Jersey Appointments Commission Annual Report 2023

THE JERSEY APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION

Annual Report 2023

R.100/2024

Contents

Contents ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Chair's Report .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Performance Report ............................................................................................................................... 4

1. Statement of Purpose ............................................................................................................ 5
2. Activity Report ........................................................................................................................ 5
3. Delivery Performance ........................................................................................................... 6
4. Risk Log ..................................................................................................................................... 8
5. Engagement Activities.........................................................................................................10
6. FOI Requests ..........................................................................................................................10
7. Diversity & Inclusion ...........................................................................................................10
8. Succession Planning ............................................................................................................11
9. Concerns of the Commission .............................................................................................11 Other Areas of Concern remain as below: ...................................................................................12

Accountability Report ......................................................................................................................... 13

1. Governance structure of the Commission .....................................................................14
2. Statement of Responsibility ..............................................................................................14
3. Composition of the Commission.......................................................................................15
4. Jersey Appointments Commission Recruitment..........................................................15
5. Staff Remuneration ..............................................................................................................15
6. Conflicts of Interest Declaration ......................................................................................15
7. Data Protection Concerns ..................................................................................................15

Appendices ............................................................................................................................................. 16

1. Appendix I - Commissioner biographies........................................................................17
2. Appendix II Government of Jersey appointments overseen by the JAC ................19
3. Appendix III Other recruitment overseen by the JAC.................................................22
4. Appendix IV – Definitions ..................................................................................................23

Chair's Report

I took up my appointment as Chair of the JAC on 1st October 2022 and 2023 has been my first full year as Chair, I remain, with my fellow Commissioners, dedicated to build upon the positive work of previous Chairs and to continue to lead the evolution of the Commission. I also wish to ensure that the best appointments are made within a positive culture of inclusion and diversity, with an emphasis on giving communities in the island the opportunity to compete and be selected for senior roles within the civil and wider public service.

I am grateful for the support of my fellow Commissioners; Helen Ruelle, who also has taken on the role of Deputy Chair for which I am most appreciative, Simon Nash, Kate Wright and Julia Therezien. The Commission had a fifth Commissioner in 2023 – Bilaal Shabbir - who resigned in July 2023. The Commission acknowledges his service and is grateful for his contribution.

Thanks, are especially due to the current HR Governance team led during the year by Lucy Mumford and Natalie Williams. Our admin and day to day support has been provided by Edmond Webbe, Kirsten Le Cornu and most recently Donna Davidson who ensure that the Commission  functions  effectively  and  with  the  minimum  of  fuss,  without  the  steadfast administrative support and guidance of the team, our work could not have taken place. The JAC also has the continued support of Lesley Darwin who has recently been appointed Chief People Officer, and previously Mark Grimley, the former Chief People & Transformation Officer who we wish well for the future. The Commission congratulates Lesley on her promotion, and we look forward to working closely with her in the years to come.

As Chair, I want to acknowledge the contribution of Neil Wiseman, Executive Resourcing, who has recently left the Government service. He has been very helpful to the Commission during his tenure, and we wish him well in the future, thanks must also go to Andrea Robinson, Resourcing Consultant, whose assistance has been, and will continue to be, invaluable this year.

To conclude, 2023 was a year in which the emphasis was on laying the groundwork for the continuing evolution of the Commission and its contribution to public service. In 2024, we will launch our website, introduce our revised guidelines, complete an audit programme aligned with the CAG's recruitment review, and develop our tool kits in Portuguese, Polish and Romanian to encourage an increased engagement within our communities.

Mr Chris Stephenson Chair

Performance Report

1. Statement of Purpose

The Jersey Appointments Commission will, in 2024, be accountable for the delivery of the following key accountabilities:

1. To support and advise in the recruitment of key roles within the Public Service and associated organisations. To ensure equity, equality, transparency and effectiveness in the recruitment and selection process and outcomes.
2. Undertake and conduct audits of recruitment practice in the civil service and within associated organisations as requested by the Shareholder Executive. We endeavour to conduct up to 6 audits in the reporting period.
3. The  Commission  will  continue  in  developing  and  implementing  an  outreach programme over to engage with all communities on the island to enhance inclusion, diversity and the opportunity for new talent to participate in our island's growth and development.
4. The Commission is reviewing and revising its guidelines with a view to consulting with its stakeholders to ensure that they reflect modern recruitment practice.
5. The Commission will support the Delivery & Improvement teams in their recruiting work as required.

