Jersey Appointments Commission: Annual Report 2018

STATES OF JERSEY

JERSEY APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION: ANNUAL REPORT 2018

Presented to the States on 12th March 2019 by the Chief Minister

STATES GREFFE

2019  R.23

Annual Report  

2018

1. Introduction

1. This is my fifth report as Chair of the Jersey Appointments Commission (JAC) covering the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018.
2. The terms of reference for the JAC are set out in the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005 ("the Law"). It is the duty of the JAC to oversee the recruitment of certain States employees, appointees and members of independent bodies to ensure that as far as practicable:

1. the recruitment of persons as States employees, appointees or members of independent bodies is fair, efficient and conducted in accordance with best practice principles and procedures;
2. States employees, appointees and members of independent bodies are appointed on merit;
3. Members of the States are only involved in the recruitment of States employees, appointees and members of independent bodies in accordance with guidelines made under Article 24 of the Law or other circumstances where, in the opinion of the Commission, it is appropriate that they be involved.

3. Under the Law, the JAC is required to make a report to the States Assembly by the end of the first quarter of each year, and this report has been presented to the States Employment Board before being presented to the Assembly.

2. The role of the JAC in the Appointment Process

1. The role of the JAC Commissioner is set out in the Guidelines, which were last updated in June 2018, and is to oversee each step of the appointment process including:

• Development of the person specification criteria;
• Development of advertising and executive search strategy;
• Selection panel membership;
• Participation in long- and short-listing of candidates;
• Development of content of interview and assessment material;
• Chairing the selection panel for the long- and short-listing of candidates and during candidate interviews.

2. The JAC Commissioner chairs the panel but does not score, vote or otherwise engage in the assessment of candidates during the appointment process.
3. An exception to this was in the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer of the States of Jersey where the JAC moves from the role of providing oversight to that of the appointments panel. I covered this in my 2017 annual report where I described the process followed to appoint Charlie Parker, who took up his role formally in January 2018. The only other exceptions are at the request of the Bailiff in the appointment of senior crown roles and in the appointment of the Lieutenant Governor.

3. Commissioners

1. The Commissioners in post during the year were as follows:

• Dame Janet Paraskeva, DBE. Dame Janet has been Chair of the JAC since September 2014. She was previously the First Civil Service Commissioner in the UK and has held a range of other senior posts including six years as Chief Executive of the Law Society of England and Wales. During the year Dame Janet was reappointed as Chair for a further three years to 23 September 2021.
• Professor Ed Sallis, OBE. Ed held senior leadership roles in colleges in the UK, before moving to Jersey to become the Principal of Highlands College. He is Chair of Jersey Heritage and works as an education consultant in the UK. Ed is a member of the Committee of Management of the Public Employees' Pension Scheme where he represents Admitted Bodies. Ed's term of office is due to finish on 31 October 2019 at which point he will have served as a Commissioner for 6 years and 9 months.
• Louise Read. Louise has an accountancy background and is currently a Director and Secretary to the Board of the Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities. Louise is a member of the States Members' Remuneration Review Board, the advisory panel that makes recommendations to the States, through the Privileges and Procedures Committee, on any matters relating to the remuneration and expenses of elected members and a governor of Jersey College for Girls. Louise is a fellow of the ICAEW and a Chartered Director. Louise was appointed as a Commissioner in May 2015 for a term that runs to 30 April 2019.
• Gailina Liew. Gailina is a lawyer, professional director and former listed company executive. Gailina currently serves as an independent non-executive board director of an LSE-listed investment trust, Digital Jersey and the Data Protection Authority. She also serves as executive director of the Jersey Policy Forum, is a board trustee of the Shelter Trust and ArtHouse Jersey, and an invited governor of Hautlieu School. Gailina was appointed to the JAC in December 2015 and served as Vice Chair to the completion of her term on 1 December 2018.
• Jennifer Carnegie. Jennifer is a senior director with experience in the development and management of talent across diverse geographies, cultures and businesses. She is currently a director and co-founder of Amicus Limited, a strategic leadership consultancy. She was previously the Chief People Officer for Digicel, a global telecommunications and entertainment provider and a director for Mars, Incorporated worldwide. She is a non-executive director of Jersey Business and is a co-opted board member of the Channel Islands Cooperative Society. Jennifer was appointed to the JAC on 18 January 2018 for a term that runs until 31 January 2022.
• Peter Charalambous. Peter is an experienced financial services director with in- depth involvement in global financial services. He was a JFSC Registered Principal/Key person for Banking and Investment Funds and is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Securities Institute and a member of the IOD. He was an Executive Director with UBS AG and held Executive roles with HSBC. He is a Consultant with BDO Greenlight and is an NED for Integritas Wealth Partners. Peter is a lay member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and was appointed to the JAC on 18 January 2018 for a term that runs until 31 January 2022.

