Appointment details

Independent Advisor to the UK Government on drugs

Summary

• Organisation: Independent Advisor to the UK Government on Drugs
• Sponsor department: Home Office
• Location: London
• Sectors: Public Administration
• Skills: Regulation
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 36 day(s) per annum
• Remuneration: £500 per day
• Length of term: Three year fixed term
• Application deadline: 11pm on 16 June 2025

Share this page

The following links open in a new tab

Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   19 May 2025

2. Application deadline

   11pm on 16 June 2025

3. Sifting date

   23 June 2025

4. Interviews expected to end on

   14 July 2025

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction

The Independent Advisor to Government on Drugs is charged with advising all of government on its approach to, and delivery of, drug-related initiatives. This spans local drugs partnerships and government departments, including assessing impact.

This role was created after an independent two-part review of drugs (from 2019-2021) where it was decided that continuity in the expertise and oversight of delivery of the review recommendations was required. The independent review provided 32 recommendations for change across various government departments and other organisations. This provided a programme of reform to improve the effectiveness of drug prevention and treatment and to help more people recover from dependence.

The review formed the foundations of a 10-year commitment across departments to address illicit drug use. This set out a whole-system approach, building on evidence of what works, and focused on a set of core outcomes – to reduce drug use; reduce drug-related crime; and reduce drug-related deaths and harm. The current Independent Advisor has most recently carried out an independent review of drug treatment in prisons, looking at the provision of services in prison, the prison regime, and the release and resettlement elements of the journey of people with substance misuse problems in prison.

The role is funded by the Home Office and supported by the Joint Combating Drugs Unit. The role is public facing and the current post-holder has successfully built trust in the system by demonstrating that government priorities on drugs have input from independent experts.

Appointment description

Title:                                   Independent Advisor to the UK Government on drugs

Time commitment:           The expected time commitment of the role is 36 days per annum (approximately).

Appointment:                   Three-year fixed term appointment with the possibility of extension or reappointment; subject to review.

Remuneration:                 The role is remunerated at £500 per day, and the Home Office will reimburse all reasonable expenses incurred in respect of carrying out the role of Independent Advisor to the UK Government on drugs.

Location:                           Central London/Remote Working

Accountable to:                 Home Secretary

This Government has a Plan for Change.

Making our streets safer, improving health outcomes, breaking down barriers to opportunity and economic growth are key in that plan, and action to reduce drug-related harms will have important benefits for these missions – with the Independent Advisor to the UK Government on drugs a cornerstone of this action.

By providing advice to Ministers, working with their officials across departmental priorities on drugs and acting as a national figurehead for stakeholders to engage with across multiple sectors, the role of the Independent Advisor is as wide-ranging as it will be inspiring.

The successful candidate will possess strong interpersonal skills, and be able to actively and constructively contribute to discussions, negotiating between conflicting opinions and values and generating options to reach consensus.

This appointment will be for a period of three years with the possibility of re-appointment.

Person specification

Essential criteria

It is important in your supporting statement that you provide evidence and proven examples against each of the selection criteria in duties and responsibilities only. These responses will be explored further with you if invited for interview, together with the other criteria listed in experience, skills and abilities.

• The ability to take a leadership role and bring authority and breadth to this multi-faceted issue of great public interest and importance.

• An incisive analytical ability to gather information and develop clear independent, expert advice for Ministers and officials.

• Excellent communication and relationship management skills with a proven ability to engage constructively with and strategically influence Ministers across the UK Government.

• Engaging and developing links with stakeholders and partners across relevant sectors.

• Reviewing and assessing key documents relating to Government plans/action and relevant policy development.

Application and selection process

How to apply

The closing date for applications is 23:00 on Monday 16 June 2025.

Please submit the following two documents, clearly labelled. In order to apply, you will need to click on one of the links below, depending on if you have already created an account on the 

Public Appointment website.

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.

Please submit your application documents as two separate attachments and note that short?listed candidates will also be required to complete and return a separate form in relation to referees and nationality information.

Please note the following:

• We cannot accept applications submitted after the closing date. • Applications will be assessed solely on the documentation provided. Please refer to the advert and checklist to ensure you have provided the necessary documentation. • Applications will be acknowledged upon receipt. • Feedback will only be given to unsuccessful candidates following interview.

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

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)

The Panel will be chaired by Richard Clarke (Director General Public Safety and SRO Safer Streets, Home Office), and comprise Catherine Frances Director General, Global and Public Health at the Department of Health and Social Care and Charlie Taylor, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, as the 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 publicappointments@homeoffice.gov.uk

Security clearance

The successful candidate will be required to have or be willing to obtain security clearance to SC level. Pre-appointment checks will also be undertaken on immigration and criminal convictions. It usually takes between 4-6 weeks to obtain the security clearance. The role will be offered on a conditional basis until the successful 

candidate has passed all checks. The successful candidate will be encouraged to take up the appointment as soon as possible, subject to the successful completion of all pre-appointment 

checks. 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

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.

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.

If you are not completely satisfied with the way your application is handled at any stage of the competition, please raise any complaint in the first instance with the Public 

Appointments Team at: publicappointments@homeoffice.gov.uk

We will reply to your complaint within 20 days.

Data protection

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

<Department to add details of own privacy notice> 

Contact details

If you have any queries about any aspect of this role, or merely wish to have an informal 

discussion, then please contact Robert Wolstenholme at: robert.wolstenholme@combatingdrugs.gov.uk  in the first instance. 

If you have any queries about the recruitment process for this role, please contact the Public Appointments Team at: publicappointments@homeoffice.gov.uk

If helpful to you, there is guidance available on writing a supporting statement on the public appointments webpages here

Attachments

• Candidate Pack

• Home Office Privacy Notice