We are looking to recruit an experienced senior leader with Board-level experience, to serve as Chair of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).
IPSA is the independent body that regulates and administers public funding in support of MPs’ parliamentary duties. It was set up by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, which provides that its Board should be made up of a Chair and four members. The Chair must not have been a Member of Parliament in the past five years.
IPSA’s statutory framework places the organisation at a sensitive constitutional intersection between Parliament, public trust, and independent regulation, making the role of Chair both uniquely demanding and uniquely important.
This is a part-time position, requiring approximately 2 days’ work per week, remunerated at a rate of £800 per day. Board members are expected to attend meetings of the Board in London once every two months and sub-committee meetings, as required. As Chair, you will have oversight of sub-committee membership.
This role is an opportunity to contribute personally to the future of our parliamentary democracy by influencing the future direction of IPSA and building public trust in Parliament and democracy by assuring the integrity, transparency, and effectiveness of IPSA’s strategic decision-making.
The key requirements of the post are a track record of operating at a senior leadership level in a complex organisation at board level, with a proven ability to set direction, ensure delivery, and engage stakeholders; an ability to work collaboratively and effectively with a senior non-executive team in a high-profile environment using persuasion and influence to further develop and improve board performance; and the skillset to support and hold to account an executive team.
This recruitment is being managed by an independent panel on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Commons, with the assistance of the executive search company, Saxton Bampfylde. The panel will submit a list of appointable candidates to the Speaker who will make the final selection, after consulting the Speaker’s Committee on the IPSA (SCIPSA). The recommended candidate will then be subject to approval by the House of Commons and to appointment by His Majesty the King.
The selection panel is committed to attracting a diverse range of candidates and would welcome applicants from all backgrounds, communities and regions of the United Kingdom, particularly from groups who are currently under-represented on the IPSA Board.
Welcome from the Speaker of the House of Commons
Thank you for your interest in the role of Chair of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).
IPSA was created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, as the world’s first fully independent regulator of MPs’ financial remuneration.
Today, it regulates and administers the business costs and determines the pay of the 650 elected MPs in the UK and administers the payroll of their 3,500 staff.
It has three principal aims: to resource and support MPs appropriately to carry out their parliamentary functions; to assure the public that MPs’ use of taxpayers’ money is well regulated; and to enable IPSA’s people to be a high-performing, professional team.
In recent years, IPSA has embarked on a programme of change, focusing on providing a higher-quality, more responsive service and a simpler regulatory framework which helps MPs, and their staff do their work, while commanding public confidence. Getting this right is crucial for a well-functioning Parliament and healthy democracy.
Under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, the IPSA Board has a Chair and four other members, some of whom are required to have particular professional backgrounds.
We are seeking an exceptional individual who will bring strategic leadership, professional expertise. sound judgment, and a deep commitment to public service. This is a pivotal role at a time of significant development for IPSA, and the Chair plays a central role in ensuring IPSA continues to operate with integrity, independence, and transparency, while maintaining public confidence in its work.
The Chair will lead the Board in shaping IPSA’s long-term vision, including on matters such as pay and pensions, corporate strategy, and organisational transformation, and will foster effective governance, while supporting the executive team to deliver lasting change. This is a demanding and high-profile appointment, offering a unique opportunity to contribute personally to the future of our democracy.
I hope that a diverse range of people with the right mix of experience, skills, and ambition will apply to take on this important role at this important phase of IPSA’s development.
Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, Speaker of the House of Commons
IPSA’s work is overseen by the
Speaker’s Committee for the IPSA (SCIPSA). SCIPSA has a responsibility to ensure that IPSA’s estimate is consistent with the efficient and cost-effective discharge of its functions.
The Committee has eleven members - the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Leader of the House of Commons, the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, the Chair of the Committee on Standards, three further MPs from the governing party, one MP from the third largest party, and three lay members. Lay members are defined as individuals who have never served as Members of Parliament; they each serve five-year terms, and their appointment is agreed by the House of Commons.
SCIPSA also considers the candidates proposed by the Speaker for the posts of IPSA’s Chair and Board members when vacancies arise, following an open competition. The candidates for these posts are then approved by the House of Commons and appointed by His Majesty The King.
The role of IPSA’s Board
The Board provides the strategic leadership of IPSA, safeguarding its independence, acting as an advocate for its values and delivering its objectives: meeting its statutory duties; helping to maintain confidence in Parliament; and providing efficient and cost-effective administration of services which meet the needs of taxpayers, MPs and their staff.
The Board ensures that IPSA exercises its statutory obligations, including:
- The review and setting of MPs’ salaries;
- The review and development of the MPs’ pensions scheme; and
- The operation and review of the Scheme of MPs’ business costs (‘the Scheme’).
The Board sets the strategic priorities for IPSA as an organisation ensuring it is efficient, cost-effective and fit-for-purpose and delivers its objectives. In doing so, the Board:
- Contributes to the development and articulation of IPSA’s vision, values, strategies and plans, and shares, champions and demonstrably lives the values;
- Sets the policy framework for MPs’ business costs;
- Oversees the development of, and approves, a Corporate Plan, Annual Report and Estimate of IPSA’s use of resources; and
- •Sets the risk appetite and approves the framework of internal controls in support of the achievement of IPSA’s strategic objectives.
The Board also:
- Reviews and approves the Scheme for MPs’ business costs and assesses and ensures compliance with Scheme rules;
- Determines the salaries to be paid to MPs, including mechanisms for review and up-rating of salaries;
- Scrutinises the performance of the organisation in meeting its objectives and holds the Executive to account for their delivery;
- Determines and reviews the procedures used by the Compliance Officer;
- Proposes and, from time to time, revises a Code of Conduct for members of IPSA’s Board; and
- Appoints and determines the terms and conditions of the Chief Executive.
- The Board meets normally once every two months, either in person at IPSA’s offices or occasionally via virtual meeting platforms, with notice given well in advance. The Board currently has three subcommittees: the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, the People Committee, and the Improving IPSA Assurance Group.
The respective remits of the subcommittees are detailed in the Board’s Standing Orders.