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Role details

British International Investment - Non-Executive Director

Application deadline 6 September 2023

Summary

• Organisation: British International Investment plc
• Sponsor department: Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office
• Location: Various
• Sectors: Finance and Audit
• Skills: Commercial, International Experience, Regulation
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 25 day(s) per annum
• Remuneration: £22000 per annum
• Length of term: Three years
• Application deadline: 11:59pm on 6 September 2023

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   20 June 2023

2. Application deadline

   11:59pm on 6 September 2023

3. Sifting date

   15 October 2023

4. Interviews expected to end on

   15 November 2023

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the role

Introduction from the Secretary of State

Dear Candidate

Thank you for your interest in joining the Board of British International Investment plc (BII). BII is one of the most exciting and ambitious organisations at the heart of the UK Government’s International Development Strategy, where you’ll make a real and lasting difference to people’s lives in Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific.

2023 marks 75 years since BII was established, making it the world’s first impact investor with over three quarters of a century of experience supporting the sustainable, long-term growth of businesses across Africa and South Asia. The successful candidate will be joining an impact-led organisation of over 600 people across 12 countries driving productive, sustainable, and inclusive growth globally.

The private sector is the engine of development globally, and BII is at the heart of this mission. We know that private investors are often reluctant to invest in some of the poorest economies, who are the most vulnerable to economic and climate shocks. That is why BII is so critical: backed by government, BII can take more risk to crowd in private investors to unlock growth and poverty reduction.

BII is a leader amongst development finance institutions globally deploying pioneering and patient capital, investing in places with the highest development needs and with the riskiest part of the capital structure. BII now supports businesses that employ almost 1 million people in developing countries, and that have paid £10 billion in taxes over the last 5 years. For example, BII’s $180 million investment in Liquid Telecom will expand broadband connectivity across Africa, connecting Cape Town to Cairo, and expanding into countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan. By providing vital enabling infrastructure, this investment has the potential to be truly transformational for people right across the continent.

BII is building on its track record to focus even more on climate finance, with a commitment to make at least 30% of its investments in climate finance between 2022-26. Through this investment, BII help transform developing economies to reduce emissions, protect the environment and adapt to the changing climate.

As part of this, BII is also expanding its climate finance offer to the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean. In these markets, there are significant opportunities for BII to play a unique role in decarbonising and strengthening the power sector and supporting early-stage climate innovation.

I am determined that BII should continue to play a leadership role in the development and climate finance community. BII is an organisation with such a rich history and long commitment to supporting development around the world. None of what we do would be possible without the commitment of its employees who come to work every day striving to make a difference.

As the UK’s development finance institution, BII operates as a plc with an independent Board, in which the successful candidate will play an important part. You will join a Board of highly engaged and committed individuals who are equally ambitious for the organisation and its employees.

If you believe you have the experience and qualities we are seeking, we very much look forward to hearing from you.

Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP, Minister of State (Development and Africa)

Introduction from the Chair

Dear Candidate

Thank you for your interest in joining the Board of British International Investment plc (BII). It is a huge privilege to lead one of the most exciting and ambitious organisations at the heart of the UK Government’s development agenda.

BII’s role is an important one, and a key part of the UK’s international development offer. Our work involves investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation. And we will help to alleviate poverty by building productive, sustainable, and inclusive economic outcomes for those that need fair and transparent investment the most.

The successful candidate will be joining an organisation that is recognised as being at the forefront of private sector development policy and action. BII has been investing for impact for 75 years – founded in 1948 with the mandate to “do good without losing money”. Over the years, we have formed strong partnerships with thousands of ambitious businesses to create positive social and economic outcomes for the countries in which we operate. BII’s job is to go to difficult places, take risks others would not take, and focus on achieving real development outcomes to do our part to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under our current strategy there is a tremendous opportunity for us to demonstrate how a development finance institution can consistently lead and advise on development objectives which address climate and social imperatives in the countries which we work closely.

I am proud to lead an expert, motivated and committed Board, supported by a strong management team, and a mission-driven organisation. We are delighted that you have shown an interest in joining us.

Diana Layfield, BII Chair

Role description

The FCDO is looking to appoint a new Non-Executive Director, with the seniority and calibre to enhance the experience and perspectives of the current Board. This is an appointment made by the company’s Shareholder, FCDO, and is subject to the requirements of the Governance Code on Public Appointments published by the Cabinet Office and regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

The principal activities will be to provide insightful guidance and advice to the BII Group Board with regard to:

• High level oversight and challenge of BII’s investment activities associated with private equity, funds and corporate debt;
• High level oversight and constructive challenge of portfolio management and value creation advancing the strategic objectives of the firm; and
• Sharing experience and market knowledge as appropriate to further BII’s development and climate aims.

