Reference Number ICAI 2014-3

Commissioner Independent Commission for Aid Impact
Information pack for applicants

Reference Number ICAI 2014-3

The appointments procedure for this post complies with the OCPA Code of Practice

Contents Page

Making an Application 2

Annex A: Vacancy Description and role of Commissioner4

Annex B: Role and Responsibilities of ICAI7

Annex C: The Selection Process 8

Annex D: How we will manage your Personal Information 10

Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI)

(Ref Number ICAI 2014 - 3)

Making an application

Thank you for your interest in the appointment of Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI). The attached Annexes provide details on the role, the person specification, the functions of ICAI and the selection process.

If you wish to make an application please send a CV, supporting letter and completed Monitoring Form (attached) to the address below:

oting the reference in the subject fieldbefore 14:00UK time on 9 January 2015.

In making an application please note the following:

Supporting letter

The supporting letter is your opportunity to demonstrate how you meet each of the criteria set out in the Essential Selection Criteria (see below). How you choose to present the information is up to you. However, you should aim to provide specific and detailed examples that demonstrate how your knowledge and experience matches each of the criteria, and which describe what your role was in achieving a specific result. It will also benefit the selection panel if you can be clear which particular evidence you provide relates to which criteria. Providing separate paragraphs in relation to each criterion is common practice.

Declaration of interests and ensuring public confidence

If you have any business or personal interests that might be relevant to the work of ICAI and which could lead to a real or perceived conflict of interest were you to be appointed, please provide details in your supporting letter. Should you be successful in your application, if there is anything in your professional history, that if brought into the public domain, may cause embarrassment or disrepute to the organisation, please provide further details in your supporting letter. Failure to disclose such information could result in an appointment being terminated.

Please ensure your name and the name and reference number for the post are noted at the top of your letter, limit your letter to two pages, and type or write clearly in black ink.

CV

Please ensure your CV includes:

• your full name, title, home address, personal contact telephone numbers (land line and mobile) and personal email address

• similar contact details for two referees who will support your application. One referee should be the person to whom you are/were accountable in your current/ most recent appointment or position of employment. Please indicate the relationship of each referee to you. References will be requested for short-listed candidates prior to interview.

• brief details of your current or most recent post, the dates you worked in the roles you highlight and whether any roles you currently hold are Ministerial appointments.

Monitoring form

Please complete the monitoring form. Diversity monitoring information will not be seen by the panel assessing your application.

All applications will be acknowledged by email after the closing date.

Closing date for applications:

14:00UK time on 9 January2015

Key facts about the post

Location: London

Remuneration: £300 a day

Time Commitment: expected to be in the region of 55 days per year

Contacts:

For further information regarding the selection process, please contact:

Please quote reference Ref Number ICAI 2014 - 3on all correspondence. If you choose to apply, we would like to thank you in advance for your time and effort in making an application.

Annex A Vacancy Description, Commissioner for ICAI

Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI)

1. Appointing Body: DFID
2. Department: DFID
3. Location: Predominantly Central London. There is some overseas travel (typically a few short visits of up to 1 week duration every year to oversee studies and meet beneficiaries)
4. Number of vacancies: 1
5. Remuneration: £300 a day
6. Time requirements: in the region of 55 days per annum
7. Closing Date: 9 January2015 at 14:00 UK time
8. Interviews: Expected to be early February 2015

Additional Information The appointment will be for a fixed term of 4 years

1. Vacancy Description

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact is an Advisory Non Departmental Public Body. Its task is to review the effectiveness and value for money of UK aid. It should operate in a way that is transparent and impartial, providing assurance to Parliament and taxpayers, and generating lessons and recommendations both on what works well and what could be improved. ICAI is governed by a Board of Commissioners, led by a Chief Commissioner, which is directly accountable to Parliament through the International Development Committee. A Triennial Review of ICAI in 2013 confirmed that there is a need for the continuation of the body beyond the current term.

We are seeking three new Commissioners to assist the Chief Commissioner in managing ICAI as it transitions into and through its next phase.We will be looking to put in place a Board with a broad range of relevant skills.

The successful applicants will become members of a small Board of Commissioners. The Board takes strategic decisions on what aspects of UK aid should be studied, oversees the work of a contracted service provider, and ensures the production and publication of high quality studies and reports.

2. Role and responsibilities of the Commissioner

Responsibilities include:

•Reporting to the Chief Commissioner, overseeing delivery of high quality, accessible and professionally credible reviews through a contracted out service provider and supported by a Secretariat.

