ences
ICO
Candidate Information Pack
For the position of Regional Manager, Northern Ireland
Completed Application Forms must be returned to CO3 by 12noon on Monday 19th February 2018.
Contents
Foreword by Ken Macdonald / Page 3Role overview / Page 4
About the ICO / Page 5
Organisational Structure / Page 9
Job Description / Page 12
Person Specification / Page 14
Guidance notes on completing your application form / Page 16
Monitoring, disability and equal opportunities / Page 16
Timescale for interviews / Page 17
Foreword by Ken Macdonald
Dear Applicant
Thank you for expressing your interest in the post of Regional Manager for the Northern Ireland office of the ICO.
This is an exciting time for the ICO as we look towards the full implementation of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) with effect from May 2018. This brings with it new responsibilities for organisations handling personal data,enhanced rights for the people who are the subjects of that data, and new powers for the Information Commissioner whose responsibility it is to enforce GDPR.
At the same time, we will continue to regulateother information rights legislation, including the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs), ensuring that individuals have access to all the information to which they are entitled.
The Regional Manager role is key to the promotion and implementation of good information rights practice right across Northern Ireland. It is a challenging position requiring the ability to influence practice in all sectors of the economy. The position will draw upon your ability to interpret and analyse complex issues, particularly using your understanding of the social and political environment in Northern Ireland. It demands high professional standards combined with excellent communication and presentation skills allowing you to lead, motivate and inspire people both within and outside the ICO.
If you share our vision of increasing the confidence that the public has in organisations which process personal data and those which are responsible for making public information available, then we want to hear from you. Please find enclosed relevant information relating to our organisation and the role including the selection process.
I am delighted that we are working with Chief Officers 3rd Sector (CO3), to help with the recruitment process. If you have any initial queries relating to the post in the first instance please contact Daniel McVicker at or telephone028 90 245356.
Yours sincerely
Ken Macdonald
Head of ICO Regions
Role Overview
Information Commissioner’s Office
Regional Manager (Northern Ireland)
Salary £39,728 plus pension and excellent benefits (pay review pending)
Location: Central Belfast
The Information Commissioner is the UK’s independent regulator of information rights.
We are seeking to recruit a Regional Manager who will act as the Belfast based deputy to the Head of ICO Regions who leads our offices in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
This will be a challenging and wide ranging job, involving the promotion and implementation of good information rights practice right across Northern Ireland. You will lead a small team based in Belfast and work closely with staff and managers based in other offices, primarily those in Edinburgh andCardiff but also our main office in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
This is a senior position, demanding high professional standards, excellent communication and engaging presentation skills. You will need the ability to lead, motivate and inspire people both within the ICO and external to it.
You must have a genuine interest in information rights and have experience in applying Data Protection, Freedom of Information or similarly complex legislation.
Your extensive experience of stakeholder liaison combined with excellent interpersonal skills will enable you to influence others and negotiate successfully. You must be able to interpret and analyse complex issues, particularly using your understanding of the social and political scene in Northern Ireland.
Organisation skills and ability to deal with significant workloads will help you to manage a range of other tasks including office management, co-ordinating the work of others and reporting on performance.
The role will involve travel throughout Northern Ireland and occasional travel to our other offices, including our headquarters in Cheshire.
About the ICO
Who we are
The ICO is the UK's independent body set up to uphold information rights for the public. We do this by promoting openness in public bodies, as well as data privacy for individuals. As well as this, we oversee legislation that ensures people’s data is secure, accurate and robustly managed.
Our Head Office is based in Wilmslow, Cheshire, our Scotland Office in Edinburgh, our Wales office in Cardiff and our Northern Ireland office in Belfast.We also have a small office in London, providing a base for our work in Westminster.
Our mission is to uphold information rights for the UK public in the digital age. The ICO's office in Belfast provides a local point of contact for members of the public and organisations based in Northern Ireland. As well as operating an advice service to address general enquiries on data protection and freedom of information, it promotes good practice in information rights by raising awareness of organisational responsibilities across all sectors. It also influences policy in related areas by working closely with the departments of the Northern Ireland civil service and the wider public sector.
Our vision
To increase the confidence that the UK public have in organisations that process personal data and those which are responsible for making public
information available.
