Appointment details

2 x Lay Member - Architects Registration Board (ARB)

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

Summary

Organisation: Architects Registration Board
Sponsor department: Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Location: Various
Sectors: Public Administration
Skills: Communication, Regulation
Number of vacancies: 2
Time commitment: 20 day(s) per annum
Remuneration: £8778 per annum
Length of term: up to 4 years
Application deadline: 11am on 23 December 2024

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Timeline for this appointment

Opening date

26 November 2024
Application deadline

11am on 23 December 2024
Sifting date

24 January 2025
Interviews expected to end on

7 February 2025

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction from the Chair

Thank you for your interest in this vacancy on the Architects Registration Board.

Architects play a crucial role in creating a built environment that is safe and sustainable, and where everyone can live well. The Architects Registration Board (ARB) is the independent professional regulator of the architects’ profession. Established by Parliament as a statutory body through the Architects Act in 1997, we are accountable to government. We work to ensure that good standards within the profession are consistently maintained for the benefit of the public.

It is an important and exciting time for ARB. We are currently in the process of delivering an ambitious five-year corporate strategy which sets our vision and programme of work to modernise and improve the regulation of architects. Our Board is committed to approaching regulation in a positive and purposeful way so that we play the fullest part we can in responding to key challenges including climate change, sustainability and fire and life safety design.

In line with our strategy, and following a significant period of engagement and consultation, the Board has been modernising the way that architects are educated and trained; the recently approved requirements constitute the most significant changes to architectural education and training in 50 years. We have also recently introduced a new mandatory model for continuing professional development of architects, underpinned by legislation in the Building Safety Act 2022 This was a key recommendation emerging from Dame Judith Hackitt’s report, Building a Safer Future.

We are also undertaking an organisational transformation to modernise outdated systems, processes and information technology so that we can deliver our statutory functions in a more effective and efficient way and make our organisation more accessible to the public and to architects.

We are looking to appoint a Lay Member to the Board. As a Board member you will play a vital role in helping to shape and approve ARB’s strategy and policies and hold the executive team to account for the delivering of its statutory functions. Being a Board member is a stimulating and fulfilling public service role which provides the opportunity to shape the future of the architects’ profession and enable the profession to maximise its impact in shaping the built environment. The role is ideally suited to someone who can bring the expertise and experience set out in the accompanying role description. ARB is an inclusive organisation and we actively promote equality of opportunity for everybody who works with us. We hope to receive applications from a wide range of individuals and would particularly welcome candidates from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background.

Full details of the role, responsibilities and commitments are set out in the attached candidate pack and I hope you will decide to apply.

Information about the Board can be found on Home - Architects Registration Board (arb.org.uk)

Alan Kershaw

Chair, Architects Registration Board

Additional introductions

Although ARB is a relatively small organisation, we are ambitious about delivering high quality regulation that makes a genuine difference to the Built Environment and in particular the users of services of the architects we regulate.

The Board has set out its ambitions in the ARB Corporate Strategy 2022-26. This document provides clarity about the outcomes we wish to deliver from purposeful regulation. It has also provided a clear strategic focus to guide our work and allocation of resources.

The Strategy sets out ARB's vision for regulation and our approach to delivering our statutory functions. It also provides details on the five priority areas the Board has identified which, if we delivery, we believe will truly make a difference to the profession of architects, to the education and training of architects, and through them, the public.

At the heart of our vision is to drive significant improvements in the operational delivery of our statutory functions (covering registration, accreditation, professional standards as well as our governance and international function).

The Board has made a commitment to modernise the initial education and training of architects. We are midway through a process which has seen the publication of new competency or learning outcomes, updating competencies of those wishing to register in areas such as fire and life safety design and the environment and sustainability.

In 2022 we embarked on an ambitious programme of work to transform or IT infrastructure. We want to deliver major improvements for registrants and how they interact with ARB; we want to address the inefficiencies which come with running on out-of-date infrastructure and legacy systems; and we want to ensure that as a regulator we are providing insight into the many policy and structural issues within the sector.

