Jersey Appointments Commission: Annual Report 2025

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 ........................................................................................................................................... 7
5. Engagement Activities............................................................................................................. 10
6. Diversity, Equality & Inclusion ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.0
7. FOI Requests ............................................................................................................................. 101
8. Succession Planning................................................................................................................. 11
9. Judicial appointments ......................................................................................................... 11
10. Concerns of the Commission ................................................................................................. 11

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. 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 – Definitions ...................................................................................................... 21

Chair's Report

They say time flies when you are having fun and as 2025 saw the completion of my third year as Chair of the Jersey Appointments Commission (JAC) I can only endorse the sentiment!

The Commission is a critical component of providing the public of Jersey with the confidence and assurance that those appointed to both the Civil Service, and the wide array of public appointments that ensure the effective functioning of our society, are open to all who wish to serve, and that selection takes place on merit.

It can be a time consuming and challenging task on occasions, and I am grateful for the support of my fellow Commissioners; Helen Ruelle, Deputy Chair, Simon Nash, Kate Wright, and Julia Therezien. During the past twelve months, Helen Ruelle, Simon Nash and Julia Therezien were appointed for a further term of 3 years. I am grateful for their continued service and the experience and advice they provide not only to me, but to the various clients whose assignments we have overseen during the year.

 I should note that since the year end, the Deputy Chair, Helen Ruelle, has resigned and she stood down on 28th February 2026. On behalf of myself and her fellow Commissioners I want to thank her for her dedication, advice, and good humour, during her time as a Commissioner; she will be much missed.

Thanks are especially due to the HR Governance team led by Natalie Williams. Our admin and day to day support throughout the year has been provided by Andrea Robinson, Aaron Travers and Charlotte van der Hoorn, who have ensured that the Commission functions professionally and effectively and we are grateful for their contribution to our work; without the steadfast administrative support and guidance of the team, our work could not have taken place. Aaron has moved on, and we wish him well in his new venture. The JAC also has the continued support of Lesley Darwin, Chief People Officer, which is much appreciated.

2025 has been an interesting year given the importance of many of the appointments the Commission was involved in. Overall, our workload continued at similar levels to 2024 reflecting the continued recruitment freeze in the civil service, however, invitations to be involved with a wide range of judicial appointments and key island appointments such as the Chair and CEO of the Jersey Opera House and the Chair of JT more than filled the gap.

As the report shows, we oversaw thirty-six appointments during the year and the Commission continues to be gratified by the quality of candidates who put themselves forward for public service. It is rare for an assignment not to yield a qualified and appointable recommendation.

We also spent time rewriting our recruitment guidelines and once this year's election has been completed, we will consult upon them with our stakeholders.

The purpose of this report is to demonstrate what the Commission does during the year, the issues and challenges it addresses, and the results and transparency it delivers on behalf of the public of Jersey. I hope you find it useful and informative. As always, I am happy to discuss our work with anyone who wishes to delve deeper into our role and responsibilities.

Mr Chris Stephenson Chair

Performance Report

1. Statement of Purpose

The  Jersey  Appointments  Commission's  purpose  is  expressed  through  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, conducted in accordance with best practice.
2. Undertake and conduct audits of recruitment practice in the civil service and within associated organisations as requested by the Shareholder Executive.
3. Advise on good recruitment and selection practice as necessary.
4. The Commission will continue to develop and implement outreach activity 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.

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 metrics as well as a baseline figure that will act as the target for 2026. The Annual Report going forward will include details of the Commission's performance against these metrics and analysis of the factors impacting the Commission's ability to meet these targets.

*Baseline agreed during 2023.

** Given the C&AG undertook a recruitment review during 2025, the Commission elected to stand down its planned audits in order to minimise workload in Departments.

2. Activity Report

During the reporting period, the Commission helped with the completion of 36 recruitment assignments. This was spread across 20 assignments within the Government of Jersey with a further 16 assignments within Arms-Length Organisations, on a par with 2024.

A full list of assignments can be found in Appendix 3.2.

It should be noted that we did not conduct any audits in 2025, despite a plan to do so. This outcome was a direct result of choosing to run one Commissioner below strength and we felt that, given the office of the CAG conducted a review of Recruitment in 2025, a further audit would be counterproductive. Audits are planned to take place in 2026, subject to the recruitment of a replacement Commissioner.

