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Trustee Director & Chair of the Audit Committee, Nuclear Liabilities Fund
Application deadline 6 March 2024
Contents
Summary
- Organisation
- Nuclear Liabilities Fund
- Sponsor department
- Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
- Location
- Various
- Sectors
- Finance and Audit
- Skills
- Major Projects
- Number of vacancies
- 1
- Time commitment
- 33 day(s) per annum
- Remuneration
- £28500 per annum
- Length of term
- 3 years
- Application deadline
- 11:55pm on 6 March 2024
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Timeline for this appointment
-
Opening date
8 February 2024
-
Application deadline
11:55pm on 6 March 2024
-
Sifting date
14 March 2024
-
Interviews expected to end on
5 April 2024
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 the role of Trustee-Director of the Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF).
You may already have some idea about the important work of NLF and this pack will tell you more about the purpose and the nature of the role.
The Nuclear Trust is a Scottish Trust with five trustees. The trustees of the Nuclear Trust are also appointed as directors of Nuclear Liabilities Fund Limited, the operating company of NLF. The Trust Chair also chairs the board. Three of the Trustee-Directors are appointed by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and two by EDFE.
The NLF currently holds around £20.6bn in assets. c.£17bn of these are held in the low risk, interest bearing National Loans Fund (NatLF) (a government account) and £3.6bn in a higher returning Mixed Assets Portfolio (MAP).
The DESNZ Secretary of State is seeking to appoint a Trustee-Director, who has investment and finance experience and, ideally experience of operating in the public sector, to the boards of the Nuclear Trust and NLF. This appointment is to fill a vacancy which arose in January 2024. The new Trustee-Director will also be the Chair of NLF’s Audit Committee and a member of the Investment Committee. The anticipated time commitment for the role is c.33 days per year.
If you believe you have the experience and qualities we are seeking to contribute to this important organisation, we very much look forward to hearing from you.
We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including those from under-represented groups.
Andrew Bowie MP
Minister for Nuclear and Networks
Role description
The Secretary of State for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is seeking to appoint a Trustee Director from a finance and investment background to Chair the Audit Committee and become a member of the Investment Committee. The primary objective of NLF is to ensure there are sufficient funds to discharge the liabilities of nuclear decommissioning.
The responsibilities of the Chair of the Audit Committee will include:
• Providing leadership and exercising judgement in setting the overall direction and priorities for the Audit Committee. Governance and conduct of the committee must exhibit the highest standards of propriety and transparency.
• Overseeing financial reporting and related internal controls, external auditors, risk and compliance.
• Overseeing the preparation of the Board’s annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
• Supporting, challenging and holding the Executive to account on operational and governance matters.
• Appreciation and understanding of the political context within which the NLF operates and its public interest responsibilities.
• Collectively with the Board, playing an independent role in developing strategy and setting the direction of NLF, seeking to ensure sufficiency of the fund and safeguarding its assets.
Suitable candidates will have senior level expertise in accounting and auditing, with relevant sectoral experience in investment management. Experience of being a member or Chair of an Audit Committee, ideally of a fund or regulated organisation with a public profile, is necessary. A practical understanding of Trustee responsibilities, compliance, investment governance and regulation around institutional asset management will also be important.
Organisation description
The Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF) is a Scottish Trust holding assets valued at over £20bn, for the purpose of providing funding to meet the waste management costs and decommissioning liabilities of the 8 power stations owned and operated by EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Limited. The five Trustees of NLF are also Directors of the operating company, Nuclear Liabilities Fund Limited. The affairs of NLF are managed by the Chief Executive with the support of a small executive team and a variety of outsourced arrangements and advisors, together with the Trustee Directors.
Person specification
Essential criteria
• A demonstrable record of leadership at senior management level in an investment/asset management/financial institution/major accounting firm, or similar role or similar role which has had a public profile.
• Senior level expertise and competence in accounting or auditing, including an understanding of applicable regulations.
• Experience of operating at board level, preferably including in a non-executive capacity, including meeting the highest standards of governance.
• Previous involvement as a Non-Executive Director on a public or private sector board and audit committee.
• Excellent inter-personal skills with the ability to challenge and be challenged and a demonstrable capability to manage complex stakeholder relationships within a senior leadership context.
• Strong intellectual capability, with the capacity to understand technical financial issues and to think strategically.
• A commitment to the values of public service and the Principles of Public Life.
• Will need to undergo security clearance (BPSS).
Desirable criteria
• Involvement in working at senior levels within or alongside the public sector.
• Knowledge of ensuring financial dealings are prudently and systematically accounted for, audited, and publicly available.
Application and selection process
See recruiter website for more info
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.
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 Graham Burns on 0131 539 7087
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
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.
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.
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.
Holders of public office are expected to adhere to and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life. These are:
- Selflessness - Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.
- 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.
- Objectivity - Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
- 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.
- 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.
- Honesty - Holders of public office should be truthful.
- 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.
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.
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;
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).
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.
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 ten years in any one post.
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.
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.
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.
We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.
Please contact FWB Park Brown in the in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at applications@fwbparkbrown.com. They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond within 15 working days.
The Cabinet Office will use your data in line with our privacy policy.
For more information, or an informal initial discussion, please contact Graham Burns on 0131 539 7087