Appointment details

Active Travel England - Non-Executive Directors

Summary

• Organisation: Active Travel England
• Sponsor department: Department for Transport
• Location: Various
• Sectors: Transport
• Skills: Business, Change Management, Transformation
• Number of vacancies: 3
• Time commitment: 20 day(s) per annum
• Remuneration: £400 per day
• Length of term: An initial term of 3-4 years, with the possibility of re-appointment
• Application deadline: 5pm on 8 September 2025

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   29 July 2025

2. Application deadline

   5pm on 8 September 2025

3. Sifting date

   3 October 2025

4. Interviews expected to end on

   14 November 2025

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction

Active Travel England (ATE) has responsibility for delivering the Government’s ambitious vision for making walking, wheeling and cycling a safe and attractive choice for everyday trips. ATE was created as a new executive agency to the Department for Transport in 2022 in order to lead this high-profile agenda. Since then, it has invested in and supported the delivery of hundreds of walking and cycling routes and safer crossings and junctions across the country. As an executive agency, ATE is overseen by a Board with Non-Executive Directors, chaired by the National Active Travel Commissioner. 

The key functions for ATE are to: 

• Invest in high quality active travel infrastructure through its dedicated budget for active travel;
• Work with local authorities and other government departments to ensure active travel schemes meets design standards;
• Support local authorities to improve their active travel capability through funding, training, guidance and promoting best practice;
• Act as a statutory consultee in the planning system to ensure active travel is factored into planning considerations from the outset;
• Deliver behaviour change initiatives, including child cycle training, to help make active travel safe and accessible to more people from all walks of like;
• Use data analysis and digital skills to enable investment to achieve the most impact. 

Introduction from the Minister

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the Non-Executive Director positions on the Board of Active Travel England (ATE).

Active Travel England (ATE) was established in 2022 to work with local authorities to help them make walking, wheeling and cycling a safe and attractive choice for everyday trips. Supporting walking and cycling is essential to delivering on the missions of this Government, including growing our economy, accelerating to net zero, and building an NHS fit for the future by preventing ill health and supporting people to live longer, healthier lives. 

The over-arching objectives of ATE are to:

• invest in and improve standards of active travel delivery across the country;
• integrate active travel in the planning system;
• give more people from all walks of life the opportunity to try active travel; and
• transform how data is used in active travel planning.

We are looking for three talented Non-Executive Directors to steer ATE towards achieving this vision for active travel. The successful candidates will have a real commitment to achieving a step change in active travel and be able to demonstrate a track record of success in their given field in addition to experience of operating at Board level. As part of the Department’s commitment to diversity, we believe we should reflect our customers - the travelling public. That means we want to attract candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds. 

We welcome applications from people irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, or any disability, and who can bring wide experience and dynamic ideas to our boards. We are open to fresh talent, expertise, and perspectives, to help us better understand the needs of the communities we serve.

If you are interested in the role and work of Active Travel England, I would like to encourage you to apply. Our dedicated DfT Public Appointments Team would be happy to talk through the process and answer your questions.

Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP

Secretary of State for Transport 

Introduction from the Chair

Chris Boardman was appointed as National Active Travel Commissioner in June 2022 by the Transport Secretary.

Before this, Chris was Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester and the first ever Greater Manchester Cycling and Walking Commissioner.

A former professional cyclist, Chris won a gold medal in the individual pursuit at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Chris launched his own range of bikes, BOARDMAN Bikes, in 2007 and is the company’s chairman.

Chris is also Chair of Sport England and a prominent broadcaster for BBC and ITV.

As National Active Travel Commissioner, Chris has overall responsibility for the leadership of Active Travel England.

Appointment description

ATE is seeking Non-Executive Board Members to join its Board. The successful candidates, through their membership of the Board, will provide challenge and support to a wide variety of management and operational issues and contribute to the effective strategic and operational leadership of ATE.

As a Non-Executive Board member your key responsibilities will be to:

• contribute effectively to discussions on the leadership and performance of the business at the ATE Board and Executive/Non-Executive meetings (4-5 meetings a year), usually held in London or York with sub-committee meetings held remotely.
• support ATE to examine, challenge and support the operational delivery and commercial implications of policy proposals, major projects and programmes, strategic and organisational issues.
• work with ATE and senior managers to scrutinise the ATE's management information to ensure performance and delivery of ATE’s Business Plan and other key objectives are ambitious and achievable.
• bring an independent perspective to the work of the ATE Board, as well as providing independent scrutiny for ATE upon request.
• contribute as members of Board sub-committees within the ATE corporate governance framework.
• Represent ATE at events and with stakeholders to widen the visibility of active travel and its benefits. 

Organisation description

Active Travel England is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Transport.

Active travel makes people happier and healthier. That’s why Active Travel England wants to increase the number of local journeys being walked, wheeled or cycled by 2030.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Track record of success: Candidates should have a track record of success and experience in their field, preferably including one or more of the following: active travel delivery, transport, local government, national government, infrastructure delivery, planning and health.
• Board-Level Experience: Candidates should have Board experience and a strong understanding of governance.
• Strong Communication Skills: Candidates should be skilled in communication and able to constructively challenge and scrutinise senior officials to ensure accountability and to support ATE’s executive.
• Change Leadership: Candidates should have experience of leading or supporting transformational change.
• Focus on Diversity and Inclusion: Candidates should be committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in all Board activities, ATE’s programme and ATE’s activities as an employer.
• Commitment to Strategic Vision: Candidates should be able to demonstrate their ability to support the strategic direction and objectives of organisations they have worked in. Ideally this would be a similar organisation to ATE, although this is not a requirement.

Desirable criteria

Additional Expertise:

In addition to the above essential criteria, whilst not essential to the role, we would be interested in hearing from candidates with a particular expertise in any of the following areas:

• Local government and planning - Proven technical expertise and experience in local government and planning, with strong knowledge of transport or infrastructure, local authority processes, funding, and multi-tier governance frameworks.
• Health - Clear understanding and experience of how active travel supports health outcomes, reduces inequalities, and aligns with NHS and local health priorities through system-wide collaboration.
• Stakeholder expertise - Demonstrated ability to build influential relationships and engage inclusively across complex stakeholder landscapes, including government, communities, and private and voluntary sectors. 

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:

• equality information
• information relating to any outside interests or reputational issues
• a Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• a supporting statement
• a short professional biography (150 words)

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.

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 assessment panel will be chaired by either Helen McGill or Richard Thomas (Deputy Directors Active Travel Policy) as DfT representatives, who job share. We will ensure the same DfT Representative for all sift meetings and interviews once dates are confirmed. The other panel members are Chris Boardman (Chair of ATE) and Daisy Narayanan (Director of Public Realm at The Crown Estate and Independent Panel 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 DfTPublicAppointments@dft.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

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

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

Please contact the DfT public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at DfTPublicAppointments@dft.gov.uk. They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond within 15 working days.

Data protection

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

The Department for Transport (DfT) is the joint controller, with the Cabinet Office, for any personal data which you provide to us as part of your application.

Information provided as part of this application will be kept securely within DfT and destroyed within 5 years of the conclusion of the recruitment campaign.

DfT uses this form to gather evidence on DfT’s public appointments.

The lawful basis that applies to this processing is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest to inform DfT’s recruitment policies in accordance with the Department’s public sector equality duties. For processing special category personal data (disability, religion, sexual orientation and ethnicity), we rely on Article 9(2)(g), reasons of substantial public interest (equality of opportunity and treatment).

Contact details

If you have any questions please contact DfTPublicAppointments@dft.gov.uk. 

Attachments

• Candidate Pack