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North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) - Non Executive Director (NED)
Contents
Summary
- Organisation
- Oil and Gas Authority (North Sea Transition Authority)
- Sponsor department
- Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
- Location
- Scotland
- Sectors
- Energy
- Skills
- Communication, Regulation
- Number of vacancies
- 2
- Time commitment
- 25 day(s) per annum
- Remuneration
- £25,000 per annum
- Length of term
- 3 years
- Application deadline
- 11:59pm on 10 December 2025
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Timeline for this appointment
-
Opening date
17 November 2025
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Application deadline
11:59pm on 10 December 2025
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Sifting date
24 December 2025
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Interviews expected to end on
31 January 2026
Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change
About the appointment
Appointment description
Role Specification
The Board of the NSTA plays a key role in ensuring that the NSTA achieves its purpose through effective oversight, approval of strategy, and provision of guidance and advice. The Board must promote the highest standards of corporate governance. Non-Executive Directors must use their communication and interpersonal skills and intellectual rigour to bring constructive challenge and support to both Board colleagues and executives.
All members of the Board are expected to:
- Assist in ensuring that the statutory, risk management and corporate governance requirements which the NSTA has as a public body are fully met.
- Provide insight, challenge, support and advice on strategic matters shaping both the NSTA and the industry at large, drawing on prior experience and knowledge.
- Attend, be fully prepared for and contribute to the Board, designated Board Committees and extraordinary or ad hoc meetings as required.
- Review, assess and support the performance of the NSTA’s executive team.
- Proactively engage internally with NSTA colleagues to build two-way understanding of day to day challenges and Board activity.
- Where appropriate, engage with Ministers and senior industry stakeholders to provide challenge on key questions affecting the remit and work of the NSTA.
Person specification
Board Members are required to have:
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and an ability to build effective relationships, including with senior representatives within government and industry.
- A strong track record of professional experience.
- The ability to demonstrate personal gravitas and strategic thinking.
- Have a clear understanding of the role and function of public bodies.
- A broad understanding of the wider energy industry context, energy transition and drive towards net zero.
- Experience of operating at a senior level.
- Ability to contribute effectively in a strategic manner.
- Experience of delivering, leading and innovating.
- A personal alignment with the NSTA's Core Values, and a demonstrable courage and personal independence, with evidence of both ability and willingness to be robust.
- A commitment to inclusion and diversity both internally as part of the NSTA’s commitment to our Core Values, but also promoting best practice within industry.
Organisation description
About The North Sea Transition Authority
The role of the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) is to regulate and influence the oil and gas, offshore hydrogen, and carbon storage industries. The NSTA helps drive the North Sea energy transition, realising the significant potential of the UK Continental Shelf as a critical energy and carbon abatement resource. It holds industry to account on reducing emissions.
The NSTA supports the UK’s drive to net zero by accelerating the energy transition - through the integration and growth of the carbon storage and hydrogen sectors - and by working with operators to reduce emissions from oil and gas production.
The organisation is at the start of an exciting new chapter focused on the vital energy transition, which integrates the North Sea’s carbon capture, hydrogen, wind, and oil and gas resources. The climate crisis demands that the transition happens at pace and, if successful, this chapter can be the best and cleanest yet.
The NSTA remains at the forefront of the transition. It has recently awarded the UK’s first permits for carbon storage, kickstarting a multibillion-pound industry poised to create tens of thousands of jobs and drive the UK towards net zero. For many years, reaching this milestone was an ambition. By collaborating with industry, government, and other regulators, the NSTA has helped turn that ambition into reality. It is determined to propel many more carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects forward in the coming years.
Oil and gas will continue to form part of the UK’s energy mix for decades during the transition, and domestic production can - and must - keep getting cleaner. The UK’s world-class supply chain, with its record of solving some of the most complex engineering challenges on earth, will be central to delivering decarbonised production and the CCS, hydrogen, and floating wind projects needed across the country.
The NSTA works closely with, but has operational independence from, its sponsor department - the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). It also maintains strong relationships with the Scottish Government and a wide range of departments, agencies, and arms-length bodies. The NSTA Board is accountable for decisions relating to, and for approving work connected with, the UK’s exploration and production licensing regime, and for ensuring that the appropriate governance and controls are in place for the organisation to achieve its objectives. The NSTA is largely funded by an industry levy and is headquartered in Aberdeen, with an office in London.
Board composition
Liz Ditchburn, Chair
Iain Lanaghan, Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee
Malcolm Brown, Non-Executive Director
Sarah Deasley, Non-Executive Director
Sara Vaughan, Non-Executive Director
Vicky Dawe, Secretary of State’s Representative
Stuart Payne, Chief Executive
Nic Granger, Chief Financial Officer
Russell Richardson, Company Secretary
Person specification
Essential criteria
The NSTA is looking for candidates with a range of experience. Across the two or three appointments, it is looking for candidates with experience in one or more of the following:
- Carbon capture and storage or hydrogen industry experience from either a policy, academic, technology or industry perspective or relevant supply chain.
- Oil and gas industry or relevant supply chain experience
- Economics and analysis.
- Business financing, ideally including oil and gas, infrastructure or complex project financing.
- Regulation/regulatory body.
Application and selection 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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
TBC
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.
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)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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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;
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).
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.
In the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application, please contact enquiries@nurole.com. They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond within 15 working days.
The Cabinet Office will use your data in line with our privacy policy.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's privacy policy can be found here.
Nurole's privacy policy can be found here.
For any queries about the role please contact: enquiries@nurole.com