We passionately believe that at the heart of successful regulatory policy development is meaningful engagement. For ARB that means involving architects at the very beginning of our policy development process and ensuring we test ideas and proposals with as wide an audience as possible. Our engagement around the new statutory CPD model is one such example.

Finally, we have put the development of a great organisational culture at the heart of what we do. When an organisation has a clear purpose and strategy, with the right organisational culture, it will have a highly motivated and productive workforce.

We have made great strides in 2023 and look forward to successful delivery of the Board’s strategic objectives in 2024 and beyond.

Hugh Simpson

Chief Executive & Registrar, Architects Registration Board

Appointment description

Key responsibilities

Plays a key role in the development of the organisation’s strategic direction in line with its statutory objectives and functions.
Actively contributes to the Board’s decision-making process, taking appropriate account of the Architects Act 1997, ARB’s governance requirements, and any guidance provided by the relevant government departments.
Ensures that the Board operates and exercises its functions in accordance with the highest standards of conduct and probity.
Contributes to identifying and measuring the impact of the work of the Board.
Demonstrates and maintains good practice in decision making and that this is appropriately and effectively reviewed to deliver high standards of regulation and propriety.
Ensures that the collective work of the Board is reviewed and is working effectively.
Displays and follows the Code of Practice for Board members which is consistent with the Cabinet Office Model Code.

Individual duties

Prepares for and attends all Board meetings, making an active contribution to discussions and decision making.
In the event of unavoidable absence from a meeting, provides comments and questions in advance on the relevant papers to the meeting Chair.
Upholds, models, and promotes the values behaviours, core policies, objectives and vision of the organisation.
Provides leadership on equality, diversity and inclusion matters ensuring that this is reflected in all that ARB does.
Provides leadership on ethical matters, upholding governance standards and respecting confidentiality.
Ensures the organisation delivers against its Corporate Strategy,
Participates fully in reviews of the Board’s performance, including individual, collective, Chair and peer assessment.
Participates in annual review processes and attends learning and development opportunities in addition to completing e-learning programmes.
Establishes and builds effective and constructive working relationships with the Executive, holding them to account for delivering agreed strategic objectives.
Supports the Executive, whilst respecting the boundaries which exist between executive and non-executive roles.
Maintains regular contact with the Chair and develops and maintains open and supportive relationships.

Organisation description

The Architects Registration Board (ARB) was established in 1997 by the Architects Act and regulates over 40,000 architects. ARB employs 62 staff, led by a Chief Executive and Registrar who is also ARB’s Accounting Officer, and has an annual budget of circa £9 million. ARB is based in London.

Under the Act, ARB’s responsibilities are to:

To ensure only those who are suitably competent are allowed to practise as architects. We do this by approving the architecture qualifications required to join the Register of architects.
We maintain a publicly available Register of architects so anyone using the services of an architect can be confident that they are suitably qualified and are fit to practise.
We set the standards of conduct and practice the profession must meet and take action when any architect falls below the required standards of conduct or competence.
We set requirements for and monitor the continuous professional development that architects must undertake, to provide assurance to the public about the continuing competence of the profession.
We protect the legally restricted title ‘architect’ and take action against those who use the title but are not registered with ARB.

Architects play a vital role in creating a built environment that is safe, sustainable and where everyone in society can live well. There are many challenges to achieving those goals. We know from Dame Judith Hackitt’s report, Building a Safer Future, that there is much to be done to truly embed a culture of safety not just in architecture but across all the professions and organisations involved in building and construction. We know from overwhelming scientific evidence the existential challenge society faces in relation to the climate emergency and the need to embed sustainability in all that we do. We know wider challenges faced by society in relation to public health, not just in relation to Covid-19, and the importance that communities and the built environment. We know that a strong and vibrant architecture profession is important for cultural, economic and social reasons.

