Appointment details

UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), Non-Executive Director (NED) and Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) Chair

Summary
About the appointment
Person specification
Application and selection process
Additional information for candidates
Attachments

Summary

Organisation: UK Hydrographic Office
Sponsor department: Ministry of Defence
Location: South West
Sectors: Business and Trade
Skills: Accountancy, Audit and Risk, Business, Commercial
Number of vacancies: 1
Time commitment: 30 day(s) per annum
Remuneration: £18,000 per annum
Length of term: 3 years
Application deadline: 11:59pm on 6 November 2022

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Timeline for this appointment

Opening date

10 October 2022
Application deadline

11:59pm on 6 November 2022
Sifting date

28 November 2022
Interviews expected to end on

16 January 2023

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Appointment description

Key Responsibilities:

To provide independent advice to the UK Hydrographic Office Board on behalf of the MOD shareholder.
To chair the UKHO Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC).
To provide support and challenge to the UKHO executive team, as well as other support to the organisation, for example by involvement in the recruitment and selection of senior staff.
To attend UKHO Board meetings and meetings of Board sub-committees, as appropriate.
The position does not provide the post-holder with specific decision-making responsibility but will demand an input to key business decisions made by the Board. The post-holder will be expected to advise on governance, risk management, the control environment and the integrity of financial statements and the UKHO annual report and accounts. The input will draw on knowledge and experience gained in other business settings including from a commercial perspective.
The role will involve some internal and external stakeholder engagement, as well as the need to understand the UKHO and wider government environment.
This appointment is made in accordance with 2016 Governance Code for Public Appointments. The candidate is expected to adhere to and understand the “The Seven Principles of Public Life” outlined at Annex A. The candidate is also expected to adhere to the Code of Conduct for board members of public bodies

Organisation description

UKHO is an executive agency and trading fund of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). As a trading fund, UKHO’s activities are funded entirely from sales of hydrographic products and services to commercial and military customers through an international network of distributors. It currently employs around 900 staff at its offices in Taunton.

With over 200 years of experience, UKHO is a world-leading centre for hydrography, specialising in marine geospatial data that support defence and global shipping, and helping its customers and partners unlock a deeper understanding of the world’s oceans and coastal environments.

UKHO’s activities range from the discharging of the UK’s hydrographic obligations under the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea, by providing hydrographic services for waters of UK national responsibility, to providing hydrographic services to commercial customers. UKHO also advises the UK Government on hydrographic policy matters, representing the UK at international fora, including the International Hydrographic Organization.

UKHO's priorities and strategic objectives are agreed by the responsible defence minister and reviewed regularly. UKHO aims to ensure that current and potential future military tasks are supported by high-quality hydrographic information, products and services, and to drive down the costs to MOD of this support. UKHO is also committed to delivering value to the UK taxpayer in the products and services it provides, by using its assets and capabilities for the benefit of government, the economy, the environment and society in general.

Board composition

Independent Non-Executive Chair.
Three independent NEDs.
MOD Senior Civil Servant who is the “Sponsor NED”, directly representing the Defence shareholder.
Defence Customer NED who is a serving Captain of the Royal Navy.
Chief Executive.
National Hydrographer and Deputy Chief Executive who is a serving Rear Admiral.
Director of Finance and Corporate Services.

Person specification

Essential criteria

Strategic leadership:

Board-level experience, preferably including experience of chairing a sub-committee in an organisation of a similar scale to UKHO;
Ability to provide a challenging and supportive role to the UKHO Chair, Chief Executive and other senior executives, using sound judgment, analysis and decision-making skills;
An engaging and collaborative working style, demonstrating leadership and influencing skills with a range of stakeholders.

Professional expertise:

A professional accountancy qualification such as CIPFA, CIMA, ICAEW, ACCA or ICAS.

A high level of understanding and experience of:

Finance, as a chief financial officer, senior finance executive or similar;
Audit and risk management with the ability to demonstrate sound financial risk and performance management;
Scrutinising and approving the allocation of resources to achieve plans using clear, consistent and comparable performance information;
Current corporate governance best practice.