2. Recruitment took place during the year for the appointment of a Commissioner to replace Gailina Liew. Recruitment has been successfully completed and a recommended candidate has been put forward.
   3. Our thanks goto Jane Pollard who has provided significant executive support to the Commission and to Louise Ferns who provided secretarial support. It has been an exceptionally busy year and I am grateful for the support provided on top of existing workloads. Discussions about the resourcing of the JAC have still not concluded and this is expanded in section 12.8 below.
3. We also thank Neil Wiseman, Head of Resourcing, who has worked effectively to support the recruitment to enable implementation of the Target Operating Model (TOM) within the States of Jersey during the year.

4. Work during the year

1. During the year the JAC oversaw 68 appointments, of which 57 were within the States of Jersey and 11 related to independent bodies. The details of these roles are set out in appendices 3 and 4.
2. Overall, we found that recruitment was handled well. There was some concern over securing a gender balance on recruitment panels, but this is a matter which is now being given attention, as is the period of notice given to Commissioners for their involvement in an appointment.

5. States of Jersey Senior Posts

1. Following publication of the new Target Operating Model (TOM) for the States of Jersey in March 2018, the process for selection of a recruitment/resourcing partner was approved by the JAC. Because the specialist services required were not available within the States of Jersey a formal tender process was conducted to secure a resourcing partner to deliver:

• A full senior/executive recruitment search capability across Jersey, the UK, Europe and Internationally;
• Testing, assessment and psychometric services as part of the recruitment of the senior appointments; and
• Career transition services for senior staff and the 'Outplacement' service and aftercare of those individuals who were unfortunate enough not to find a role internally.

2. A particular feature was that the successful partner should have a commitment to on- island search as part of the process. Following a competitive tendering process, the contract was awarded to Penna who demonstrated a clear understanding of the local context. Thomas and Dessain Limited was also engaged to support Penna locally on a number of occasions.
3. Following the appointment of Penna, planning sessions took place to outline the strategic components for the resourcing, assessment and design of a full end-to-end process for all senior posts.

4. This began with decisions on which posts allowed an existing staff member to be slotted' into a new role (where there was an 80% match to their current role) whether a post should be ring fenced (where there was a 60% match) or whether an open recruitment process would be needed. Where a post was ring fenced, candidates completed the formal psychometric and leadership assessments agreed for all senior roles and took part in a formal interview with a full recruitment panel to assess their suitability for the role, whether or not there was competition.
5. Where a post was identified for open recruitment, all roles were advertised locally and internationally. An executive search campaign was undertaken to identify suitable candidates both on and off island and a long listing process established for the panel to review suitably qualified candidates.
6. Initial technical interviews were undertaken for all candidates from the long list. A short listing process allowed the panel to review and agree which candidates should be taken forward for assessment.
7. Psychometric tests were then undertaken by shortlisted candidates including personality profiling, the identification of ability to cope under stress, tests of strategic and tactical thinking, leadership and planning. For the most senior posts, a media test was also included and a children and young people's panel was involved in the appointment of the Director General for Children, Young People, Education and Skills. Information from all of these activities was made available to the final interview panel.
8. Recruitment panels were established in accordance with JAC guidelines. The guidelines set out that for all roles where

• the post holder reports directly to a Minister;
• the post holder reports to a Director General; and
• all posts which command a salary that requires approval by the States Employment Board (currently £100,000 and over)

that a commissioner chairs and overseas the full recruitment and selection process to ensure a fair, open and transparent process is followed. Each final panel needs to include at least three voting members.

