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Role details

Board Chair for the Office of the Public Guardian

Application deadline 5 April 2024

Summary

• Organisation: Office of the Public Guardian
• Sponsor department: Ministry of Justice
• Location: Various
• Sectors: Judicial, Prisons & Policing
• Skills: Change Management, Technology / Digital, Major Projects, Transformation
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 20 day(s) per annum
• Remuneration: £10400 per annum
• Length of term: 3 Years
• Application deadline: Midday on 5 April 2024

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   18 March 2024

2. Application deadline

   Midday on 5 April 2024

3. Sifting date

   10 June 2024

4. Interviews expected to end on

   5 August 2024

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the role

Introduction from the Chair

Dear candidate,

Thank you for considering applying for the important role of Non-Executive Board Member and Board Chair, at the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

OPG is an agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and was established in 2007. We support and enable people in England and Wales to plan for their health and finances to be looked after should they lose mental capacity, by registering Enduring and Lasting Power of Attorney applications. We safeguard the interests of people who may lack the mental capacity to make certain decisions for themselves, through our supervision of court-appointed deputies. Critically, we also carry out investigations when concerns are raised.

This is an exciting time to join OPG and the wider Ministry of Justice family as we embark on a significant transformation programme. The recently passed Powers of Attorney Act 2023 will allow us to transform the service through a new digital application process and improved paper pathway. At the same time, we are introducing new data and internal management systems to enable more effective and efficient ways of working.

We are currently seeking to appoint a new, non-executive Chair to lead the Board. Our Non-Executive Board Members contribute to and participate in the work and effective running of OPG’s Board by scrutinising and challenging how well the agency is achieving its objectives. As we embark on our transformation journey, we are looking for someone with the knowledge and expertise to provide independent advice, and constructive, effective challenge and support, as we innovate to deliver for our customers.    

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

Amy Holmes

Chief Executive and Public Guardian

March 2024

Role description

The Opportunity

This is an exciting time to join OPG and the wider Ministry of Justice family as we embark on a significant transformation programme. The recently passed Powers of Attorney Act 2023 will allow us to transform the service through a new digital application process and improved paper pathway. At the same time, we are introducing new data and internal management systems to enable more effective and efficient ways of working.

We are currently seeking to appoint a new, non-executive Chair to lead the Board. Our Non-Executive Board Members contribute to and participate in the work and effective running of OPG’s Board by scrutinising and challenging how well the agency is achieving its objectives. As we embark on our transformation journey, we are looking for someone with the knowledge and expertise to provide independent advice, and constructive, effective challenge and support, as we innovate to deliver for our customers.   

The Role

We are looking for exceptional candidates to help OPG with the significant transformation programme we are delivering over the next three years. Experience of working in an operational delivery environment would be welcome.

Any significant change impacts the people of an organisation. As a diverse, values-led, purpose-driven organisation, that prides itself on being a great place to work, the successful candidate will understand that success will not just be operational.

It is expected that applicants can demonstrate experience of management or governance at a senior level, working effectively in partnership with multiple stakeholders, and strong communication and interpersonal skills.

As well as leading the Board, you will use your external knowledge and expertise to provide constructive and effective advice and challenge to help inform decision-making.

You will have regular meetings with the Chief Executive to reflect on the organisation’s direction.

Organisation description

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is an agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and was established in 2007. We support and enable people in England and Wales to plan for their health and finances to be looked after should they lose mental capacity, by registering Enduring and Lasting Power of Attorney applications. We safeguard the interests of people who may lack the mental capacity to make certain decisions for themselves, through our supervision of court-appointed deputies. Critically, we also carry out investigations when concerns are raised.

The Organisation

The OPG supports the Public Guardian in her duties of the registration of Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA), Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) and the supervision of deputies appointed by the Court of Protection. The Public Guardian also has a significant safeguarding role, which includes investigating concerns about the actions of registered attorneys and deputies. Her responsibilities apply to England and Wales only. (Separate arrangements exist for Scotland and Northern Ireland.)

Our mission is to support everyone to take the decisions they need to and to protect the interests of those who are unable to make decisions. We protect the vulnerable and put our customers at the heart of everything we do, by enabling people to plan ahead and make decisions for their health and finances while they still can. We safeguard the interests of people who are unable to take decisions, through the supervision of court-appointed deputies and by investigating concerns when they are raised.

Board composition

Chair: Amy Holmes

Non-Exec Directors: Martyn Burke, Greig Early, Karin Woodley

Finance rep: Caroline Patterson (MOJ Finance, Deputy Director)

Person specification

Essential criteria

·       Genuine interest in public service and the successful running of OPG.