•Representing ICAI and helping to communicate its reports to the UK public and international stakeholders, through report publication and transparency of information on the ICAI website.

•Appearing before the UK parliament’s International Development Committee at public evidence sessions if required.

•Contributing to strengthening the impact of UK aid, through monitoring

implementation and providing feedback to Government;

3. Person Specification

Able to command the confidence of stakeholders including the UK Parliament, aid beneficiaries and international development practitioners, Commissioners will become effective members of ICAI’s Board. They will have the expertise to oversee production of high quality reports which are both accessible and professionally credible.

The Secretary of State will be looking to put in place a Board of Commissioners with a mix of relevant skills. Commissioners should have appropriate experience at senior executive level in the public, private or voluntary sectorsand should be able to demonstrate an interest in international affairs as well as relevant senior experience in international development, professional services, programme management , evaluation, or audit. The successful applicants will be able to demonstrate independence and objectivity; analyse and make judgements from complex data, and develop workable recommendations to improve the impact and effectiveness of international development programmes. A key requirement will be the ability to gain respect and keep the confidence of stakeholders through effective communication skills, which will involve engagement with Ministers, Parliament (including appearing before the International Development Committee at public evidence sessions), practitioners, the public and beneficiaries.

3. Commissioner Selection Criteria

The successful candidates will have the profile to command respect and credibility with Parliament and external stakeholders and to demonstrate:

(1)Broad experience at a senior executive level in an international development, professional services, programme management, evaluation, or audit context as well as broad understanding of public policy and interest in international affairs

(2) Independence from Government and specific interest groups (where there could be potential conflicts of interest)

(3)Track record in scrutiny (private, public or voluntary sector experience)

(4)Ability to represent ICAI effectively to a broad range of domestic and international audiences including the UK Parliament

(5) Adherence to the Seven Principles of Public Life and the highest levels of professional integrity and propriety.

Remuneration

• £300 a day plus reasonable travel expenses
• Remunerationis taxable under Schedule E and subject to National Insurance contributions, deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.
• you may claim actual reasonable travel and subsistence expenses, which are properly and necessarily incurred in carrying out your role and responsibilities as an ICAI Commissioner.

Time and travel commitment

In the region of 55 days a year, including some overseas travel (typically a few short visits of up to 1 week duration every year to oversee studies and meet beneficiaries). Note that it is important for Commissioners to be able to devote significant time to this post, and to work within tight deadlines

Tenure of office

The Secretary of State determines the length of the appointment, which will be up to a maximum of 4 years.

Accountability

The Commissioner is appointed by the Secretary of State; reports to the Chief Commissioner and, through the Chief Commissioner will also be accountable to Parliament via the International Development Committee.

Conflict of Interests

You should particularly note the requirement for you to declare any private interests which may, or may be perceived to, conflict with the role and responsibilities as aCommissioner of ICAI including any business interests and positions of authority outside of the role.

If appointed, you will also be required to declare these interests on appointment which will be entered into a register which is available to the public.

Standards in public life

You will be expected to demonstrate high standards of corporate and personal conduct. All successful candidates will be asked to subscribe to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. You can access this document at:

Diversity and equality of opportunity

DFID is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. We also offer a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for disabled applicants who meet our minimum selection criteria. Please complete the attached GIS form if you wish to be considered under this scheme. Applications can be accepted in alternative formats. This candidate brief can be made available in different formats. For further information please contact telephone Eilidh Simpson on 01355 84 3267

We will not tolerate discrimination on any of the following: gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, religion, age, disability, HIV positivity, working pattern, caring responsibilities, trade union activity or political beliefs - or any other grounds.

Annex B The Role and Responsibilities of ICAI

Overview

The terms of office ofICAI’s current Commissioners come to an end in mid-2015 and the Department for International Development (DFID) is now seeking to appoint an additional Commissioner to help oversee the transition to the next phase of ICAI. The appointment will be made by the Secretary of State for International Development and the process is conducted in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA)

It is envisaged that there will be a substantial induction and handover period with the current Commissioners and the successful candidate will be expected to be available to take up post bymid 2015. The current Chief Commissioner will step down in July 2015 and a new Chief Commissioner is being appointed.

About ICAI

The Coalition Government established ICAI in 2011, initially for a 4 year period, as the independent body responsible for scrutiny of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) across the UK Government. It is an Advisory Non Departmental Public Body and is accountable to Parliament via the International Development Committee.

