Selection Process
This role is being competed in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments (December 2016), which sets out the regulatory framework for public appointments processes. The Code is based on three core principles – merit, openness and fairness.
An Advisory Assessment Panel (Panel) will sift applications, assessing each application against the essential criteria, to produce a shortlist. Subject to Ministerial agreement, they will then conduct interviews to ascertain which candidates are appointable to the role.
The Panel for this recruitment will be independently chaired by Colleen Harris MVO. The Chair’s role will be to ensure that the appointment is made in accordance with the Governance Code. In addition, the panel will comprise Matthew Rycroft CBE, Home Office Permanent Secretary, and Michael Fuller QPM (Non-Executive Director, Home Office).
Green Park will acknowledge your application and keep you updated on the progress of the competition.
At the short-listing meeting, the Panel will assess each application against the essential criteria and decide whom to invite for final interview. Shortlisted candidates will also undergo a media assessment as part of the recruitment process. The Government has adapted the recruitment process around the UK’s coronavirus restrictions while ensuring a fair and open competition. This includes planning for remote interviews. Further details about the format will be provided to you in advance.
The decision to appoint to this role rests with the Home Secretary. Appointable candidates may be invited to meet with her, before she makes a final decision on whom to recommend for appointment. The Home Secretary will then seek the Prime Minister’s agreement before approaching HM the Queen to agree and issue the Royal Warrants for the appointments. As a result, there may be a delay in informing candidates of the outcome of the competition.
We encourage a diverse workforce and welcome applications from all suitably qualified people. This appointment is regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Please note: Expenses incurred by candidates during the recruitment process will not be reimbursed except in exceptional circumstances and only when agreed in advance with the Home Office Public Appointments Team.
Pre-appointment scrutiny
This role is subject to pre-appointment scrutiny by the Home Affairs Select Committee. Pre-appointment scrutiny is an important part of the appointment process for some of the most significant public appointments made by Ministers. It is designed to provide an added level of scrutiny to verify that the recruitment meets the principles set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
The pre-appointment scrutiny aspect of the appointment has two parts.
First, information concerning the appointment and the Minister’s preferred candidate will be shared with the relevant select committee. As part of this process you will need to be content for your name and your CV to be shared with the Select Committee as the Government’s preferred candidate. You may also be required to complete a pre-appointment hearing questionnaire which could include, among other things:
- declarations of any relevant potential conflicts of interest;
- what you see as the priorities and key risks for the organisation; and
- questions about how you would lead the Inspectorate and work with stakeholders, your commitment to standards in public life and how you would handle being in the public eye.
Normally any information provided to the select committee by the Government or a candidate will be published.
Second, it is likely that the select committee will decide to call the Government’s preferred candidate to a public hearing to answer questions relating to their suitability to the role. You would not be expected to have an in depth technical knowledge of how the Inspectorate works or an exact plan of what you would do in the role, however you will be expected to provide a credible representation of your understanding of the work of the Inspectorate and what your role in its future would be.
The proposed date for a pre-appointment hearing for this role will be confirmed in due course.
The Government is committed to making the public appointments as accessible as possible so that no one is deterred from applying. The Department will provide support to you to help you prepare for the hearing and the clerks to the select committee will also be available to discuss with you how the hearing will run. You will also be supported by the Department in working with the select committee should you require any adjustment to enable you to participate fully in the hearing process.
For more information about pre-appointment scrutiny, please see the Cabinet Office Guidance: Pre-appointment scrutiny by House of Commons Select Committees.
The Liaison Committee also publishes guidelines to select committees for pre-appointment. You may also find it helpful to review the Code of Conduct for board members of public bodies which sets out the expectations which the Government places on non-executive members of public bodies.