Our strategic goals
1. To increase the public’s trust and confidence in how data is used and made available.
2. Improve standards of information rights practice through clear, inspiring and targeted engagement and influence.
3. Maintain and develop influence within the global information rights regulatory community.
4. Stay relevant, provide excellent public service and keep abreast of evolving technology.
5. Enforce the laws we help shape and oversee.
What we do
Legislation and regulations
We regulate a range of legislation and regulations, though those which people most commonly associate with the ICO are the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2004.
Data Protection Act (DPA):The Act sets out the obligations placed on data controllers to manage the personal data they hold securely and use it responsibly. It also establishes the rights of individuals to access their personal data held by organisations. The successful implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 is a primary focus of our work at the moment, and the ICO will continue to be the regulator with responsibility for ensuring that personal data is handled and managed in compliance with the new law.
You can find more information about the DPA and GDPR on the ICO’s website.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): This Act provides public access to information held by public authorities. It does this in two ways, firstly because public authorities are obliged to publish certain information about their activities, and secondly because members of the public are entitled to request information from pubic authorities.
The Act covers any recorded information that is held by a public authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by UK-wide public authorities based in Scotland. (Information held by Scottish public authorities is covered by Scotland’s own Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.)
Further information about what is the Freedom of Information Act can be found here.
Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR): These regulations sit alongside the Data Protection Act. They give people specific Privacy Rights in relation to electronic communications. We aim to help organisations comply with PECR and promote good practice by offering advice and guidance. We will take enforcement action against organisations that persistently ignore their obligations, starting with those that generate the most complaints.
A guide to Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations can be found here.
Environmental Information Regulations (EIR):The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 provide public access to environmental information held by public authorities. Like the FOIA the Regulations do this in two ways, firstly because public authorities must make environmental information available proactively and secondly because members of the public are entitled to request environmental information from public authorities.
A guide to Environmental Information Regulations can be found here.
Data Retention Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA): The ICO has a role in regulating DRIPA by ensuring that communications companies retain their data in line with the legislation and the DPA.
Further information about the Data Retention Investigatory Powers Act can be found here.
Taking action
There are a number of tools available to the Information Commissioner’s Office for taking action to change the behaviour of organisations and individuals that collect, use and keep personal information. They include criminal prosecution, non-criminal enforcement and audit. The Information Commissioner also has the power to serve a monetary penalty imposing a fine of up to £500,000. Under the GDPR this will rise to £17M or 4% of the company’s international turnover.
Further information on the action that we have taken can be found here.
Last year we issued £2m of fines to organisations who have been found to have breached the PECR and a further £1.6m for organisations who committed serious breaches of the DPA. We also support organisations to improve their practices by undertaking audits of data protection practices and advisory visits. We publish findings on our website and monitor the outcomes of our work to ensure that the organisations continue to fulfil their obligations.
As well as taking enforcement action, we issue Decision Notices in respect of FOIA and EIR. Since 2005 we have issued over 8,500 Decision Notices and we publish our findings on our website.
Our Funding
Currently the majority of the funding for the ICO, around 83% of our funds, is generated from the Registration Fee which data controllers pay when they notify the ICO that they hold personal data. This amounts to around £19.5m per year. These funds ensure that the ICO can complete all of the advisory, guidance and enforcement work we undertake, and resource our office’s infrastructure and the corporate functions that support the running of the organisation.
We also receive Grant-in-Aid from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport of around £3.75m per year for our Freedom of Information Act work. All of these funds are focussed on the ‘front line’ provision of advice and regulatory services.
A revised system of funding will be introduced in May 2018. Final decisions are being made but it is unlikely that it will diverge significantly from the current model.
More information on the ICO can be found here:
1
Our senior management structure
Our Policy Directorate
Our NI Office and our Regional Structure
1
JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION
JOB TITLE: Regional Manager (Northern Ireland)
DEPARTMENT: Belfast Office
REPORTS TO: Head of ICO Regions
SALARY: Level F
£39,728 plus pension and excellent benefits (pay review pending)
HOURS:37 per week
PURPOSE OF POST:
The Regional Offices play an important role in influencing and supporting all stakeholders in the relevant region but, in particular, those stakeholders who play a key role in the ICO’s areas of interest and who have a significant ability to help, hinder or harm the ICO’s mission to uphold information rights, promote openness and promote data privacy. They also provide colleagues in other ICO departments with local intelligence to influence ICO priorities and guidance.
The three regional offices of the ICO are headed by a single Head of ICO Regions (currently based in Edinburgh but attending each office on a frequent basis). To assist in the management of the offices, the Regional Manager acts as the Head of ICO Regions’ deputy locally and will maintain a highly professional service to stakeholders in Northern Ireland and members of the public whilst having full management responsibility for the Belfast team.
