found on the Gov.uk website here.

Additional information for candidates

Equality and diversity

We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they reflect the diversity of views of the society they serve and this is an important part of the Government’s levelling up agenda.

We collect data about applicants’ characteristics and backgrounds, including information about people’s educational and professional backgrounds, so that we can make sure we are attracting a broad range of people to these roles and that our selection processes are fair for everyone. Without this information, it makes it difficult to see if our outreach is working, if the application process is having an unfair impact on certain groups and whether changes are making a positive difference.

When you submit your application, your responses are collected by the Cabinet Office and the government department(s) managing your application. The data is used to produce management information about the diversity of applicants. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel who review applications against the advertised criteria and conduct interviews.

Disability confident

We are a member of the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. We use the Disability Confident scheme symbol, along with other like-minded employers, to show our commitment to good practice in employing people with a disability. The scheme helps recruit and retain disabled people. 

As part of implementing the scheme, we guarantee an interview for anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the role and who has asked that their application is considered under the scheme. Indicating that you wish your application to be considered under the scheme will in no way prejudice your application. By ‘minimum criteria,’ we mean that you must provide evidence which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria, as set out in the job-advert.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to select if you would like your application considered under this scheme.

Reasonable adjustments

Government departments are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants with disabilities, physical or mental health conditions, or other needs are not substantially disadvantaged when applying for public appointments. This can include changing the recruitment process to enable people who wish to apply to do so.

Some examples of common changes are:

• ensuring that application forms are available in different or accessible formats;
• making adaptations to interview locations;
• allowing candidates to present their skills and experience in a different way;
• giving detailed information on the selection / interview process in advance to allow candidates time to prepare themselves;
• allowing support workers, for example sign language interpreters;
• making provision for support animals to attend.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the application process.

Principles of public life

Holders of public office are expected to adhere to and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life/the-7-principles-of-public-life--2. These are:

1. SELFLESSNESS - Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family or their friends;
2. INTEGRITY - Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties;
3. OBJECTIVITY - In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit;
4. ACCOUNTABILITY - Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office;
5. OPENNESS - Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands;
6. HONESTY - Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest;
7. LEADERSHIP - Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.

Code of conduct for board members

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. In support of this, all non-executive board members of UK public bodies must abide by the principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. The Code sets out the standards expected from those who serve on the boards of UK public bodies and will form part of your terms and conditions of appointment.

Management of outside interests and consideration of reputational issues

Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully: 

• any outside interests that you may have, such as shares you may hold in a company providing services to government; 
• any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or or public statements that you have made; 
• and/or - any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported; 

which may call into question your ability to do the role you are applying for.

You will need to answer relevant questions in relation to these points when making an application. Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being interviewed. If you are shortlisted for an interview, the panel will discuss any potential conflicts with you during that interview, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them and record that in their advice to ministers. Alongside your own declaration, we will conduct appropriate checks, as part of which we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This may include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. The successful candidate(s) may be required to give up any conflicting interests and their other business and financial interests may be published in line with organisational policies. 

Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment, but must be declared).

Status of appointment

You will not become a member of the Civil Service. You will not be subject to the provisions of employment law.

Appointment and tenure of office

Appointments are for the term set out in this advert, with the possibility of re-appointment for a further term, at the discretion of Ministers.  Any re-appointment is subject to satisfactory annual appraisals of performance during the first term in the post. If re-appointed, the total time served in post will not exceed more than two terms or serve in any one post for more than ten years

Remuneration, allowances and abatement

Remuneration for this role is treated as employment income and will be subject to tax and National Insurance contributions, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.

You can claim reimbursement for reasonable travel and subsistence costs necessarily incurred on official business however these payments are taxable as earnings and will be subject to tax and national insurance, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.

Pension and redundancy

This is an office holder appointment and does not attract any benefits under any Civil Service Pension Scheme. You will not be eligible for redundancy pay as you are not an employee. No other arrangements have been made for compensation upon termination because an office holder who is appointed for a limited duration would have no expectation of serving beyond that period.

Application feedback

We will notify you of the status of your application. We regret that we are only able to offer detailed feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.

How to complain

We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.

Please contact the Department for Transport public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at DfTPublicAppointments@dft.gov.uk. They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond within 15 working days.

How to complain to Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA)

If you are not content with the appointing department’s response, [and this appointment is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments], you may wish to further complain to the Commissioner at publicappointments@csc.gov.uk,Further information on how the Commissioner handles complaints can be found on the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ website www.publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/complaints

Data protection

The Department for Transport (DfT) is the joint controller, with the Cabinet Office and The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA), for any personal data which you provide to us in this form.

Information provided as part of this application will be kept securely within DfT and destroyed within 5 years of the conclusion of the recruitment campaign.  

DfT uses this form to gather evidence on DfT’s public appointments. 

The lawful basis that applies to this processing is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest to inform DfT’s recruitment policies in accordance with the Department’s public sector equality duties. For processing special category personal data (disability, religion, sexual orientation and ethnicity), we rely on Article 9(2)(g), reasons of substantial public interest (equality of opportunity and treatment).

Contact details

For further information please contact the DfT Public Appointments Team at DfTPublicAppointments@dft.gov.uk or:

Public Appointments Team,

Shareholding and Corporate Sponsorship,

Department for Transport,

Great Minster House,

33 Horseferry Road,

London SW1P 4DR