In December 2013, the Secretary of State for International Development confirmed in a Written Ministerial Statement the findings of the Triennial Review of ICAI which confirmed that there was a continuing need for independent scrutiny of the UK’s Official Development Assistance

Aims and scope of ICAI

ICAI’sstrategic aim is to provide independent scrutiny of UK aid spending, to promote the delivery of value for money for British taxpayers and the maximisation of the impact of aid.

ICAI has the mandate to scrutinise any UK aid classified as Official Development Assistance (ODA). ICAI commissions arange of reviews across DFID and other Government Departments.

Structure

ICAI is headed by a Chief Commissioner, leading a small Board ofCommissioners who are independent fromGovernment and report directly to Parliament, through the InternationalDevelopment Select Committee. The Commissioners have a Secretariat and are supported by a contracted-out service provider.

Further information about ICAI is available at:

Annex C

The Selection and Recruitment Process

All appointments are made following an open competition conducted in accordance with The Code of Practice published by the Commissioner for Public Appointments

The Appointments Team will deal with your application as quickly as possible and will advise you of the likely timetable at each stage. After the closing date for applications:

• the panel will assess candidates’ CVs and supporting letters to determine who it believes best meet the criteria for the role, and who will be invited to interview. The panel will rely only on the information you provide in your CV and letter to assess whether you have the skills and experience required. Please ensure that you provide evidence to support how you meet all of the essential criteria

• the selection panel comprise a Senior Official from the Department for International Development, a member of the International Development Committee, and an Independent Panel Member

• your application may be “long-listed”, subject to the volume of applications received, before it is passed to the shortlisting panel for consideration. You should be aware that in this situation, your application might not be considered in full by all members of the panel. We may also use a search agency to carry out long-listing screening interviews. In this situation the agency will provide feedback to the panel on how candidates best meet the criteria

• Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed to candidates who attend for interview. Applications for reimbursement should be made to the address above

• we anticipate that by mid-January 2015 the panel will have decided who will be invited for interview in early February 2015.

• the panel will select for interview only the strongest applicants who they feel have demonstrated that they best meet the criteria set out in the person specification

• if you are invited to interview and if you are unable to attend on the set date then an alternative date can only be offered at the discretion of the panel

• the Appointments Team will write to let you know whether or not you have been invited to be interviewed. It is our intention that interviews will take place in a central London location

• if invited to interview, the panel will invite you to make a brief presentation at the start of the interview and will go on to question you about your skills and experience, asking specific questions to assess whether you meet the criteria set out for the post

• Candidates who the panel believe are ‘appointable’, will be recommended to the Secretary of State who will make the final decision. The Secretary of State may choose to meet with appointable candidates before making a decision. If she does, she will meet all candidates and in the presence of the panel chair or their nominated representative. The time taken between interview and a final appointment decision being made can sometimes take a number of weeks. Candidates who have been interviewed will be kept informed of progress.

• If successful, you will receive a letter from the Secretary of State which will confirm the terms on which the appointment is offered.

• If you are unsuccessful at interview, you will be notified by the Appointments Team. We appreciate it takes a lot of time and effort to apply for roles and that feedback is a valuable part of the process. The letter will provide the details of who you may approach for feedback on your interview and application, if you so wish

• For further information on how we will manage the personal information that you have provided to us through your application, see Annex D

Queries

For queries about your application, please contact

Commissioner for Public Appointments

The Commissioner monitors appointments to public bodies to ensure procedures are fair, open and transparent and based on merit. More information about the role of the Commissioner and his Code of Practice is available from

If you are not completely satisfied

DFID will aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy. If you have any complaints about the way your application has been handled, please contact

If after receiving a comprehensive response from the Department you are still concerned, you can write to the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Please contact:

The Commissioner for Public Appointments 1 Horse Guards Road London SW1A 2HQ Tel: 0207 271 0849 Email: 13

Annex D

How we will manage your personal information

Your personal information will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. You will not receive unsolicited paper or electronic mail as a result of sending DFID any personal information. No personal information will be passed on to third parties for commercial purposes.

When we ask you for personal information, 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

• only use your information for the purposes you have authorised

We ask that you:

• provide us with accurate information

• inform us as soon as possible of any changes or if you notice mistakes in the information we hold about you

If you apply for a post, we will share some of the information you provide with the members of the selection panel for the post to which you are applying, so that your CV and supporting letter can be assessed.