Key Performance Indicators

The Commission has Key Performance metrics against which the Commission can quantify its own performance. You can find below a brief outline of the proposed metrics as well as a baseline figure which will act as the target for 2024. The Annual Report going forwards will include details of the Commission's performance against these metrics and analysis of the factors impacting against the Commission's ability to meet these targets.

*Baseline agreed during 2023.

** 6 audits to be carried out in 2024

2. Activity Report

During the reporting period, the Commission assisted in the completion of 48 recruitment assignments. This was spread across 26 recruitments within the Government of Jersey with a further 22 assignments within Arms-Length Organisations. This represented a 50% increase compared to 2023.

A full list of recruitment cases can be found in Appendix II and III. However, it is worth highlighting two key assignments in 2023:

- Interim CEO Government of Jersey. Two Commissioners participated in the successful selection and appointment of the interim CEO.

- Recruitment of the Shadow Board for HCS. The Commission chaired the process of recruitment and selection of the Chair and  NEDs. Whilst this was a challenging assignment the Commission is pleased with the appointment of the high-quality Board which it is sure will prove helpful to HCS going forward.

3. Delivery Performance

It has been noted in this report that the individual Commissioners are working over and above the 12-15 days which they are contracted for. This reflects the heavy workload that has been carried out during the year.

Ongoing administrative support continues to be provided by the Governance & Strategy team within People & Corporate Services. This includes:

• Secretariat support in the running of the Commission's regular meetings;

• Management of correspondence relating to new assignments;

• Liaising with the Commission to ensure that items are assigned to a Commissioner in a timely manner; and

• Ad-hoc requests for admin support from the Chair of the Commission and its members.

This relationship has worked well over the reporting period, and we expect this arrangement to continue for the foreseeable future. The Commission remains comfortable with the level of support  being  provided  and  maintains  a  strong  working  relationship  with  those  key stakeholders within P&CS. This ensures that any changes to the arrangement or new areas of required assistance are discussed openly, and the needs of the Commission are met in a way that does not place undue pressure on the supporting resources.

As reported last year, it was our aim to provide official Jersey Appointment Commission IT accounts  and  associated  email  addresses.  This  has  now  been  completed  with  all Commissioners having their own @jac email address. This is supported by a central Jersey Appointments Commission mailbox which is currently overseen by the GoJ support team within People & Corporate Services who provide administrative resource to the Commission.

This will allow the Commission to make better use of IT functionality within the Microsoft Office suite of software for improved collaboration on documentation. It will also ensure a more robust archiving process for documentation produced during the fulfilment of the Commission's activities, to fulfill the obligations within applicable Data Protection legislation and ensure data integrity. Development of this work will continue during 2024.

Work has begun on building a JAC website which is planned to launch in June 2024. The purpose  of  the  website,  which  will  be  under  continuous  development,  is  to  provide independent access to a range of toolkits to support wider access to public service roles on the island, both within the government service and within the wide range of public bodies that underpin community and island life. This will ensure the widest possible access for the island's diverse communities

The Commission remains keen to ensure that modern recruitment methods are used by the organisations it regulates. During 2023 work started on the revision of our guidelines. This will continue in 2024 when we will put them out for consultation prior to implementation.

4. Risk Log

This section provides details of the JAC Risk Log for areas which may impact the ability for the Commission to carry out its designated activities. During 2024 the Commission will consider how to develop the log to be more informative and effective, for example, using a RAG rating.

5. Engagement Activities

The Commission continues to make itself available for discussions with all parties who can support it in its mission to improve the opportunities for a diverse recruitment pool for public vacancies. It is a continuing source of concern to the Commission that selection processes do not produce both the breadth of diversity and the depth of quality within the island. The Commission will continue to encourage recruitment activity to consider local candidates from all parts of the community. But it will not vary from the core mission that the best candidates should be selected. Recruitment partners should ensure that they do not set unrealistic job characteristics when engaged in recruitment campaigns in such a way as to exclude local candidates.  

