Further Information

Recruitment Monitoring Form

We kindly ask that this form be completed as part of your application on the ‘how to apply’ page.

Our Google Recruitment Monitoring Form comprises of the following sections:

Diversity monitoring questions
Significant political activity declaration
Conflict of interest declaration
Disability Confident: Offering an interview to people with a disability opt in – please let us know in your covering email for your application if you would like your application to be considered under this scheme
Job advertisement questions

Diversity monitoring questions

We ask all public appointment applicants to complete a diversity monitoring form. This will allow us to see if there are any unfair barriers to becoming a public appointee and whether there are any changes that we could make to encourage a more diverse field to apply. This information will not be used as part of the selection process and will not be seen by the interview panel. We hope that you will help us by providing this information.

Significant Political Activity and Conflict of Interest declarations (REQUIRED)

As part of the recruitment process we require all applicants to provide us with a completed Significant Political Activity and Conflict of Interest declaration. For more information on why we collect this information, please see the Conflicts of interest and due diligence section.

Disability Confident

We are a member of the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. We use the Disability Confident scheme symbol, along with other like-minded employers, to show our commitment to good practice in employing people with a disability. The scheme helps recruit and retain disabled people.

As part of implementing the scheme, we guarantee an interview for anyone with a disability whose application meets the essential criteria for the role, set out in the advert, and who has asked that their application is considered under the scheme. Indicating that you wish your application to be considered under the scheme will in no way prejudice your application. By ‘minimum criteria,’ we mean that you must provide evidence which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria, as set out in the job-advert.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to select if you would like your application considered under this scheme when you complete the recruitment monitoring form as found on the ‘how to apply’ page.

In order to be considered under the Disability Confident: Offering an interview to people with a disability scheme you must opt in. We do not automatically opt candidates into the scheme based declaring a disability in your recruitment monitoring form.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants with disabilities, physical or mental health conditions, or other needs are not substantially disadvantaged when applying for public appointments. This can include changing the recruitment process to enable people who wish to apply to do so.

Some examples of common changes are:

ensuring that application forms are available in different or accessible formats;
making adaptations to interview locations;
allowing candidates to present their skills and experience in a different way;
giving additional detailed information on the selection / interview process in advance to allow candidates time to prepare themselves;
allowing support workers, for example sign language interpreters;
making provision for support animals to attend.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the application process.

Management of outside interests

Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully:

any outside interests that you may have, such as shares you may hold in a company providing services to government;
any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or public statements that you have made;
and/or – any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported;

which may call into question your ability to do the role you are applying for.

You will need to answer relevant questions in relation to these points when making an application. Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being interviewed. If you are shortlisted for an interview, the panel will discuss any potential conflicts with you during that interview, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them and record that in their advice to ministers. Alongside your own declaration, we will conduct appropriate checks, as part of which we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This may include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. The successful candidate(s) may be required to give up any conflicting interests and their other business and financial interests may be published in line with organisational policies.

Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment, but must be declared).

Status of appointment

As this is an office holder appointment, you will not become a member of the Civil Service. You will not be subject to the provisions of employment law.

How we will handle your application

This appointment is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition process which is conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. The public appointments process can be lengthy. However, we aim to conclude the appointment process within three months of the deadline for applications – this is in accordance with the Governance Code.

The assessment process for a public appointment

Ministers are responsible and accountable to Parliament for the public appointments made within their department. As a result, they must be consulted at every stage of the appointments process.
An Advisory Assessment Panel (“Panel”) is appointed by Ministers to assist them in their decision making. The role of the Panel is to decide, objectively, which candidates meet the eligibility criteria for the role.
At the shortlisting meeting the Panel will assess applications against the eligibility criteria and decide which candidates should be recommended for interview. Ministers will then be consulted on the Panel’s recommended shortlist.
Once the shortlist has been agreed by Ministers, you will be advised (by e-mail) whether you have been shortlisted. Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview in London.
The Panel will meet again to interview candidates and determine who is appointable to the role. The names of all appointable candidates are provided to Ministers. It is then for Ministers to determine merit and decide who should be appointed. In some circumstances, Ministers may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.
The Panel’s recommendations will be provided to Ministers in a report which details the assessment method used and the outcome of each interview. They will then be asked to agree on the candidate(s) who should be appointed.
This appointment is made by the Prime Minister who, following the appointments process, will take the final decision on who to appoint.
Once the decision on the appointment has been made, interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of their application. Successful candidates will be issued with their Terms & Conditions and a letter of appointment should they agree to take up the position.
If your application is unsuccessful and you would like feedback, please contact applications@green-park.co.uk. We regret that we are only able to offer feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at interview stage.