The appointment is a certified individual under the new SMCR and thereafter requires annual Board and Shareholder approval at each AGM.

Organisation description

A development-focused mission is at the heart of what we do.

We are the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor with a mission to help solve the biggest global development challenges by investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation.

We invest to create more productive, sustainable and inclusive economies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, enabling people in those countries to build better lives for themselves and their communities.

We invest between £1.5 and £2 billion every year in green infrastructure, technology and other sectors that need our capital the most.

We currently partner with over 1,000 businesses in emerging economies, and we have total assets of £7.7 billion. We work with our investee partners to support them to succeed and grow impactful businesses.

We are at the heart of the UK Government’s international financing offer to emerging economies. That includes building partnerships with British businesses that operate in developing and emerging economies and who share our aims. 

We are a key partner to emerging economies that are most vulnerable to the climate emergency. Over the next five years, at least 30 per cent of our total new commitments will be in climate finance, making us one of the world’s largest such investors in Africa.

Further information about BII can be found here.

What Impact means to us

Impact is at the heart of what we do. We focus on three strategic objectives: to support productive, sustainable and inclusive development. We’ve developed a world-class impact management approach to help us do this.

We aim to maximise our impact through everything we do. This includes clearly setting out what we want to achieve, managing impact across the whole portfolio, and through every step of an investment. Our process starts when we’re deciding whether to make an investment, it continues as we monitor its progress, and finishes when we exit the investment responsibly. And through each investment, we are continually learning from what we do. This overall approach ensures that we meet the Operating Principles for Impact Management, the international standard for impact management, of which we are a founding signatory. 

Further information can be found here.

Corporate Governance

Our only shareholder is the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). We are proud to be owned entirely by the UK Government. Our unique structure combines the best of private sector skills with a public-spirited mission.

FCDO has an arms-length governance model for its shareholding in British International Investment. This mirrors best practice in the private sector and is tailored to the needs of a public limited company wholly owned by the UK Government.

BII is proud to have a highly collegiate and collaborative Board, with a diverse range of experience and expertise. Our Chair, Diana Layfield, leads the Board which is comprised of executive and non-executive directors. The non-executive directors on our Board are people with private sector expertise, knowledge of Africa and South Asia, and development experience. They each add to the skills of our executive team. Our CEO, Nick O’Donohoe, and CFO, Carolyn Sims, are also

members of the Board. The successful candidate will join the Chair and one other Non-Executive Director, Chris Woodruff, as the FCDO appointed members of the Board.

The Board’s areas of responsibility include establishing the vision, mission, and values for the organisation; approving the strategy proposed by the Executive Committee and monitoring its implementation; and being accountable to and reporting to the shareholder and relevant stakeholders.

Find out more about our Board here

Board composition

• Andrew Alli, Non-Executive Director
• Carolyn Sims, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
• Chris Woodruff, Non-executive Director
• Diana Layfield, Chair
• Dolika Banda, Non-executive Director
• Kathryn Matthews, Non-executive Director to the Board and Chair of the Risk Commitee
• Krishnakumar Natarajan, Non-executive Director
• Laurie Spengler, Non-executive Director
• Nick O'Donohoe, Chief Executive Officer
• Simon Rowlands, Non-executive Director

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

• Knowledge of, and experience in climate finance in developing markets
• Applied experience of structuring transactions in order to support either direct capital mobilisation and/or promote investment into some of the hardest to reach markets and sectors.
• Experience of having led, as senior executive, partner or member of senior leadership team, a significant commercial organisation through change and growth.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of BII’s markets and in particular SE Asia markets.
• Experience of Adaptation and Resilience investing and/ or the use of disruptive technologies to promote development and climate objectives.
• Applied experience of structuring complex deals, especially multi-party transactions involving different types of investors, preferably with an emerging markets exposure. Experience of deploying blended finance to de-risk deals would also be interesting.
• In-depth knowledge of the regulatory environment that BII, as a public limited company, operates in; understanding of the operating model implications, including tensions, and skills required to execute in pursuit of impact within regulatory constraints.