6. FOI Requests

There were no FOI requests during the year that were in relation to the JAC.

7. Diversity & Inclusion

It is core to the Commission's purpose to support and ensure that all recruitment to bodies within its scope make certain that their recruitment covers all the protected characteristics enshrined in the Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013. The Commission continues to encourage all its recruitment partners to improve the quality and depth of their recruitment and selection statistics.

There has been some recent learning for attraction methods. For example, last year Andium dramatically increased the number and diversity of local applicants to its Tenant Director role through a much more innovative advertising campaign (more attractive, accessible advertising, including radio). Previously the candidate pool had been so small that we had been forced to go back to the drawing board.

The App that Jersey Water and Jersey Sport have used (instead of a recruitment firm) has also been helpful in supporting D&I.

The Commission feels that the collection of data by recruiting bodies on the protected characteristics of candidates is key in understanding the true scope of recruitment outreach and targeting of their roles.

• All panel members should ensure they are provided with the appropriate training on how to act as a panel member. Insufficient training in effective and diverse attraction and selection remains a concern throughout out our work.

• The Commission's view is that actively addressing under-representation of local minority communities should be a priority for the public sector in its diversity and inclusion strategies, especially given the significant skills shortages and focus on the inclusion of local talent in recruitment and selection processes. We are aware that Government is reviewing its Recruitment Policy and Framework but are concerned that it is taking longer than it might and encourage more capacity to be applied to what should be a significant revision to align with modern practice.

8. Succession Planning

It is key to the Commission's work that effective succession planning underpins recruitment in the  public  service  and  its  associated  organisations.  Succession  Planning  is  not  about automatically promoting the internal candidate to the role. It is about ensuring that internal candidates have been provided with the opportunity, skills, and knowledge to compete on a level playing field with external candidates to ensure the best possible selection pool is created thereby ensuring high quality appointments are made. The Commission will continue to encourage and influence its stakeholders to that effect.

9. Concerns of the Commission

The Commission, through its work in 2023, identified areas of concern which it highlights below:

• The Commission would encourage public service recruitment processes to be aligned with  modern  recruitment  practices.  In  particular,  the  Commission  encourages utilisation  of  high-quality  software  applications  for  reviewing  CVs,  well-regulated psychometric testing and training in panel interviewing, the purpose of which would be to reduce the risk of bias contaminating the selection process.

• The Commission notes that significant challenges remain in the attraction and securing of candidates who are required to relocate to the island. The cost and availability of accommodation and property in Jersey is also a significant barrier for many overseas candidates.  The  Government  of  Jersey  has  in  place  a  substantial  support  and relocation package in place for all off-island appointments, but evidence is being shared to suggest that some candidates see the cost of living in Jersey as a negative factor, which outweighs the increased remuneration and quality of life.  

• On  occasions  there  still  seems  to  misunderstandings  of  the  Commission's  role especially amongst Arm's Length bodies. During the year we have had to advise that we do not review appointments processes where we have not been involved so that they may be seen as legitimate. We have had to remind partners that it is important they maintain the recruitment process and interview records so they can be audited if necessary. Indeed, we had to remind government that appointments cannot be made in key roles without Commission oversight. The Commission did raise the matter with the previous CEO and received assurances it will not be repeated.  

• The Commission has seen an increased desire for political involvement in some selection decisions especially regarding the HCS Board. The Commission is clear that it presents the best and most appointable candidates from the process undertaken. It is a ministerial prerogative to decline a recommendation but in doing so it may extend the process and have some negative implications for future recruitment exercises.  

Other Areas of Concern remain as below:

12

Accountability Report

1. Governance structure of the Commission

The Jersey Appointments Commission is constituted by the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005 and consists of up to 6 members, a designated Chair and no more than 5 further Commissioners. All appointments to the Commission are subject to confirmation by the States Employment Board and Chief Minister with final appointments confirmed by the States Assembly in line with the States of Jersey (Appointment Procedures) (Jersey) Law 2018.

Meetings are to be held at least 4 times each year. In 2023 8 meetings of the Commission were held. In 2024, it is envisaged that we will also hold 8 meetings which are held on a 6- week schedule.