Ineligibility criteria

In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.

There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards.

You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:

you are disqualified from acting as a company director (under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986);
have an unspent conviction on your criminal record;
your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors.

When you apply, you should declare if:

you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this.
you are subject to a current police investigation.

You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points.

When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below).

If you need further advice, please contact applications@green-park.co.uk.

Conflicts of interest and due diligence

Given the nature of public appointments, it is important that those appointed as Members of public bodies maintain the confidence of Parliament and the public. If there are any issues in your personal or professional history that could, if you were appointed, be misconstrued, cause embarrassment, or cause public confidence in the appointment to be jeopardised, it is important that you bring them to the attention of the Advisory Assessment Panel (“Panel”) and provide details of the issue(s) in your application. In considering whether you wish to declare any issues, you should also reflect on any public statements you have made, including through social media.

As part of our due diligence checks we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This will include us undertaking searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs, public registers (e.g. Individual Insolvency Register, Removed Trustee Register, Financial Services Prohibited Individual Register and Disqualified Directors Register) or any other publicly available information.

The Panel must satisfy itself that all candidates for appointment can meet the standards set out in the Seven Principles of Public Life and, have no outside interests which present a conflict of interest or otherwise call into question their ability to perform the role. Any actual, reasonably perceived or potential conflicts of interest identified during the appointment process and potential mitigations will be explored with the candidate at interview. This information will also be included in the final advice to Ministers at the end of the appointment process.

If you have any interests that might be relevant to the work of the FCDO, and which could lead to a real or perceived conflict of interest if you were to be appointed, please provide details in your application. If you have queries about this and would like to discuss further please contact applications@green-park.co.uk. A potential conflict will not preclude you from being shortlisted or appointed. However, arrangements may need to be put in place to manage the real or perceived conflict.

Complaints

If you are not completely satisfied with the recruitment process, please contact applications@green-park.co.uk. They will investigate your complaint and issue you with a response within 10 working days which addresses your concerns and recommends remedial action if required.

If you are not content with this response your complaint can be escalated to the Senior Sponsor. They will review your complaint in relation to the recruitment process and issue you with a response within 20 working days.

Use of your personal information

Your personal information will be held in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation. You will not receive unsolicited paper or electronic mail as a result of sending us any personal information. No personal information will be passed on to third parties for commercial purposes.

When you submit personal information to us when making an application, we promise we will:

only ask for what we need, and not collect too much or irrelevant information;
ensure you know why we need it;
protect it and insofar as is possible, make sure nobody has access to it who shouldn’t;
ensure you know what choice you have about giving us information;
make sure we don’t keep it longer than necessary; and
only use your information for the purposes you have authorised.

We ask that you:

give us accurate information;
tell us as soon as possible of any changes; and
tell us as soon as possible if you notice mistakes in the information we hold about you.

If you apply for a post, the manner in which we share information with the interview panel is described above.

Our data protection policy is in line with the General Data Protection Regulations and there is more detail in Annex B below.

If you would like these details to be removed from our records as soon as this recruitment exercise is complete, please contact applications@green-park.co.uk. The Privacy Notice for Cabinet Office Public Appointments is at Annex B below.

Annex A – The seven principles of public life

All candidates for public appointments are expected to demonstrate a commitment to, and an understanding of, the value and importance of the principles of public service. The seven principles of public life are:

Selflessness

Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.

Integrity

Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

Objectivity

Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.

Accountability

Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.

Openness

Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.