·       Experience of management, as the Chair will be responsible for other OPG Non-Exec Board Members.

·       Sound judgement and a high level of integrity (including when dealing with confidential or sensitive issues).

·       Knowledge, skills or experience in finance, health, welfare, or social care.

·       Experience of leading and building the right culture to help ensure the Agency is the best place possible for its staff and to drive the delivery of excellent customer service.

·       Experience of leading major projects from initiation – through development and to delivery (especially implementation of change) – using sound evidence to inform decisions.

Desirable criteria

·       Digital, data and technology: experience of using data and digital technology to drive transformation in a large organisation and/or to innovate and create new opportunities.

·       Largescale processing within operational environments and/or large organisations.

·       The ability to contribute and inspire confidence with a wide range of stakeholders in formal and informal professional environments.

·       Executive-level oversight of strategic communications.

·       Experience of risk, performance, and financial management.

Application and selection process

How to apply

How to Apply

We have engaged an external recruiter, Seymour John Limited, to support this recruitment process. To apply for this role, please visit this page on their website.

You can request a candidate application pack, by emailing application@seymourjohn.com or by clicking “Apply” at the above link.

To progress your application, you will need to provide a personal statement (maximum two sides of A4) and your CV (also maximum two sides of A4).  You should outline examples from your track record that address the criteria set out in the person specification of the application pack. You will also be required to provide:

·       Equality information: Information is requested for monitoring purposes only and plays no part in the selection process. It will be kept confidential and will not be seen by the panel.  An equality form will be automatically provided alongside the application pack upon request.

·       Information relating to any outside interests or reputational issues:

1.     Please provide details of any interests, that could lead to a real or perceived conflict of interest if you were to be appointed, in your supporting statement.

2.     Given the nature of public appointments, it is important that those appointed to them maintain the confidence of Parliament and the public. If there are any issues in your personal or professional history that could, if you were appointed, be misconstrued, cause embarrassment, or cause public confidence in the appointment to be jeopardised, it is important that you bring them to the attention of the panel.

3.     Please provide details of any such issue(s) in your supporting statement. In considering whether you wish to declare any issues, you should also reflect on any public statements you have made, including through social media.

4.     The panel may explore any issues with you before they make a recommendation to ministers about the appointment. Failure to disclose such information could result in an appointment either not being made or being terminated. Conflicts might arise from a variety of sources such as financial interests or share ownership, membership of, or association with, particular bodies or the activities of relatives or partners.

·       Details of referees: Please provide names and contact details of two people who may be asked to act as referees. (quote PAT160098 in any correspondence). At least one referee must have knowledge of your work relating to your most recent professional and/or voluntary activity. They will be expected to have authoritative and personal knowledge of your achievements in a professional or public service capacity.

For successful candidates, confirmation of appointment will be subject to basic clearance checks, covering confirmation of identity and right to work in the UK, plus a criminal record check. This will involve completion of several paper and electronic forms and can take up to five weeks to process following completion of the forms.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

Nick Goodwin (CEO of HMCTS)

Caroline Patterson (Finance Director, MoJ Chief Operating Officer Group)

To be confirmed – Independent Member

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  PublicAppointmentsTeam@justice.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 ‘essential 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

The Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) apply to anyone who works as a public office-holder.

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 ten years in any one post. 

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

If you have a complaint about any aspect of the way your application has been handled, we would like to hear from you. In the first instance, please write to or email the MoJ Public Appointments Team at the address or email address given below, quoting the PAT160098 reference number:

Maggie Garrett, Head of MoJ Public Appointments Team

Public Bodies Centre of Expertise, Ministry of Justice

10 South Colonnade

Canary Wharf

London, E14 4PU

Email address: PublicAppointmentsTeam@justice.gov.uk

Complaints must be received by the MoJ Public Appointments Team within 12 calendar months of the issue or the closure of the recruitment competition, whichever is the later. The team will acknowledge your complaint within two working days of receipt and reply within 20 working days. We will tell you if we cannot meet this deadline for any reason, and we will provide an expected reply date.

Taking it further: If you are still concerned after receiving your reply, you can either email OPGPublicGuardian@publicguardian.gov.uk or write to: Amy Holmes (CEO & Public Guardian), Office of the Public Guardian, Victoria Square House, 1 Pinfold Street, Birmingham, B2 4PP.

Alternatively, please contact the Public Appointments Team at PublicAppointmentsTeam@justice.gov.uk for a printed copy of the complaints process.

Data protection

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

Contact details

If you require more information on the public appointments process, please contact