Jersey Appointments Commission: appointment of Chairman and re-appointment of 3 Commissioners

STATES OF JERSEY

JERSEY APPOINTMENTS COMMISSION: APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN AND RE-APPOINTMENT OF 3 COMMISSIONERS

Lodged au Greffe on 23rd December 2013 by the Chief Minister

STATES GREFFE

2013   Price code: B  P.170

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

in  accordance  with  Article 18(1)  of  the  Employment  of  States  of  Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005 –

1. to appoint Mr. Brian Curtis as Chairman of the Jersey Appointments Commission until 11th September 2016, that date being 4 years from the date of his initial appointment as Chairman, in accordance with the requirements of Article 18(4); and
2. to re-appoint  Mr. Julian  Rogers,  Mr. James  Morris  and  Professor Edward  Sallis  as  Commissioners  of  the  Jersey  Appointments Commission,  up  to 19th  April  2015,  as  from  February  2014,  in accordance with the requirements of Article 18(5) and (7) of the Law.

CHIEF MINISTER

REPORT

Introduction

The Jersey Appointments Commission is established under the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, Part 4.

The duty of the Jersey Appointments Commission (JAC) is to oversee the recruitment of States' employees and States' appointees, in order to ensure that appointments are fair and conducted in accordance with best practice principles.

The  Commission  consists  of  a  Chairman  and  4  other  Commissioners.  The Commissioners are required to meet 4 times per year, to contribute to the production of  guidelines  that  will  apply  to States' employees or  States'  appointees,  to audit recruitment and to oversee recruitment to senior posts.

The purpose of this report is in reference to paragraphs 18(1), (4), (5) and (7) of this Law  that  permits  the  re-appointment  of  a  Commissioner  if  the  total  period  of appointment is not more than 8 consecutive years, unless he or she is the Chairman during subsequent years for which he or she would be re-appointed.

The membership of the Jersey Appointments Commission and expiry of their current appointments is:

Position

The Chief Minister and States Employment Board are reviewing the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, and propose that in the future the SEB adopts formal Codes of Practice including that for the recruitment for States of Jersey employees. The role of the Jersey Appointments Commission (JAC) would change; however, it would continue to oversee all of the senior positions and also have a role to ensure oversight and governance arrangements are in place. Details of the proposed changes to the functions of both the SEB and JAC will be outlined to Members in early 2014.

Working with the JAC to agree to these changes, in order to maintain continuity during  the  period  of  review  and  implementation,  the  Chief  Minister  wishes  to recommend to the States of Jersey the extension of appointments of all 4 members of the Jersey Appointments Commission, whose term of office expires in February 2014.

In 2014, the SEB will recommend to the States of Jersey revised changes to the Law which will come into effect at the commencement of the term of office for the new SEB in late 2014. The new SEB would then start the recruitment process for the Chairman of the JAC and new Commissioners at the end of 2014 and into 2015.

Appointments

In accordance with the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, Article 18(5) and (7), the Commissioners whose appointments expire by 24th February 2014 who would be re-appointed to 19th April 2015 are – Mr. Julian Rogers, Mr. James Morris and Professor Edward Sallis.

Mr. Curtis was appointed as Chairman for an interim period on 12th September 2012 (under P.75/2012), following the resignation of the former Chairman. In accordance with the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, Article 18(4), the Chairman's appointment must be made for a period of 4 years; however, it is anticipated that the appointment of Mr. Curtis as Chairman will run for a considerably shorter period for the reasons stated above. This appointment will be offered on a 14 month basis up to 19th April 2015, as Mr. Curtis has agreed to resign under Article 19(5) at that time.

Biographical Summaries

Mr. Brian Curtis

Brian Curtis has spent the majority of his working life operating at a senior level within Jersey's finance industry. In recent years however, he has concentrated more on investigative and personnel-related operations, both at home and overseas. From the instigation of the Chartered Director programme in the late 1990s, he has been an Accreditation Interviewer, Observer and a member of the Professional Review Group. He became a Fellow of the Institute of Directors in 1992 and gained the Diploma in Company Direction the following year.

During his banking career, he was a committee member of the Jersey Bankers' Association, becoming its Vice-President and then President. For several years he also served on the local committee of the Institute of Bankers. He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers in 1983.

Following the United Nations Eradication of Poverty initiative in 1996, he became Chairman of the working party that investigated the viability of forming a credit union type of operation in Jersey. By 2001 he had carried out all necessary regulatory and structural requirements and became Executive Chairman of the resultant company, Community  Savings  Ltd.,  and a Trustee  of the associated  Community  Charitable Trust. In 2009 he was awarded the M.B.E. for his voluntary services, in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

In recent years, Mr. Curtis has continued to devote much of his time to developing this enterprise and has reduced certain of his other commitments in order to do so, and to carry out his duties as a Commissioner: particularly following his appointment as Chairman of the Commission, in 2012.

Mr. James Morris

Mr. James  Morris  holds  a  Master's  Degree  in  Business  Administration  (M.B.A.) qualification and is a Fellow and Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. He has a wealth of experience gained from a career that has encompassed senior roles, both in the financial services sector and in the commercial sector, which have involved him  in  managing  people  from  diverse  backgrounds  at  all  levels  of  seniority. Mr. Morris has held numerous director level positions and has considerable experience of selecting and recruiting candidates for a wide variety of roles. He is a qualified tutor with  the  Leadership  Trust,  an  independent  organisation  specialising  in  leadership training and personal development. Mr. Morris has been resident in Jersey for in excess of 5 years.

Mr. Julian Rogers

Mr. Julian Rogers, M.A., M.B.A. has been resident in Jersey since 1975 and owns and runs a software company working with a wide range of clients. He developed and ran early adult IT Training courses whilst a full-time lecturer with the Business Studies Department at Highlands College. He has been Chairman of the States Members' Remuneration Review Body since 2004, and has held roles with the University of the Third Age, Jersey and The Probus Club of Jersey. He is a commercially endorsed Yachtmaster.

Professor Edward Sallis

Professor Sallis has operated at senior management and board level in the education sector, most recently in Jersey where he held the role of Principal and Chief Executive of Highlands College from 1997 to his retirement in the summer of 2012. Professor Sallis  has  a  further  Board  experience  with,  amongst  others,  the  Jersey  Electoral Commission,  Chairman  of  the  Registration  Board  of  the  British  Association  for Counselling  and  Psychotherapy,  Trustee  of  the  Jersey  Heritage  Trust  and  Vice- Chairman of the Institute for Learning. Professor Sallis is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and in 2010 was awarded the O.B.E. for his services to Education.

Financial and manpower implications

This  proposal  does  not  have  any  additional  resource  implications,  as  confirmed below –

Manpower:  Nil Property:  Nil ICT:  Nil Law Drafting:  Nil

There are no additional financial implications arising from this proposal, as there is already  a  budget  in  place  for  the  costs  associated  with  the  running  of  the Appointments Commission.

Recommendation

The Chief Minister requests that the States approve his recommendation to appoint Mr. Brian Curtis as Chairman, and to re-appoint Mr. Julian Rogers, Mr. James Morris, and  Professor  Edward  Sallis,  as  Commissioners  of  the  Jersey  Appointments Commission for a period up to April 2015.