ARB is in the process of delivering of a bold and ambitious five-year strategy. It sets out how the ARB intends to respond to these and other challenges, playing a crucial role in areas such as initial education and training of architects. We are committed to improving the way we work with the sector, the profession and the public as we build a regulatory model which makes a positive contribution and helps the profession to maximise its potential. ARB is also making significant investment to develop its systems, processes and technology so that our core regulatory functions are working effectively and efficiently.

Information Sessions will be held on Monday 9 December (12pm) and Thursday 12 December 2024 (12pm). These sessions will be held online and will be an opportunity to learn more about ARB and it's work. Booking is essential. Contact Governance@arb.org.uk for further details and to book your place at one of the sessions.

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. Experience of working within Committee or governance processes that include setting strategy and policy development. This could include operating in private sector board and committee environments but could also include operating within other parts of the built environment, education governor roles, or public sector or charity trustee boards, as well as other governance arrangements which involve holding organisations to account.

2. Applying knowledge and experience of the UK regulatory environment.

3. Experience of working with an executive team to challenge, support and hold them to account for the delivery of the organisation’s strategic aims and objectives;

4. Experience of being able to develop strategies in complex environments as well as cross regulatory/business experience.

5. Extensive skills in:

a. working in a fast-paced changing environment

b. expertise in implementing large scale change and transformation in a dynamic, people-focused organisation.

6. Strong commitment to good governance, upholding the Seven Principles of Public Life, and a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

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.

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

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.
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.
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.
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.
The Panel will meet again to interview 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.
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.
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.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

• Chandru Dissanayeke – MHCLG Director of Buildings Design and Construction, and Panel Chair

• Alan Kershaw – ARB Chair and ALB representative

• Eileen Mortby – Independent Panel Member

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 PublicAppointments@levellingup.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.

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

Holders of public office are expected to adhere to and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life/the-7-principles-of-public-life--2. These are:

SELFLESSNESS - Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family or their friends;
INTEGRITY - Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties;
OBJECTIVITY - In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit;
ACCOUNTABILITY - Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office;
OPENNESS - Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands;
HONESTY - Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest;
LEADERSHIP - Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.

Code of conduct for board members

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. In support of this, all non-executive board members of UK public bodies must abide by the principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. The Code sets out the standards expected from those who serve on the boards of UK public bodies and will form part of your terms and conditions of appointment.

Management of outside interests and consideration of reputational issues

Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully:

any outside interests that you may have, such as shares you may hold in a company providing services to government;
any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or or public statements that you have made;
and/or - any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported;

which may call into question your ability to do the role you are applying for.

You will need to answer relevant questions in relation to these points when making an application. Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being interviewed. If you are shortlisted for an interview, the panel will discuss any potential conflicts with you during that interview, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them and record that in their advice to ministers. Alongside your own declaration, we will conduct appropriate checks, as part of which we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This may include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. The successful candidate(s) may be required to give up any conflicting interests and their other business and financial interests may be published in line with organisational policies.

Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment, but must be declared).

Status of appointment

As this is an office holder appointment, you will not become a member of the Civil Service. You will not be subject to the provisions of employment law.

Appointment and tenure of office

Appointments are for the term set out in this advert, with the possibility of re-appointment for a further term, at the discretion of Ministers. Any re-appointment is subject to satisfactory annual appraisals of performance during the first term in the post. There is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits, taking into account a number of factors including, but not restricted to, the diversity of the current board and its balance of skills and experience. In most cases, the total time served in post will not exceed more than two terms or 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 termination 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 MHCLG's public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at PublicAppointments@communities.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, [and this appointment is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments], 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 www.publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/complaints

Data protection

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

The MHCLG privacy policy is attached to this advert.

Contact details

For anything else, please contact the MHCLG Public Appointments Team: PublicAppointments@communities.gov.uk.

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