Application and selection process

How to apply

To apply, please send:

• A Curriculum Vitae (maximum two sides of A4) with your education, professional qualifications and full employment history.
• A supporting statement (maximum two sides of A4), setting out how you meet the eligibility criteria – make sure you refer to the contents of this document; please ensure your full name is clearly noted at the top of your letter. It is essential that your statement of suitability gives full but concise information relevant to the appointment, clearly demonstrating how you meet each of the eligibility criteria. 
• Recruitment Monitoring and conflicts of interest form (here) – See section below for further details. If you experience problems accessing the monitoring form please contact the Sponsor Team. This form also includes an opt-in for Disability Confident – Offering an interview to disabled people. If you experience problems accessing the monitoring form please contact the Spencer Stuart Team.
• Contact details including e-mail addresses for two referees

If you have any questions about the appointments process, please contact Spencer Stuart at: BII-NED@SpencerStuart.com.

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

We will acknowledge receipt of your application via email in 2 working days. If you do not receive this acknowledgement, please contact the Spencer Stuart team via the contact details provided above. 

Completed applications should be emailed to

BII-NED@SpencerStuart.com– please quote reference number 1332 by 25 July at 17:00 (BST)

Overview of the application process

This appointment is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition process which is conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. The public appointments process can be lengthy. However, 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 for a public appointment

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 attend interviews in London, which will likely last for 54-60 minutes. Further details about the format will be provided to you in advance.
5. The Panel will meet again to assess 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. This appointment is made by the Prime Minister who, following the appointments process, will take the final decision on who to appoint.
8. 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.
9. If your application is unsuccessful and you would like feedback, please let the Spencer Stuart team know. We regret that we are only able to offer feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at interview stage.

These are Ministerial appointments and candidates who are deemed appointable may be invited to meet with Rt Hon Minister Mitchell MP before a final decision is made.

You will be able to claim reasonable travel expenses incurred travelling to and from the interview in accordance with BII’s Travel Policy. Please let Spencer Stuart know beforehand if you are likely to claim, along with the approximate costs by contacting BII-NED@SpencerStuart.com

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

The Advisory Assessment Panel for this recruitment campaign will consist of:

• Panel Chair: Richard Teuten, Head of Economic Growth Department, FCDO.
• BII representative: Diana Layfield, BII Chair.
• Independent Panel Member: Kelly Clark, Director of Finance Capital Market Transformation at Laudes Foundation

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 FCDO at rachael.flaherty@fcdo.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

Public Appointees play an important role in public life on the board of public bodies and in statutory offices. For this reason, it is of great importance that these boards reflect the diversity of the UK as a whole. We welcome applications from all candidates regardless of ethnicity, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity.

We ask all applicants to public appointments to complete a diversity monitoring form. This is not provided to the Advisory Assessment Panel and plays no role in the appointment decision. This will allow us to see if there are any unfair barriers to becoming a public appointee and whether there are any changes we could make to encourage a more diverse field to apply. Please find the link in the how to apply section below.

Disability confident

Disability Confident is a voluntary scheme which replaced the Guaranteed Interview Scheme or Two Ticks Scheme that was widely used in Britain. Disability Confident supports the Government’s commitment to halve the employment gap between candidates who have disabilities and those who do not by encouraging employers to think about disability and to take positive action to improve how they attract, recruit and retain workers with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to ensuring that candidates with disabilities are provided with the adjustments that they require as part of the recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please contact the BII-NED@SpencerStuart.com to discuss your requirements.

We will also offer an interview to a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for the job - by minimum criteria you must be able to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate relevant skills and experience for each of the selection criterion set out in the Person Specification section. This does not mean that all candidates who have a disability are entitled to an interview. When you apply you will have the opportunity to select if you would like your application considered under this scheme in the diversity monitoring form.

The aim of this commitment is to encourage positive action for candidates with disabilities, encouraging them to apply for positions in public life by offering them the assurance that, should they meet the minimum criteria as advertised for the position, they will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities at the interview stage.

It is important to note that if we receive a higher volume of applications that far exceeds the number of those expected then we may need to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered. This will include the number of interviews offered to Disability Confident candidates that meet the minimum criteria for the role. 

Reasonable adjustments

As a Disability Confident employer we are committed to ensuring that candidates with disabilities are provided with the adjustments that they require as part of the recruitment process. We are able to facilitate a range of different reasonable adjustments; for example, large print recruitment documents or British Sign Language interpretation at interview.

If you require any reasonable adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please contact Spencer Stuart via BII-NED@SpencerStuart.com to discuss your requirements in more detail.

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 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 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 which are properly and necessarily incurred on official business, in line with the travel and subsistence policy and rates for the organisation to which you are applying. 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 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 public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at rachael.flaherty@fcdo.gov.uk. She 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.

Contact details

You can contact the recruitment agency Spencer Stuart running this campaign at: BII-NED@SpencerStuart.com.

Attachments

• BII NED Candidate Information Pack