9. Panel membership for all Tier 1 and Tier 2 roles included

• JAC Commissioner
• Chief Executive Officer and Head of the Public Service
• Hiring Manager (Tier two posts)
• Technical Assessor
• An independent representative of leading business organisations within Jersey

10. The JAC oversaw the process in all cases to ensure that the recruitment proceeded in accordance with the JAC Guidelines.
11. Observations and findings about the process

1. The JAC was concerned about the low numbers of local candidates applying and being shortlisted for some of the roles, particularly those in the finance area. The JAC believes it is important for the SoJ to obtain more data to understand better why there is a dearth of local candidates.

2. In a number of cases applicants were known to panel members, sometimes within Jersey or by association in previous roles. This information was declared and recorded in all cases.
3. Of the eight Tier 1 posts, four have been filled by entitled status Jersey residents (through slotting or ring-fenced arrangements). Of the four posts which were subject to open competition, one post was awarded to a licensed status individual who had been living in Jersey for one year and three posts to non-residents.
4. Of the thirty-two Tier 2 posts (posts which report to a Director General), eighteen roles were subject to open competition. Of these, eight roles have been filled on a permanent basis by non-residents, one role has been filled on a permanent basis by an individual with entitled status. The remaining nine roles are currently at recruitment stage with two being covered by employees on Fixed Term Contracts. The remaining fourteen posts were filled by Slotted' and Ring Fenced candidates' all of whom are Jersey residents with entitled or licenced status.

12. Detailed statistics on applications are to be found in appendix 1.

6. Interim and short term contract roles

1. In the context of the TOM and significant public sector transformation, a number of short-term roles were identified to support the process. Some were to fill new roles necessary for the future development of the service. Because of the number, duration and rapidity of renewal approvals required, the JAC sought and approved a generic process for recruitment to these roles but did not chair individual procedures. At one stage a spot check alerted three appointments that had not followed the process agreed and in each case the interim worker was returned to the recruiting agency with immediate effect.
2. Where the interim post covers a permanent role in the organisation, the JAC asks to see a recruitment plan for each role.
3. There are some roles for which a short term contract has been deemed more appropriate to cover a project or non-permanent role. The JAC oversees these appointments but may not always chair the selection process.
4. A number of interim roles were extended with the authorization of the SEB and notification to the JAC.
5. Information on the number of appointments as at the end of the year is included in appendix 3.

7. Recruitment to other senior States of Jersey Posts and office holders

1. In addition to the significant work to appoint to roles in the TOM, Commissioners have also been involved in appointments to the Principal Legislative Drafter and legislative drafting posts in this team, the Judicial Greffier, Family Division Registrars, senior tax positions and a member of the Fiscal Policy Panel.

2. As Chair of the Jersey Appointments Commission, I was asked to be involved in the appointment of the next Bailiff following the announcement of the retirement of Sir William Bailhache in September 2019.

8. Requests for acting-up

8.1  Acting up occurs when the role is occupied on a temporary basis pending an appointment to the substantive role. These requests in senior roles are also considered by the JAC. In previous reports we have commented on the excessive length of acting positions, and we are pleased that the States of Jersey has confirmed its guidance on this to ensure that acting positions do not exceed a period of nine months, unless a business case is agreed for different, exceptional circumstances. During the year we considered and agreed to three acting-up positions in the emergency services because of pending reorganisations. These are for the positions of the Deputy Chief of Police, the Head of Service for Customs and Immigration and the Chief Fire Officer. These acting up requests were all agreed to the end of 2018.

