Appointment details

Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Summary

• Organisation: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• Sponsor department: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Location: London
• Sectors: Environment, Agriculture & Fishing
• Skills: Commercial, Technology / Digital, Major Projects
• Number of vacancies: 2
• Time commitment: 12 day(s) per annum
• Length of term: 3 Years
• Application deadline: Midday on 3 February 2025

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   19 December 2024

2. Application deadline

   Midday on 3 February 2025

3. Sifting date

   25 February 2025

4. Interviews expected to end on

   21 March 2025

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Our manifesto for change 2021-2030:

Earth is the only planet in the universe we know for certain supports life.  Yet life on Earth is in crisis.  Natural resources are being degraded at a rate unprecedented in human history.  As a result, we are living through an age of extinction.   

We also face a climate emergency.  Actions such as burning fossil fuels and clearing wild lands have released greenhouse gases, disrupting natural climate patterns.  In a vicious cycle, damaged ecosystems are less able to absorb emissions and mitigate the worst consequences of climate change.  

The next decade will be critical if we are to reverse this environmental devastation.  Humanity stands at a crossroads.  The future of our planet is in grave jeopardy.  Action is needed now to end biodiversity loss and repair our world.    

The mission of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) is to understand and protect plants and fungi for the well-being of people and the future of all life on Earth.   

Our aspiration is to end the extinction crisis and to help create a world where nature is protected, valued by all, and managed sustainably.    

‘What we do now, and in the next few years, will profoundly affect the next few thousand years.’  - Sir David Attenborough, broadcaster and natural historian.

Introduction from the Minister

Dear Candidate,

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Kew is one of the world’s leading institutions in botanical research, conservation and education. Its collections and scientific work are globally recognised, but it is the leadership that drives its mission. We need Trustees who reflect the institution’s excellence and the diversity of the society it serves.

Kew plays a critical role both in the UK and globally as a key resource for plant and fungal diversity expertise. At a time of unprecedented environmental threats, Kew’s science is vital to addressing challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss. These challenges call for bold, 

visionary leadership committed to creating a more sustainable future.

Kew’s collections, such as the Millennium Seed Bank and the world-famous Herbarium, represent over 170 years of history and contribute 25,000 new specimens annually. Kew has set ambitious goals through its Manifesto for Change, Science Strategy and Sustainability Strategy, which aim to inspire action to protect the planet by 2030.

I am seeking individuals to join Dame Amelia Fawcett and the Trustees in leading Kew’s mission. We encourage applications from diverse backgrounds, including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates, younger candidates, and those with disabilities, to ensure our board reflects the richness of our society.

We seek candidates with expertise in data science and innovation, large capital building projects, commercial income growth and/or fundraising, or Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Your skills will be critical as we expand Kew’s reach and deliver science-based solutions to protect biodiversity.  

We look forward to hearing from you.  

Steve Reed OBE

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Appointment description

To complement its existing skills and knowledge the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is seeking up to two new trustees with experience in data science and innovation, Capital Building Projects, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and/or experience of commercial income growth/fundraising.

Members of the Board have corporate responsibility for ensuring that RBG Kew has appropriate practices, procedures, and policies to meet its statutory and administrative requirements for the use of public funds.

Important responsibilities of Board members include: 

• ensuring that high standards of corporate governance are always observed. 

• establishing the overall strategic direction of the organisation within the policy and resources framework agreed with the Defra Minister. 

• holding the Executive to account and supporting them in the delivery of planned results by monitoring performance against agreed strategic objectives and targets and by ensuring corrective action is taken when necessary.  

• ensuring that the Board operates within the limits of its statutory authority; within the limits of the Board’s delegated authority agreed with Defra and in line with all relevant agreements with Defra, including any conditions relating to the use of public funds; and, notwithstanding the above, complying with the relevant obligation’s incumbent on trustees of an exempt charity, including independence of decision-making.  

• representing the purpose and strategic direction of the organisation to the public and specific stakeholders. 

• promoting a culture of equality, diversity, and inclusion on the Board as well as more widely in RBG Kew.

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

Candidates must be able to demonstrate all the following essential criteria:

1.     An enthusiasm for, and genuine interest in the work delivered by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and support of its purpose, values, and strategic direction.

2.     An ability to analyse issues at a strategic level in ways which are impartial, creative, and focused on proportionate solutions.

3.     An ability to provide constructive and independent leadership, challenge, and support to the Board of a complex organisation.

4.     Exceptional communication skills, along with the ability to influence, engage, and inspire confidence across a strong and diverse network of stakeholders, both nationally and internationally, at all levels.

The successful candidate must abide by the Nolan principles of public service and the 12 Principles of Governance for all Public Body NEDs (attached at Annex A and Annex B) and the Code of Conduct for Board members. 

Desirable criteria

Experience of one or more of the following:

• Data science and innovation 

• Capital Building Projects 

• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion 

• Commercial experience: including income growth and/or fundraising

Application and selection process

How to apply

To apply you will need to create an account or sign in to Apply for Public Appointment Service gov.uk by the deadline of noon on Monday 3 February 2025 quoting reference APPT09-24. Once logged onto your account, click on ‘apply for this role’ and follow the on-screen instructions.  

To apply, all candidates are required to submit:   

• A CV of no more than two sides of A4 with education, professional qualifications, and employment history.

• A supporting statement of no more than 1000 words, setting out how you meet the essential criteria. Please also details your area(s) of expertise as outlined in the Desirable Criteria section. 

• Information relating to any outside interests or reputational issues; 

• Diversity monitoring . This allows us to see if there are any unfair barriers to becoming a public appointee and whether there are any changes that we could make to encourage a more diverse field to apply. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be used as part of the selection process and will not be seen by the interview panel; 

Disability Confident Please state if you want to be considered for the disability confident scheme; 

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)

Edward Barker - Director for Natural Environment, Trees and Landscapes - Departmental Official – Panel Chair.

Dame Amelia Fawcett - Chair of RGB, Kew - Representative of Organisation

Sarah Mukherjee - Environment Agency Board Member - 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 Balwinder Allen, Kew Board Secretary at B.Allen@kew.org  

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.

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

The role is unremunerated, but essential expenses are payable based on Kew’s Expenses Policy.  

Pension and redundancy

This is an office holder appointment and does not attract any benefits under any Civil Service Pension Scheme. You will not be eligible for redundancy pay as you are not an employee. No other arrangements have been made for compensation upon the end of your term of appointment because an office holder who is appointed for a limited duration would have no expectation of serving beyond that period.

Application feedback

We will notify you of the status of your application. We regret that we are only able to offer detailed feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.

How to complain

We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.

Please contact the public appointments team if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at publicappts@defra.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.

Contact details

If you have any questions about the appointments process, please email the Public Appointments Team at publicappts@defra.gov.uk 

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Balwinder Allen, Kew Board Secretary at B.Allen@kew.org  

Attachments

• 1_Candidate Pack for recruitment of 2 Trustees to RBG Kew

• 2_PAT Privacy Notice

• 3_Public Appointments Guidance Notes