Desirable criteria

Knowledge of the workings of governmental Arm’s Length Bodies and HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money

Application and selection process

How to apply

To apply please read the attached Campaign Information pack then submit the following documents by email for the attention of Jeni Parsons, quoting reference number 52428 to DBSCivPers-ResPublicAppts@mod.gov.uk

A Curriculum Vitae which provides your contact details, details of your education and qualifications, employment history, directorships, membership of professional bodies and details of any relevant publications or awards;
A supporting statement setting out how you meet the criteria for appointment, as set out in the person specification for the role;
Information relating to any outside interests or reputational issues; See Expression of Interest form: Word version; PDF Version
Diversity monitoring information 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;
Disability Confident – please state if you want to be considered for the disability confident scheme;
Reasonable adjustments - requests for reasonable adjustments that you would like to the application process (if applicable);

Please provide the information at points 3-6 above on the relevant form, or as part of your supporting statement.

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.

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

Ministers are responsible and accountable to Parliament for the public appointments made within their department. Public appointments to the UK Hydrographic Office have been delegated by Ministers to the MOD Chief Operating Officer (COO).
An Advisory Assessment Panel (“Panel”) is appointed by MOD COO 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.
At the shortlisting meeting the Panel will assess applications against the eligibility criteria and decide which candidates have best met the criteria and who should be recommended for interview. MOD COO will then be consulted on the Panel’s recommended shortlist. If you have applied under the Disability Confident Scheme and you meet all the essential criteria, then you will also be invited for an interview.
Once the shortlist has been agreed by MOD COO, you will be advised (by e-mail) whether you have been shortlisted. Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview.
The Panel will meet again to interview candidates and determine who is appointable to the role. The Panel may invite you to make a brief presentation at the start of the interview and will go on to question you about your skills and experience, including asking specific questions to assess whether you meet the criteria set out for the post. The Panel will also explore with you any potential conflicts of interest or any other issues arising from your personal and professional history which may impact on an appointment decision.
Details of the panel’s assessment of interviewed candidates are provided to MOD COO, including whether they have judged a candidate to be appointable to the role. It is then for MOD COO to determine merit and decide who should be appointed. In some circumstances, MOD COO may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.
MOD COO may choose to meet with candidates before deciding the outcome. Candidates should therefore be prepared for a short time gap between interview and a final appointment decision being made. Candidates who have been interviewed will be kept informed of progress.
Once the decision on the appointment has been made, interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of their application, including whom they may approach for feedback. Successful candidates will be issued with their Terms & Conditions and a letter of appointment should they agree to take up the position.

Further information about appointments, including tips on applying, can be found on our guidance pages on gov.uk.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

Panel Chair:

Ms Marion Leslie

Department Official:

Ms Tara Usher

Senior Independent Panel Member or Independent Panel Member:Mr Gurpreet Dehal

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.

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 DBSCivPers-ResPublicAppts@mod.gov.uk

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 essential criteria for the role, set out in the advert, 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

We 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 additional 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:

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;
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;
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;
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;
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;
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;
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

As this is an office holder 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. There is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits, taking into account a number of factors including, but not restricted to, the diversity of the current board and its balance of skills and experience. In most cases, 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 taxand National Insurance contributions, both of which will be deducted at source underPAYE before you are paid.

You will be entitled to claim for travelling and reasonable related expenses which you incur in travel between your home (UK-based) and normal place of work (UKHO HQ in Taunton). Occasional travel from your home (UK-based) to other locations may be required for which you will be entitled to claim for travelling and reasonable related expenses. It is probable that HMRC will treat you as an Office Holder but you should make enquiries of your own tax office if you have any queries. You should also ensure that you comply with any further Departmental or local guidance that may be operating at the time of travel.

£18,000 per annum. We expect the successful candidate to spend typicallytwo to three days per month (approx. 30 days per year) on Board and sub-committee business. The appointment is not pensionable.

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 the end of your term of appointment 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 DBS public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at DBSCivPers-ResPublicAppts@mod.gov.uk. They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond within 15 working days.

Data protection

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

MOD privacy policy link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-

defence-privacy-notice/mod-privacy-notice

Contact details

Please contact the DBS public appointments team at DBSCivPers-

ResPublicAppts@mod.gov.uk.

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