9. Audit of Head Teacher role

1. The JAC were invited by the Minister for Education to undertake an audit of the recruitment process to Head Teacher of First Tower School to provide assurance that the process was correct and robust. The JAC would not ordinarily have been involved in the recruitment to primary school head teacher roles as the total remuneration is less than £100,000. The audit concluded that while there was no reason to reverse the appointment, there were material improvements to the process which should be made to ensure that future appointments followed best practice principles and procedures as identified by the JAC in its guidance and by the States of Jersey HR department.  
2. The JAC's audit noted that engagement with Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) officials had been constructive. Suggested improvements to the process have been implemented for a subsequent appointment to a Head Teacher role. In order to support the Department, the JAC will now play an active role in overseeing the process to appoint head teachers.

10. Recruitment to independent bodies

1. Throughout 2018 the JAC continued to be involved in appointments to senior roles in independent bodies. With the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in Jersey and elsewhere, enacted through the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 and the Data Protection Authority (Jersey) Law 2018, a supervising Board for the Office of the Information Commissioner was created. The JAC were involved in the appointment of the Chair of the Data Protection Authority, and the Information Commissioner.
2. The JAC also oversaw the appointments to the Chair of the Jersey Consumer Council, the Chair of Jersey Business, the Chair of Family Nursing and Home Care, and Commissioners for Jersey Financial Services Commission. Appointments to Chief Executive roles included the Chief Executive of the Parish of St Helier, (by invitation as described further below) the Director General of JFSC, the CEO of Jersey Finance (this has not yet concluded), and the CEO of the Ports of Jersey which is a wholly owned organisation (this has not yet been concluded).

3. I noted in my annual reports for 2016 and 2017 that I had a continuing concern that some wholly owned independent bodies, identified by the SEB, had no wish to be regulated by the Commission. Commission oversight is a policy requirement of their shareholder, the States of Jersey. The JAC have worked with the Shareholder Executive on this matter, and we are pleased that we have been contacted by the Ports of Jersey to oversee the recruitment of the CEO. We have also had productive discussions with Jersey Post and JT Group Ltd during the early part of the year and look forward to improved relationships with them in the forthcoming year
4. A concern has been raised about the number of board appointments that a single individual holds at one time with particular concern expressed about the number of Board Chair roles. This matter has been raised with the Shareholder Executive who is drafting guidance on parameters for the wholly-owned and grant funded bodies as conflict of interest, both actual and perceived, is of concern in a small Island community.

11. Complaints

1. The JAC will consider complaints about recruitment processes with which they have been directly involved. This process is set out in the Complaints Procedure, which is attached to the Guidelines.
2. This year the JAC considered concerns expressed by two individuals about a role for which they had applied where the recruitment was overseen by the JAC. A review took place of the process and paperwork for the role, which led to advice on process and policy being issued to the HR department.
3. A member of the public sought to complain to the JAC about a role for which they had applied but which was not within the remit of the JAC. The individual was directed to raise the matter with the Director General of the Department, and was advised that this was not a matter for the JAC.

12. Areas of good practice identified during the year

1. More attention was given to the appropriate experience of panel members including those with relevant experience of the role advertised, the appropriate level of seniority and knowledge of the local community to be served.
2. The inclusion of local business and community leaders on the appointment panels for the senior posts as part of the States of Jersey's transformation programme was of particular note, their expertise helping to ensure that the local perspectives were taken into account throughout the appointments process.

3. The Constable of St Helier asked for JAC involvement in the appointment of the CEO for the Parish. The Parish of St Helier (POSH) is not on the list of bodies that we regulate, however this demonstrated recognition of the value the JAC adds to the senior appointment process.
4. There is a better understanding of the need not to extend the length of service of board members beyond the accepted maximum term of nine years.
5. The JAC is now involved in the oversight of the process used for the hiring of interim managers.
6. The States of Jersey has now begun to analyse its statistics relating to the diversity of applicants.

