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Role details

Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) Chair Person

Application deadline 13 September 2022

Summary

• Organisation: Money and Pensions Service
• Sponsor department: Department for Work and Pensions
• Location: London
• Sectors: Business and Trade
• Skills: Business, Commercial
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: Adhoc
• Remuneration: £80000 per annum
• Length of term: Five Years
• Application deadline: 5pm on 13 September 2022

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   27 July 2022

2. Application deadline

   5pm on 13 September 2022

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the role

Introduction

The Money and Pensions Service’s (MaPS) vision is everyone making the most of their money and pensions.  

MaPS is an arm’s-length body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). MaPS provides free and impartial money and pensions guidance across the UK, as well as debt advice in England. In providing these services it supports the policy delivery of DWP and HM Treasury (HMT).  The organisation was initially set up under the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 as the Single Financial Guidance Body (SFGB). On 1st January 2019, SFGB began delivering against its functions and became known as the Money and Pensions Service in April 2019.    

MaPS is funded by levies on both the financial services industry and pension schemes.  

DWP is looking for someone with exceptional communication and leadership skills to join us in a high-profile role, leading the Board of the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).   

Introduction from the Secretary of State

Message from Guy Opperman, Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion  

Thank you for your interest in applying for the role of Chair of the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).  

Over the past three years, the MaPS Board has overseen the bringing together of three legacy services (Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise) into one new organisation and the development and launch of the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing. MaPS is committed to delivering against its five statutory functions and was established to ensure people – particularly those most in need – can improve their financial wellbeing, providing access to high-quality money and pensions guidance and debt advice. It has a specific mandate to facilitate the pensions industry to develop pensions dashboards, allowing individuals to access their pensions information online, securely, and all in one place: supporting better planning for retirement. 

The Chair will have an important leadership role to play as MaPS moves into its next phase of working with stakeholders through the UK, as MaPS looks to deliver the priorities in its Corporate Strategy and support the Government’s goals.   

This is a challenging but rewarding role, involving overseeing an important area for the Government and being a leader on improving financial capability in the UK.   

I am committed to promoting greater diversity in all DWP’s public appointments. If you have the experience and skills that we are seeking, I would welcome an application from you. If you have questions about the appointment process you can contact DWP Public Appointments Team, alb.publicappointments@dwp.gov.uk.   

Additional introductions

I want DWP and our arms’ length bodies to be places where everyone, whatever their background, feels supported to achieve their potential. By being an inclusive employer, bringing into the organisation and developing talented people from diverse backgrounds, we will be better able to provide the best possible support to those we serve. 

That is why we want to reach the widest possible pool of talent for public appointments, and I want to encourage applications from people from all backgrounds.  

We know we have a long way to go. As an example, the Lord Holmes Review (December 2018) identified that there are over 6,000 public appointments dealing with all aspects of our lives but just 3% are held by disabled people. I therefore particularly welcome applications from talented applicants with a disability. 

If you are looking for an opportunity to use your talents to make a difference to the lives of millions of your fellow citizens, we look forward to hearing from you. 

Role description

DWP is looking for someone with exceptional, communication and leadership skills to join us in chairing the Board of the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).  

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate alignment with the MaPS’ broad social purpose, and a clear and demonstrable commitment to ensuring that senior strategic support and guidance is available to those functional areas operating within MaPS’ remit, working with both DWP and HMT Ministers and officials.  

The successful candidate will have the following key responsibilities:  

• Providing clear, effective leadership to the Board, taking personal responsibility for the overall success of MaPS with a focus on delivery of MaPS priorities, to drive improved outcomes and achieve the KPIs set out in the corporate plan, with accountability to the Secretary of State of DWP.  

• Enabling a high standard of discussion and debate at Board meetings, and helping to steer MaPS by facilitating collective, inclusive working, diversity across the organisation and a continuous learning ethos.   

• Ensuring that, in reaching decisions, Board members take proper account of guidance provided by the responsible Ministers and MaPS’ policies and actions support the Government’s wider strategic aims.  

• Ensuring that the Board both supports the Executive team and holds it to account for the efficient and effective delivery of MaPS’ service delivery, performance, strategic functions, and an agile response to transformation and changing consumer needs.  

• Ensuring the effective operation of the Board and Corporate governance processes of MaPS, including appropriate oversight of the risks and controls framework, and operating within Managing Public Money and Cabinet Office Controls.  

• Having a personal impact by building constructive, effective, and sustainable working relationships with external and internal stakeholders including DWP, HMT and Ministers and managing a high level of public scrutiny by acting as an ambassador for MaPS, ensuring a positive and creditable reputation.  

• Demonstrating commitment to the Seven Principles of Public Life set out by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, ensuring collective behaviours and high standards of regularity and propriety are demonstrated by MaPS Board members; and  

• Ensuring formal and rigorous annual evaluation of the Board’s performance, and that of its committees, with independent input at least every three years. Additionally, the Chair would provide line/performance management to the Chief Executive Officer and provide support where necessary. 