3. Delivery Performance

Ongoing administrative support is provided by the Resourcing team within the People Services Department. 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 operated in an exemplary manner throughout the reporting period, and we expect this arrangement to continue for the foreseeable future. The Commission remains comfortable with the level of support  provided  and  continues  to  maintain  a  strong  and  constructive  working  relationship  with  key stakeholders within the People Services department. This collaborative approach ensures that any changes to the arrangement or emerging support requirements are addressed through open discussion, enabling the Commission's needs to be met without placing undue pressure on the supporting resources.

The Commission's website was officially launched in the first quarter of 2025. The website provides a central source of information and guidance for stakeholders, highlighting the Commission's role, responsibilities, and areas of work. It also introduces the Commissioners with whom stakeholders engage, showcasing the breadth of experience they bring to the role. In addition, the website provides independent access to a range of toolkits designed to support wider access to public service roles on the Island, both within government and

across the public bodies that underpin community and island life. This supports the Commission's objective of ensuring the widest possible access for the Island's diverse communities. The Commission continues to promote and encourage the use of modern recruitment methods by the organisations it regulates.

Throughout 2025, the Commission developed an approved list of independent panel members to strengthen and enhance recruitment selection panels where required, and to support greater diversity of perspective, skills, and experience within panel membership. This approach strengthens the robustness and inclusivity of recruitment processes, while ensuring appropriate flexibility to respond to varying appointment requirements. The approved list will continue to be reviewed and expanded during 2026 to ensure it remains current and reflective of the Island's diverse communities and professional expertise. The Commission acknowledges and thanks the panel members for their contribution during 2025, it is much appreciated.

During 2025, the Commission progressed the revision of its guidelines, which were issued for consultation with Commissioners during the year. Feedback received through this process will inform further refinement of the guidelines. It is anticipated that the draft guidelines will be consulted upon in 2026 with a view to approval post June 2026.

4. Risk Log

This section provides details of the JAC Risk Log for areas that may impact the ability of the Commission to carry out its designated activities.

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 its statutory duty 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 (or indeed, any) candidates.  

6. Diversity, Equality & 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.

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. Whilst some progress has been made, data collection and consistency challenges remain. The Commission will continue to highlight the importance of evidence-based data throughout its activities.

• All panel members should ensure they are provided with the appropriate training on how to act as a panel member.

• We encourage on-island selection agencies to improve their activity and commitment in the production of DEI data sets.

• 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. Progress is being made and needs recognition, but a continued focus is in the best interests of the public service and associated bodies.

• The Government reviewed its Recruitment Policy and Framework during 2024 and whilst  improvements  were  made,  the  Commission  still  believes  that  further opportunities exist to align with modern recruitment and selection practice. We are heartened by the exercise run in 2025 to determine potential internal candidates for the role of CEO Government of Jersey. This is a positive innovation and to be

applauded.

• Our limited analysis of the data sets that the Commission collects, suggests that whilst a broad gender balance is achieved at the appointment stage, we remain concerned that  the  collection  of  data  across  the  protected  characteristics  is  somewhat challenging. The Commission has decided to advocate with not only Government but our other clients to ensure that the quality of data and outreach strategy is improved in this area.

7. FOI requests

There were no FOI requests in relation to the JAC during 2025.

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. It is heartening for the Commission that the future CEO selection process is focused on providing internal candidates with opportunity to compete effectively for the role.

9. Judicial appointments

The Commission was invited to participate in a number of key Judicial appointments during the year, including the Bailiff , Deputy Bailiff , Attorney General, Assistant Coroner and Family Judge.  Historically,  the  Commission  has  had  limited  involvement  in  recruitment  in  the Judiciary, operating at arm's length, and we welcome the Bailiff 's invitations to participate as panel members in these exceptionally important roles for the island.

It has been suggested that the island needs a Judicial Appointments Commission, I think the approach taken by both the current and earlier Bailiff s in actively involving the JAC in the Judicial appointment process demonstrates that another body overseeing Judicial recruitment is not necessary. The JAC can meet the need (if indeed there is a requirement in the future).

10. Concerns of the Commission

The Commission, through its work in 2025, identified areas of concern that are highlighted below:

• The Commission continues to encourage public service recruitment processes to be aligned with modern recruitment practices, across government and Arms Length bodies. In particular, the Commission encourages well-regulated psychometric testing and training in panel interviewing, to reduce the risk of bias contaminating the selection process.  Both  the  re-introduction  of  training  for  panels,  alongside  safeguarding specialist recruitment training, and Government's work with Odgers to identify and provide development opportunities for future senior leaders at different stages of their career cycle, is welcomed by the Commission, and we look forward to seeing the data from these initiatives feeding through in 2026.