13. Issues identified in previous reports which remain a concern

1. There is sometimes still a delay in alerting commissioners at the earliest moment resulting in diary planning difficulties that could have been avoided. For some posts, where a vacancy is known about, there can still be a delay in the setting of the recruitment timetable and therefore the need for prolonged acting up or interim arrangements. Some acknowledgement is made however for the size and complexity of the TOM and the speed needed to ensure the filling of key posts. The number, type and length of interim and acting up appointments needs to be kept under review.
2. There is still a need to attract a broader range of candidates for senior posts in the independent sector and in the SoJ.
3. There is a lack of clarity about posts needing licences and the licence status and possible work opportunities for partners of high potential and selected candidates that has negatively impacted the breadth of experience reflected in short-listed candidates and resulted in the withdrawal of appointable candidates from the recruitment process.
4. The continued resistance by some of the States wholly owned bodies to the regulatory processes determined by the SEB. There was no open competition to the role of Chair of Andium Homes and there was no identifiable process for the appointment of Chair of Jersey Post.
5. There is a lack of transparency when setting remuneration and terms for senior individuals in the independent sector and in the wholly-owned bodies.
6. The JAC remains concerned about the reluctance of some boards to recruit in accordance with JAC Guidelines. Requests for extension are sometimes requested to mask lack of planning in the recruitment of new members
7. Continued requests to involve the outgoing post holder in the formal process of recruitment of their successor. This approach is appropriate in the context of succession planning but is not appropriate during a recruitment process and greater education in this area is needed.

8. There has been no solution to the resourcing of JAC, despite the matter being raised on a number of occasions during the year and being an outstanding issue from JAC's inception as an independent regulatory body.
9. Conflicts of interest are not always recorded before interviews. Any perceived or actual conflicts should be declared at the earliest appropriate stage.

14. New issues of concern during the year

1. The JAC was concerned about poor shortlists for five posts later in the SoJ TOM recruitment process. It is important to restart the process and redefine the search wherever a panel is confronted with a poor shortlist.
2. Further checks are needed to establish whether job descriptions and search activities have been broad enough and whether the selection of candidates at the long list stage has presented a wide enough mix of potential candidates.
3. Involving the JAC at the earliest possibility would give time for the assigned commissioner to help ensure that job descriptions and recruitment strategies are sufficiently broad to capture a diverse range of candidates. A mandatory early planning meeting of the panel with the assigned commissioner could significantly address this concern.
4. The hurried nature of some processes to meet deadlines that should have been identified earlier was a concern.
5. The number of board appointments held by a single individual in the independent sector is a concern.

15. Concluding remarks

1. It has been a busy year and one in which recruitment practice continues to improve during a time of significant change for the States of Jersey.
2. There are some outstanding areas which need urgent attention and a few new concerns.
3. My thanks go to the team of Commissioners, Jane Pollard, Louise Ferns and Neil Wiseman for their steadfast work throughout the year. We also welcome Ed Sallis as Vice Chair who succeeded Gailina Liew in that role on the completion of her term.
4. Throughout 2019 we will continue to oversee and work with the SoJ and the independent sector to improve and encourage a high standard in their recruitment processes.

 January 2019

Diversity data for Tier 1 and 2 posts that went to open recruitment Appendix 1

* Diversity statistics only available from candidates who declared the information in their application

Senior Interims and short-term contractors as at December 2018

JAC Activity during 2018 – Public Sector

14

Final Version 14.01.19

JAC Activity during 2018 – Independent bodies and Parishes

OCE – Office of the Chief Executive

STE – States Treasury and Exchequer

CLS – Customer and Local Services

HCS – Health and Community Services

SPPP – Strategic Policy, Performance and Population POSH – Parish of St Helier