Appointment details

Small Business Commissioner

Summary

• Organisation: Small Business Commissioner
• Sponsor department: Department for Business and Trade
• Location: Various
• Sectors: Business and Trade
• Skills: Audit and Risk, Business, Change Management, Commercial, Communication
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 37 hour(s) per week
• Remuneration: £120,000 to £145,000 per annum
• Length of term: 2 years
• Application deadline: 3pm on 7 April 2025

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   10 March 2025

2. Application deadline

   3pm on 7 April 2025

3. Sifting date

   21 April 2025

4. Interviews expected to end on

   16 May 2025

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction

The DBT Secretary of State is seeking to appoint a new Small Business Commissioner (SBC) from July 2025 with a UK-wide remit focused on improving business-to-business payment practices. In particular, the new SBC will be a key actor in tackling late payments and long payment terms, which significantly impact upon small businesses and the self-employed.  We are looking to appoint the new SBC on a two-year term, subject to ongoing review by DBT Ministers alongside an upcoming consultation on strengthened statutory powers for the SBC and the development of a new Business Growth Service. The successful candidate will be expected to show flexibility in helping to shape the SBC role as it continues to evolve.

Location: Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Salford

Appointment description

The SBC is an Accounting Officer with responsibility for a budget of £1.15m per year and management of 12 staff. The SBC is responsible for publishing an annual report and annual statement of accounts to lay before Parliament.

The SBC’s statutory functions are: 

• To provide advice and information to small businesses in connection with their supply relationships with larger businesses, including signposting small businesses to existing services.
• To consider complaints from small businesses relating to payment matters relating to the supply of goods and services to larger businesses and make (non-binding) decisions and recommendations. 

The SBC has the following strategic objectives, designed to address the key drivers of late payment, long contractual payment times and unfair payment practices:

1. Improving large business understanding and approach to payments

Improving understanding of the impact of withholding payments from smaller businesses and promoting good practice

• Reducing the number of larger businesses using supplier payments to create leverage or financial gain
• Creating a culture in which payment practices are routinely cited in annual reports and included within ESC measures as standard practice
• Securing commitments from larger businesses to improve payment systems and use mediation to settle disputes
• Ensuring larger businesses meet their legal and voluntary obligations and improve compliance and enforcement regimes
• Establishing sector led activity to promote fair payment practices and supporting co-ordinated action to address sectoral issues

2. Improving small business capability

• Improving small business understanding of contracting, their legal rights and where to get contract advice
• Giving small businesses the confidence to negotiate fairer payment terms and challenge late payments and unfair payment practices
• Supporting small business to understand their legal options and associated costs and increasing the use of mediation.

3. Raising awareness and access to support

• Ensuring that a range of support is available and accessible, which is not resource intensive and provides value for money
• Ensuring more small businesses are aware of the available support and tackling barriers to uptake
• Enhancing the work of the OSBC by working in partnership and ensuring the support landscape is joined up and effective.

4. Increasing digital adoption

• Raising awareness of the benefits of digital adoption to address late payments and providing advice and support on adoption
• Working with Government and providers to address issues around interoperability between platforms
• Working with providers to address concerns around the cost of implementation and resource to adopt technology.

Organisation description

The Small Business Commissioner (SBC) is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) established in December 2017 via the Enterprise Act 2016. It supports small businesses to get paid quickly and on time, influences large businesses to improve payment times to suppliers and works with all business to improve the culture of payment practices across the whole of the UK - England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

To learn more about the SBC please visit About us - Small Business Commissioner

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

1. Knowledge: a clear understanding of the work, priorities and challenges of the organisation and the context within which it operates.
2. Experience: track record of effective leadership of significant teams or organisations.
3. Relationship building ability to build strong stakeholder relationships, including with Ministers and Senior Government officials and external stakeholders.
4. Communication: strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to listen, accept challenge and constructively challenge others in discussions with clarity and respect.
5. Judgement: effective decision-making skills with the ability to critically analyse a wide range of information to make clear and objective evidence-based recommendations to support the delivery of the organisation's objectives.
6. Collaboration: ability to work closely with the executive board and other key stakeholders, providing support, constructive challenge and assurance as appropriate. 

Desirable criteria

 7. Working with or within the small business sector and demonstrating a strong understanding of how small businesses operate.

Application and selection process

How to apply

In order to apply you will need to create an account or sign in.

Once you are logged into your account, click on 'apply for this role' and follow the on-screen instructions. To apply, all candidates are required to provide:

• a Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• a supporting statement
• equality information
• information relating to any outside interests or reputational issues

We will ask you to check and confirm your personal details to ensure your application is accurate.

Online Information Session for Potential Candidates | Tue 1 April 12.00-12.45

We are holding an Online Information Session on Tue 1 April between 12-12.45 via Microsoft Teams to find out more about the role and the application process as well as to answer any questions. If you would like to attend this event, please email Lucia Powell at dbtappointments@businessandtrade.gov.uk to request the Link.

You will also have the opportunity to make a reasonable adjustment request or apply under the disability confident scheme before you submit your application.

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

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 have best met the criteria, who should be recommended for interview. Ministers 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.

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 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.

6. Details of the panel’s assessment of interviewed candidates are provided to Ministers, including whether they have judged a candidate to be appointable to the role. 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.

7. Ministers 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.

8. 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: Paul Drabwell – Deputy Director, Enterprise, Strategy & Governance 

Panel Member: Paul Drechsler, Lead Non-Executive Director, DBT

Independent Panel Member: Dr Marilyn Comrie OBE FRSA

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 Lucia Powell at dbtappointments@businessandtrade.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. These are:

1. Selflessness - Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.
2. Integrity - Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
3. Objectivity - Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
4. Accountability - Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
5. Openness - Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
6. Honesty - Holders of public office should be truthful.
7. Leadership - Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

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

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 DBT public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at dbtappointments@businessandtrade.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.

You can also access the Department for Business and Trade's public appointments privacy notice. 

Contact details

If you have any queries about the role or the application process please get in touch with us at:

dbtappointments@businessandtrade.gov.uk.