Introduction
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the UK government body responsible for intellectual property rights including patents, designs, trademarks and copyright. The IPO operates and maintains a clear and accessible intellectual property system in the UK, which encourages innovation and helps the economy and society benefit from knowledge and ideas.
The IPO helps people get the right type of protection for their creation or invention. The IPO has approximately 1600 staff across offices in Newport and London. The team is made up of specialists in rights-granting, IT, finance and HR.
Introduction from the Minister
Dear Candidate
Thank you for your interest in the role of Non-Executive Director (NED) and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
The IPO is responsible for the UK’s IP policy, educating businesses and consumers about IP, supporting IP enforcement and granting UK patents, trademarks, and design rights. All of this supports innovation and helps our economy and society to benefit from knowledge and ideas.
The IPO is at an exciting point in its 170-year history. With its ambitions of delivering excellent IP services and creating a world leading IP environment, the IPO has a crucial role in supporting delivery of key government initiatives, such as the Industrial Strategy, and in ensuring the UK is the most innovative and creative country in the world.
The IPO Steering Board helps to deliver these ambitions and provides advice, guidance, and constructive challenge to the executive team on the strategy, operation and development of the IPO.
We are committed to a fair and open recruitment process and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those from under-represented groups.
If you believe you have the experience and qualities to contribute to this important organisation, we very much look forward to hearing from you.
Minister Clark
Minister for Intellectual Property
Appointment description
The Intellectual Property Office is seeking a non-executive director who will also chair the IPO Audit and Risk Committee (ARC).
The IPO Steering Board, on which non-executive directors sit, provides advice, guidance, scrutiny and constructive challenge to the executive team on the IPO’s strategy and delivery. IPO non-executive directors are responsible for ensuring that the organisation is successful and effective as a service provider and employer and for supporting continuous organisational improvement, high-performance management, excellent customer focus, service delivery, accountability and effective corporate governance.
In addition, the Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee will provide effective leadership of the ARC and be able to speak on its behalf within the IPO and beyond. The ARC Chair will work closely with the Chief Executive, who is the IPO’s Accounting Officer, and the Steering Board Chair.
The ARC Chair and the committee ensure that the Steering Board and the Accounting Officer receive appropriate assurance from different sources to be confident that there are robust systems of internal controls, risk management and governance to support effective operation. They will oversee the Audit and Risk committee in their responsibilities to advise the Steering Board and Accounting Officer on:
- The strategic processes for risk, control and governance and the Governance Statement;
- The accounting policies and key judgements, the accounts, and the annual report of the organisation, including the process for review of the accounts prior to submission for audit, levels of error identified, and management’s letter of representation to the external auditors;
- The planned activity and results of both internal and external audit;
- Adequacy of management response to issues identified by audit activity, including external audit’s management letter;
- Assurances relating to the management of risk and corporate governance requirements for the organisation; (where appropriate) proposals for tendering for either Internal or External Audit services or for purchase of non-audit services from contractors who provide audit services;
- Anti-fraud policies, whistle-blowing processes, and arrangements for special investigations;
- The Audit and Risk Committee will also periodically review its own effectiveness and report the results of that review to the Board.