2. Statement of Responsibility

As the independent regulator of recruitment for Government employees, appointees and senior members of independent bodies, the Commission's role is to ensure that recruitment is conducted in accordance with the requirements of legislation. The Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005 outlines the following functions and duties of the Commission:

• Ensure  recruitment  of  persons  as States employees  is  fair,  efficient  and conducted in accordance with best practice.

• Advise  on  the  preparation  of  codes  of  practice  for  recruitment  of  states employees.

• Provide guidelines for the recruitment of states appointees.

• Audit recruitment practices of government bodies.

• Oversee the recruitment of senior states officers.

• Provision of annual reporting/reporting to SEB

A Commissioner is appointed as Chair of the recruitment panel to oversee the recruitment process from start to finish and certify the outcome.

As  well  as  its  statutory  responsibilities,  the  Commission  will  also  provide  oversight  of recruitment for roles where there is public interest in ensuring a fair and proper recruitment process is carried out.

3. Composition of the Commission

As at the publication of this report the composition of the Jersey Appointments Commission is as shown below:

*Due to resignation

4. Jersey Appointments Commission Recruitment

Whilst  we  did  have  one  Commissioner  leave  during  2023,  it  was  decided  that  it  was unnecessary to appoint a replacement at that time. We will however consider the workload of the Commissioners this year and may well look to recruit during Q2/Q3 2024.

During the JAC Meeting held in September, Helen Ruelle agreed to take on the role of Deputy Chair which effectively provides the Governance support team a contact in the absence of the Chair.

5. Staff Remuneration

A review of the remuneration of Commissioners took place during 2023.It was agreed by SEB that since Commissioners had not received a fee increase since 2011, it would be increased to £8,000 per annum. The Chair also agreed a revised fee of £30,000, which was a reduction from  the previous  Chair's  remuneration  to  ensure  there  was no  overall  change  to  the Commissions budget.  

6. Conflicts of Interest Declaration

As part of the regular meetings of the Commission a standing item is in place to allow Commissioners to announce any potential conflicts of interest in relation to recruitment cases being handled by the Commission. Any conflicts noted would be considered when assigning a commissioner to a recruitment case.  

7. Data Protection Concerns

The Jersey Appointments Commission can confirm that there have been no data protection concerns or incidents requiring reporting to the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner. The Commission is currently in the process of applying for the status of Data Controller with the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner.  

Appendices

1. Appendix I - Commissioner biographies

Christopher Stephenson (Chair)

Chris Stephenson is an experienced Human Resources professional, with several years. at a senior management and Director level in both the private and public sector in the UK and Jersey. His career has spanned several business industries, including. manufacturing, financial and professional services, the tech sector and start-ups.

He has previously been a Non-Executive Director, and owned and managed his own. management and consultancy business. His most recent appointment was CPO at Sensyne Health, an AIM listed public company, reporting directly to the CEO/Founder, as part of the senior leadership team.

He has extensive experience in the public sector, having worked for the Ministry of Justice at senior civil service level, local Government, the London Borough

of Tower Hamlets, and the NHS in the acute and primary care sectors.

He has also spent 7 years with the Government of Jersey as Director of Employment Relations and Organisational Development and was advisor to the States Employment Board.

Helen Ruelle ( Deputy Chair)

Helen is a highly regarded, high profile Jersey Advocate with extensive experience gained predominantly in Jersey but prior to that, in the UK. She is currently Director of Local Legal Services at Ogier, and she has held senior positions at Mourant. Her main areas of legal specialism are employment, discrimination, immigration, data protection and regulatory work.

Helen  also holds the  role  of  Chair  of  Jersey Employment  Trust and trustee  of  Jersey Community Foundation. She was previously Chair of the Employment Forum, and Chair of Jersey Community Relations Trust.

In 2023, Helen won the Institute of Directors Jersey Award for Non-Executive Director of the Year and was awarded silver in the Woman of the Year - Jersey by Citywealth Powerwomen Awards. Helen was re-appointed to the JAC on 29th April 2022 for a term that runs until 29th April 2025.