• The Commission notes that ongoing challenges remain in the attraction and securing of candidates who are required to relocate to the island. Having said that, the island still punches above its weight in attracting highly qualified and experienced candidates to support its public work; good examples are the Fiscal Policy Panel, and the incoming C&AG, as well as many others.

• On occasion, there still seems to be misunderstandings of the Commission's role especially amongst Arm's Length bodies. 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.

• From time to time, the Commission will have discussions with ALO's, Assembly Members and Ministers to discuss the selection process and decisions. This is often because the Commission's statutory role is not fully understood, and this is no surprise. If such matters surface, the Commission will engage with officers, Assembly Members, and occasionally Ministers, to discuss its role and how it can assist with selection processes, through advice and guidance, to ensure the best and most appropriate decisions are made for public positions in either the Civil Service or ALOs. Our experience is that, through such discussions, misconceptions and misunderstandings are normally resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

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 2025, 8 meetings of the Commission were held. In 2026, it is envisaged that we will also hold 8 meetings which are held on a 6- week schedule. A record of attendance at meetings during 2025 is recorded below:

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 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:

• Helen Ruelle – voluntary resignation received

4. Jersey Appointments Commission Recruitment

Helen Ruelle, Simon Nash and Julia Therezien were appointed for a further term of 3 years during 2025. Looking forward to  2026, the Chair's tenure will come up for review, for selection/reappointment during 2026.

5. Remuneration

Commissioners receive an honorarium of £8,000 each year. The Chair s remuneration is £30,000 reflecting the management and administrative role performed as well as acting as a Commissioner.

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.

Appendices

1. Appendix I - Commissioner biographies

Christopher Stephenson (Chair)

Chris 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 has owned and managed his own management and consultancy business. His most recent appointment was working for Sensyne Health as CPO, 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, working for 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.

Chris is also the Chair of the Jersey Police Complaints Commission.

Helen Ruelle ( Deputy Chair)

Helen is a highly regarded, high profile Jersey Advocate with extensive experience gained predominantly in Jersey and, prior to that, in the UK. Helen recently joined Laing O'Rourke as Group Company Secretary (elect). She will also become a main board member and a member of the Group Executive Committee in 2026. Prior to that, Helen was Director of Local Legal Services at Ogier. She also held senior positions at another large offshore law firm. In over 25 years as a trusted advisor to boards of local businesses, Helen has advised on contentious and non-contentious employment, discrimination and immigration law matters as well as commercial, business, data protection, competition, M&A and relocations for businesses and UHNWs. Her external appointments have included Chair of Jersey Employment Trust, trustee of Jersey Community Foundation and Chair of the Employment Forum and 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 Award. Helen stood down from her role as Commissioner at the end of February 2026.

Simon Nash (Commissioner)

Simon is Group Managing Director of the leading Channel Islands employment services firm Law At Work. He has a breadth of senior HR experience in both banking and law, including the positions of Global HR Director at Carey Olsen and Crestbridge, and as the former Chairman of the Insight Group, which joined with Law At Work in August 2024. He is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and author of 'Effective Selection Interviewing' (2010). Simon was the winner of numerous HR awards in his corporate career and is also a former member of the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal.

Katherine (Kate) Wright (Commissioner)

Kate is a cultural change and human resources specialist by background. She began her career at EY UK before further developing her expertise in HR, organisational development and diversity, equity and inclusion at Lloyds of London. In 2008, Kate established HR consultancy Arbre Consulting and more recently moved into her first third sector leadership role as CEO of Freeda, Jersey's only independent domestic abuse charity.

Kate holds a number of public and voluntary rules in the Island, including Co-Founder of The Diversity Network, Chair of the Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce, Chair of the Jersey Community Relations Trust and an Adult Advisory Panel member for the Office of the Children's Commissioner.

Julia Therezien (Commissioner)

Julia has experience of working in both the Education and Health spheres through her dual careers as teacher and physiotherapist; her most recent substantive role was as the Head of English, Media and Film at Beaulieu Convent School. She is a member of the Independent Prison Monitoring Board and a Childline counsellor. Julia is also a Workplace Investigator for the Government of Jersey. She was appointed to the JAC in November 2022. The criteria she feels most passionate about are those of integrity, impartiality and commitment to fairness.

2. Appendix II Appointments overseen by the JAC

3. Appendix III – 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.