Chair and Members – Parades Commission Northern Ireland

CLOSED

The Commission consists of a Chair and up to six members who are appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The Commission is currently composed of a Chair and five members; the appointments of the Chair and four members will expire on 31 December 2023 and one further member position will expire on 31 March 2024.
This competition will be used to fill these forthcoming vacancies and any other vacancies that arise within the next 12 months.

The Chair will work with the Secretary, who is the Commission’s Accounting Officer, and the board members, to lead the Parades Commission in pursuit of its statutory duties and objectives. The Chair has a particular responsibility for leading and managing meetings of the Commission and corporate responsibility for ensuring that the Commission complies with any statutory or administrative requirements for the use of public funds.

Outstanding individuals are sought to become a member of the Commission; people who can command the confidence of all sides of the community in Northern Ireland, act in controversial situations and determine courses of action, and assess the probability of future events and make clear and well informed judgements.

Role description
All Parades Commission members, including the Chair, will be expected to:

• Attend Commission meetings regularly;
• Act as representatives of the Commission as required e.g. at public meetings, events, seminars or other functions;
• Perform roles within the Commission e.g. chairing meetings in the absence of the chair;
• Ensure the Commission fulfils its functions in accordance with the statutory requirements;
• Assist the Chair in developing policy and in providing strategic direction for the Commission in the effective and efficient performance of its statutory duties;
• Accept corporate responsibility for ensuring that the Commission complies with any statutory or administrative requirements for the use of public funds;
• Assist the Chair in the application of an appropriate corporate governance regime;
• Apply personal expertise in contributing to the work of the Commission as a whole; and
• Ensure compliance with the Code of Practice for Board Members of Public Bodies and the Seven Principles of Public Life.

In addition to the above requirements, the Chair has a particular responsibility for:

• Leading and chairing meetings of the Commission;
• Developing policy and providing strategic direction for the Commission in the effective and efficient performance of its statutory duties;
• Corporate responsibility for ensuring that the Commission complies with any statutory or administrative requirements for the use of public resources including acting in a way that promotes high standards of public finance, including the promotion of regularity, propriety and value for money;
• Ensuring that there is appropriate corporate governance regime; and
• Ensuring that all members are compliant with the Code of Practice for Board Members of Public Bodies and the Seven Principles of Public Life.

Organisation description

The Parades Commission for Northern Ireland (‘The Commission’) is a public body operating as an executive non-departmental public body accountable through the Chair to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

The powers and duties of the Commission are to be found in the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998. Under the terms of the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998, the Commission is charged with promoting greater understanding by the general public of issues surrounding public processions, keeping itself generally informed as to the conduct of public processions and protest meetings, and promoting and facilitating mediation as a means of resolving disputes concerning public processions.
The Commission’s functions also include keeping under review, and making such recommendations as it thinks fit to the Secretary of State concerning the operation of the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998. In fulfilling these functions, the Commission may facilitate mediation between parties to particular disputes concerning proposed public processions and take such other steps as appear to the Commission to be appropriate for resolving such disputes; and may issue determinations in respect of particular proposed public processions and protest meetings.

The Commission is supported and advised by a small secretariat that is mainly recruited from the civil service. The current Secretary is Sarah Teer. The secretariat provides advice and support to the Commission in exercising their duties. If you would like more information on the Commission or the guidelines in which it operates you can access its website at www.paradescommission.org
Regulation of appointment. This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website

Essential criteria

Candidates for this challenging role will need to demonstrate:

1. The ability to take difficult but fair decisions in high profile and controversial circumstances;
2. The ability to build relationships and broker consensus between senior stakeholders and opposing views; and
3. The ability to demonstrate personal integrity, professional conduct and credibility, with an exceptional sense of propriety.
4. In addition, candidates for the Chair role need to be able to show a strong track record of leadership, and the ability to broker consensus between senior stakeholders and opposing views.

Further details and information on how to apply can be found here.