Simon Nash (Commissioner)

Simon Nash is an experienced leader, speaker and writer in business ethics, strategic HR and organisational culture. He works with governments, professional services firms and local businesses to help their leaders use their power wisely for good.

In his corporate career Simon led the HR function of a global offshore professional services firm and won many international awards, including Global HRD Awards, HR in Law Awards, CIPD  Awards,  The  Lawyer'  HR  Awards and Human  Resources magazine's  "HR  Most Influential list".

Simon is part of the Insight Group, which delivers business ethics consulting alongside PSF advisory, local HR outsourcing, leadership development, board evaluation, coaching and sustainability transformation.

In addition, Nash is a published author of business books and a regular conference speaker on the themes of Great Ideas about People that Work. Simon is a member of the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal.

Katherine (Kate) Wright (Commissioner)

Kate has extensive experience as an HR practitioner and consultant in the UK and Jersey.

Progressing through the HR and Learning and Development functions at Ernst & Young, she became the UK firm's first diversity manager before moving to Lloyd's of London and taking up a position as Head of Human Resources Business Partnering. She also chaired the Corporation's Diversity Steering Group.

Kate is founding Director at HR Consultancy Arbre Coaching & Consulting Ltd, which she established in 2008 in Jersey, and Co-Founder of The Diversity Network.

Kate is Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Jersey Community Relations Trust and sits on the Adult Advisory Board of the Office of the Children's Commissioner. She is also Chair of the Violence Against Women & Girls Taskforce, Jersey.

Julia Therezien (Commissioner)

Julia 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 criteria she feels most passionate about are those of integrity, impartiality, and commitment to fairness.

Julia is a member of the Independent Prison Monitoring Board and carries out duties as an Appropriate Adult.  

2. Appendix II Government of Jersey appointments overseen by the JAC

*Int'l = non-Jersey residents or residents without 5 years residency

3. Appendix III Other recruitment overseen by the JAC

*By invitation

4. Appendix IV – Definitions Substantiated

This term is used to describe a role or person that is established within an organisation's structure. Expressions sometimes used include recruit into a substantiated role/position'.

Interim

The term Interim or Interim worker describes a person that is engaged on a contract to provide professional/subject matter expertise on a project or programme or would temporarily cover a Substantiated post' while a recruitment exercise is completed. It is normal that the contract between the interim worker and the organisation has a statement of work' which include specific outputs and outcomes that the Interim is contractually committed to deliver.

The Government of Jersey does not class interim workers as employees, and they are not paid through the organisation's payroll. They are responsible for managing their own tax affairs and have no employment rights with the organisation they are contracted to.

Consultant

The term consultant is used to describe an organisation or company that are engaged to provide professional consulting services. The company is normally engaged for a specific service or to provide advice or consultancy to a client and are normally engaged on a total fee or number of days to complete the consultancy.

Examples would include engaging consultancy services from a professional services firm or specialist consultancy who may for example provide consulting services on a new flood defence project. The term consultant should not be confused with the term Interim/Interim worker.

Contract for Service

Contracts for services are predominately used for the contractual arrangements of Interim/Interim workers where the Interim is contracting with the end client (for example GoJ). This is a direct contract between the organisation and the Interim's limited company.

Additionally, contracts for services are used where an Interim is engaged through a third-party recruitment agency. In these instances, the Interim is contracted to the agency and the agency is contracted to the end client or organisation.

In all instances Professional indemnity and Employer Liability insurance are required.

Professional Services contract

A professional services contract is used where an organisation is procuring consultancy or goods from an organisation. Examples would include services from a professional services firm

Short-term/Fixed Term appointment/Acting up

Short-term, Fixed Term and Acting up appointments occurs when the role is occupied on a temporary basis pending an appointment to the substantive position. Employees engaged on one of these contracts are employed on an organisation's payroll. In some fixed term appointments, the substantive role may be time limited for a period of 12- 24 months where the initial recruitment process would have full oversight by the JAC. All requests for senior roles in these three categories are considered by the JAC.

Recruitment

Recruitment refers to the overall process of attracting, shortlisting, selecting and appointing suitable candidates for jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organisation. Recruitment can also refer to processes involved in choosing.