Jersey Appointments Commission - appointment of Commissioners

STATES OF JERSEY

JERSEY APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION: APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS

Presented to the States on 28th October 2022 by the Chief Minister

STATES GREFFE

2022  R.149

REPORT

THE  States  Assembly  are  notified  of  the  following  appointments  to  the  Jersey Appointments Commission.

1. In accordance with Article 18(1) of the employment of the States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, which is concerned with the appointment to the  Jersey  Appointments  Commission,  to  appoint  Bilaal  Shabbir  as  a Commissioner for a term of three years, expiring on 1st November 2025.
2. In accordance with Article 18(1) of the employment of the States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, which is concerned with the appointment to the Jersey Appointments Commission, to appoint Julia Therezien as a Commissioner for a term of three years, expiring on 1st November 2025.
3. In accordance with Article 18(1) of the employment of the States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, which is concerned with the appointment to the  Jersey  Appointments  Commission,  to  extend  Simon Nash  as  a Commissioner for a term of three years, expiring on 30th September 2025.

About the Jersey Appointments Commission

1. The function of the Jersey Appointments Commission is set out in Part 4, Article 23 of the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, and is to oversee the recruitment of States' employees or States' appointees so as to ensure that, as far as practicable:

· the recruitment is fair, efficient and conducted in accordance with best practice principles and procedures;

· appointments are made on merit;

· members  of  the  States  are  only  involved  in  the recruitment  of  States' employees  and  appointees  in  accordance  with  codes  of  practice  or guidelines.

2. The JAC has issued Recruitment Guidelines and other policy advice, which is available on the Internet.
3. An Annual Report is prepared each year and presented to the States Employment Board before being presented to the States Assembly by the Chief Minister.
4. The JAC consists of a Chairman and up to 5 Commissioners, appointed for a period of up to 9 years. The current membership  is as follows:

3

Selection of new Commissioners

Following the decision by two Commissioners to leave the Commission, the Jersey Appointments Commission has undertaken an open recruitment process to fill the two vacant positions.

Upon confirmation by the Commissioners that they wished to step down as members of the Commission a process was begun for the recruitment of two new Commissioners. The role was advertised in the job sections of gov.je, the Bailiwick Express and the Jersey Evening Post. An introductory video featuring a current commissioner was also produced as part of the campaign. 7 applications were received, and 3 candidates were shortlisted and interviewed by a panel that included Dame Janet Paraskeva, Helen Ruelle and David Crossland.

Following the interviews, the unanimous decision of the panel was to offer the role to Julia Therezien and Bilaal Shabbir.

Appointment of Julia Therezien as Commissioner for a three year term

Ms. Therezien has a record of significant achievement in her varied and interesting career history, and a wide range of skills. She has experience of working in both the Education and Health spheres through her dual careers as teacher and physiotherapist. Her most recent role being the Head of English, Media and Film at Beaulieu convent School.

Julia's  strengths  include  a  high  standard  of  written  and  verbal  communication, significant experience in high quality classroom teaching, and strategic thinking by applying  a  solutions  focused  approach  to  any  obstacles  that  are  unavoidably encountered in the running of any large and multi-faceted department. The criterion she feels most passionate about is that of integrity, impartiality and commitment to fairness.

Appointment of Bilaal Shabbir as Commissioner for a three year term

Bilaal has a legal background and is currently an Associate within the Insurance, Financial and Professional Disputes (IFPD) team in the international law Firm Clyde & Co LLP.

Bilaal has considerable experience of litigating and has won several awards including Paralegal of the Year at the Scott ish Legal Awards 2018 where he was selected for delivering "a variety of work beyond expectation" and the Highly Commended Winner of Young Achiever of the Year' at the Scott ish Asian and Business Awards 2019. He also won "Immigration Lawyer of the Year" at the Acquisition International awards in 2020.

Bilaal is an active member of the Scott ish Ethnic Minorities Lawyers Association, an organisation which has the aim of increasing access into and progression within the legal profession for all talented lawyers and students, regardless of background.

Bilaal is excited to play his part in ensuring and upholding fairness, diversity and integrity in the recruitment process. He is a strong advocate for ensuring that modes of recruitment are fair, transparent and all candidates have an equal opportunity to partake.

R.149/2022

Extension of Simon Nash as Commissioner for a three year term

Simon Nash has been a commissioner since his original appointment on 1st October 2019. This appointment was lodged with the States Assembly under R.110/2019. His initial term came to an end on the 30th September, and with the approval of the SEB and  States  Assembly,  wishes  to  extend  his  tenure  by  another  3  years  until  30th September 2025.