To achieve this, the post holder will manage relationships with stakeholders to the benefit of the ICO and will provide a professional, proactive and unified service to them including taking responsibility for primary contact with important stakeholders at a senior level. The role also involves managing issues in priority areas (primarily, but not exclusively, in data protection and freedom of information), preparing responses to formal consultation exercises and may also include giving evidence to the Northern Ireland Assembly when in session. The Regional Manager will liaise with other ICO colleagues as issues dictate, keeping them up to date and keeping a record of progress with key relationships and issues, and will also participate in a range of cross-office activities as required.
Along with other relevant colleagues, the post holder will provide advice and guidance on information rights to local stakeholders and will identify areas for future ICO action, referring to the relevant Wilmslow team as appropriate. The post holder will also take responsibility for the day-to-day service delivery and operational management of the local office, including the control of delegated budgets.
Along with the Head of ICO Regions, the Regional Manager will keep the activities of the local office under review, the state of key relationships and the potential for developing those relationships in the future. The post holder will also ensure that all staff in their group are clear about the standards expected of them and are managed effectively to develop their potential.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- To develop the ICO’s relationship with key stakeholders in assigned areas,taking the lead in dealing with critical relationships and handling major priority issues.
- To represent the ICO in external meetings with key local stakeholdersinfluencing these up to the most senior level in a way consistent with the ICO corporate and business plan objectives.
- To undertake high profile events including speaking engagements of regional importance and to large audiences, including the media.
- To prepare detailed, persuasive and clear written responses to formal consultations of the Northern Ireland Executive and other key stakeholders in Northern Ireland and approve drafts prepared by other members of the team.
- To provide clear written briefings on often complex matters for senior colleagues throughout the ICO.
- To identify systemic practices that fail to deliver good information rights outcomes in local stakeholder organisations and propose and promote solutions.
- To cooperate with colleagues from other business units in a joined up approach to identifying issues for action and dealing with key local stakeholders.
- To provide effective leadership and direct line management to the local team, ensuring that staff are clear about expected standards of performance and are motivated and developed sufficiently to provide effective and efficient services by monitoring and reviewing individual performance and supporting personal development.
- To contribute to the development of the ICO’s strategy and business plan for the Belfast office in particular and for the regional offices as a whole.
- To devise procedures for the effective, efficient and consistent handling of the workload.
- To monitor activity across the team, reporting on performance and collating accurate management information and using that information to instigate remedial action where necessary.
- To contribute to the development of internal guidance on information rights and lines to take as well as external guidance and technical advice notes, ensuring that Northern Ireland institutional/legislative differences are reflected in that guidance.
- To proactively develop legislative expertise andbe fully conversant with all relevant legislation and political, social and legal developments in Northern Irelandwhich affect information rights.
- To ensure the efficient day-to-day physical and operational management of the officeand lead onrelated projects such as office relocation, liaising with other ICO departments and offices, suppliers and contractors as appropriate.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Criteria / How AssessedEducation and Qualification / Educated to degree level or equivalent
OR
Substantial work experience demonstrating graduate level ability / Application form
Work Experience / Around five years relevant experience in stakeholder liaison/influencing activities
Experience of managing and developing staff
Experience of applying DPA or FOI or similarly complex legislation / Application form and interview
Application form and interview
Application form and interview
Knowledge, skills and ability / Excellent intellectual ability in order to be able analyse complex legislation and to apply it to particular cases, and to understand the business/interests of stakeholders
Ability to rapidly assimilate and digest large volumes of information
Ability to write clear and persuasive documents such as extensive formal responses to consultations and briefings on complex matters
Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to negotiate on often contentious matters and maintain good relationships with senior officials in all areas of public life;
Ability to work under pressure, prioritise and to handle large and varied workloads
Ability to develop and manage staff performance.
Good judgement and ability to take high profile decisions.
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Excellent presentational skills
An understanding of the democratic, political and organisational framework in Northern Ireland
Ability to travel to meetings and events elsewhere in the UK (possibly outside office hours)and, on occasion, overseas / Application form Interview and Test
Interview
Application form and interview
Application form and interview
Interview
Application form and interview
Application form and interview
Application form and interview
Presentation at interview
Application form and interview
Application form and interview
Guidance notes on completing your application form