Organisation description

MaPS’ mission is to help people – particularly those most in need – to improve their financial wellbeing and build a better, more confident future. Working collaboratively across the UK, MaPS makes sure customers can access high-quality money and pensions guidance and debt advice throughout their lives, how and when they need it.  

Financial wellbeing is good for individuals, communities, business, and the economy. But poor financial wellbeing, affecting tens of millions of people, is holding the UK back as:  

• 11.5m people have less than £100 in savings to fall back on   

• 9m people often borrow to buy food or pay for bills   

• 22m people say they don’t know enough to plan for their retirement   

• And 5.3m children do not get a meaningful financial education.    

MaPS has outlined in its UK strategy for financial wellbeing, UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing  that people should have guidance and access to the information they need to make effective financial decisions throughout the course of their lifetime. This means improving people’s financial wellbeing, through everyone making the most of their money and pensions. 

MaPS delivers this across five core functions:   

1. Pensions guidance: MaPS provides information to people about workplace and personal pensions. In 2020/21 its pensions experts helped hundreds of thousands of people with their pensions queries through the dedicated helpline and the Money Helper website .  Specific Pensions guidance is also available to people aged 50+ to make decisions on their defined contributions pensions pots through the Pension Wise service.    

1. Debt advice: MaPS provides people in England (debt is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) with information and advice on debt and is the biggest funder of free debt advice. In 2019/20, MaPS worked with delivery partners to support more than half a million customers to get free and effective debt advice while driving up the quality of that advice and providing training and support to advisors on the ground.    

1. Money guidance: MaPS provides information designed to enhance people’s understanding and knowledge of financial matters and day-to-day money management skills. This is delivered through the Money Helper website, call centre, web chat and social channels.    

1. Consumer protection: MaPS works with government and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to protect consumers against financial scams. It supports the efforts of the wider financial services industry to protect consumers and by gathering and sharing actionable insights to help the sector decide where best to prioritise its efforts.     

Strategy: Following twelve months of engaging with stakeholders throughout the UK, including 1,000 people during a listening phase in January 2020, MaPS published the first ever UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing, designed to drive change at scale and shift the dials on personal finance. The UK Strategy is the ten-year framework which will help achieve the vision of everyone making the most of their money and pensions. MaPS will play a key role in achieving this vision by supporting and working with a wide range of other organisations and by delivering services where appropriate. Additionally, MaPS is accountable for facilitating the pensions industry to develop pensions dashboards, to allow individuals to access their pensions information online, securely, and all in one place: supporting better planning for retirement. 

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

We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds who have the ability to provide strong leadership and direction to the Board and to articulate a vision for MaPS.  

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate:  

Strategic leadership  

• An ability to provide clear, effective strategic leadership and direction including how to hold organisations to account and shape the delivery of agreed goals and priorities and the ability to lead through others;    

Building a strong Board  

• An ability to develop relationships at a Board level, working with members who have a diverse range of perspectives and backgrounds and leading through periods of challenge and operational change. Ensuring that an organisation is heading in the right strategic direction;  

Developing strong external relationships  

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, in particular the ability to engage constructively and build effective relationships with a wide and diverse range of internal and external stakeholders and being the public face of an organisation; and  

Governance  

• Familiarity with robust corporate governance arrangements especially the role of executives and non-executives.  

Desirable criteria

It is desirable for candidates to have ability in one or more of the following areas:  

• Operating in the financial services sector, in particular with a consumer focus, or in the debt or pensions industries;  

• Experience of chairing a large consumer focused Board; and  

• Willingness to develop knowledge of the environment within which the public sector operates including a good understanding of the role and working of government and parliament.  

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, [if applicable, explain process for declaration]

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

Completed applications should be submitted to alb.publicappointments@dwp.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 alb.publicappointments@dwp.gov.uk

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)

Panel Chair – TBC 

Panel Member - Katie Farrington, Director General Disability, Health and Pensions, DWP  

Panel Member – John Owen, Director, Financial Services, HMT 

Panel Member – Ann Harris, Senior Independent Director, MaPS   

Independent Panel Member – Mark Addison, former OCPA appointed Public Appointments Assessor 

The panel will ensure that appointments are made in accordance with the Governance Code. The DWP Public Appointments Team will keep you updated on the progress of the competition. 

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  [ADD CONTACT DETAILS]

Security clearance

The successful candidate will be required to undertake Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks in line with the Civil Service guidelines. Additional Security Clearance may also be required for certain roles. However, where this applies, candidates will be notified during the appointment process. 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. [remove if role is unremunerated]

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. [check and confirm the appointing body's travel and subsistence policy]

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 due to the volume of applications received, we are only able to offer 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 alb.publicappointments@dwp.gov.uk public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application atalb.publicappointments@dwp.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 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 https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/regulating-appointments/investigating-complaints/

Data protection

The Cabinet Office will use your data in line with our privacy policy.

Personal information charter - Department for Work and Pensions - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Contact details

ALB.PUBLICAPPOINTMENTS@DWP.GOV.UK