Honesty

Holders of public office should be truthful.

Leadership

Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and be willing to challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

Annex B – Privacy Notice

This notice sets out how we will use your personal data, and your rights. It is made under Articles 13 and/or 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Purpose

Our purposes for processing your personal data are:

to recruit for public appointments for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office or one of its sponsored bodies including dealing with applications, selection, appointment, and vetting
to monitor and promote diversity in appointments, and
to produce statistics

The data

We will process the following personal data: your application, including name, contact details, location, employment history, qualifications, CV and other background information relevant to your application; sift and interview assessments; and conflicts of interest and political activity.

Diversity data will also be requested if you make an application via the Public Appointments Website, although you may decline to provide this if you wish. This includes age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, recorded disability, and faith.

We may also process other information gathered by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as part of due diligence, including information obtained from public sources including social media.

Information relating to your nationality, address, family history and criminal convictions may be required in order to enable you to hold the necessary security clearance for your new role.

Lawful basis

Our legal basis for receiving and using your information is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller. In this case that is to ensure that high quality candidates are identified via robust recruitment processes in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointment published pursuant to Article 3(1) of the Public Appointments Order in Council 2016. We also have a public task to monitor and promote diversity under our public sector equality duty.

Where a contract of employment exists, we also process your data on the legal basis that it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, and it is necessary in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.

Sensitive personal data is personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

Our lawful basis for processing your sensitive personal data is:

It is necessary for the purposes of performing or exercising our obligations or rights as the controller, or your obligations or rights as the data subject, under employment law, social security law or the law relating to social protection (reasonable adjustments)
processing is of data concerning ethnicity, religious or philosophical belief, health including disability or sexual orientation, it is necessary for the purposes of identifying or keeping under review the existence or absence of equality of opportunity or treatment between groups of people with a view to enabling such equality to be promoted or maintained (diversity monitoring)
processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown, or a government department (diversity monitoring and due diligence)
It relates to personal data which are manifestly made public by you (due diligence)

Recipients

Information that you supply to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as part of your application for a Public Appointment may be shared with members of the Advisory Assessment Panel for the purposes of sifting applications and conducting interviews. This may include your name, employment history, qualifications, CV and other background information relevant to your application including sift and interview assessments, conflicts of interest, and political activity. This may also include other information gathered by Departments as part of due diligence, including information obtained from public sources.

Diversity and other data will be shared with the Commissioner of Public Appointments (OCPA) for the exercise of their statutory functions. This may include age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, recorded disability, faith and geographical location, principal employment sector, number of government public appointments held, and declarable political activity. Your name will not be included in the information that is collected and shared with OCPA. You can see how OCPA handles personal data shared with it in its privacy notice.

As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure it will also be shared with our data processors who provide email, and document management and storage services.

Retention

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will store your application and other data if you are successful for the duration of your appointment and for 2 years thereafter.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will hold diversity data shared with OCPA in identifiable form for five years.

If your application is unsuccessful we will retain your data for one year.

International transfers

As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure, and shared with our data processors, it may be transferred and stored securely outside the European Union. Where that is the case it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through the use of Model Contract Clauses or the Privacy Shield scheme.

Your Rights

You have the right to request information about how your personal data are processed, and to request a copy of that personal data.

You have the right to request that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay.
You have the right to request that any incomplete personal data are completed, including by means of a supplementary statement.
You have the right to request that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for them to be processed.
You have the right in certain circumstances (for example, where accuracy is contested) to request that the processing of your personal data is restricted.
You may have the right to request a copy of any personal data you have provided, and for this to be provided in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.

Complaints

If you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, or 0303 123 1113, or casework@ico.org.uk.

Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts.

Contact details

The data controller for your personal data is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Data Protection Officer provides independent advice and monitoring of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s use of personal information.

You can email Data Protection Officer at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Data via data.protection@fcdo.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can right to them us at:

Data Protection Officer
Knowledge Management Department
Knowledge and Technology Directorate
Room WHG.127
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH

In relation to equality and diversity data, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Office for the Commissioner of Public Appointments are joint data controllers.