PROPOSITION
The STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion –
In accordance with Article 18(1) of the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005:
a) to appoint Mr Brian Curtis as Chairman of the Jersey Appointments Commission until 11th September 2016 that date being 4 years from the date of his initial appointment as Chairman in accordance with the requirements of Article 18(4);
-and
b) to re-appoint Mr Julian Rogers, Mr James Morris, and Professor Edward Sallis as Commissioners of the Jersey Appointments Commission up to 19th April 2015 as from February 2014 in accordance with the requirements of Articles 18 (5) and (7) of the Law.
Chief Minister
REPORT
Jersey Appointments Commission:
Appointments
Introduction
The Jersey Appointments Commission is established under the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005 Part 4.
The duty of the Jersey Appointments Commission (JAC) is to oversee the recruitment of States’ employees and States’ appointees, in order to ensure that appointments are fair and conducted in accordance with best practice principles.
The Commission consists of a Chairman and 4 other commissioners. The Commissioners are required to meet 4 times per year, to contribute to the production of guidelines that will apply to States’ employees or States’ appointees, to audit recruitment and to oversee recruitment to senior posts.
The purpose of this report is in reference to paragraphs 18 (1),(4), (5) and (7) of this Law that permits the re-appointment of a Commissioner if the total period of appointment is not more than 8 consecutive years, unless he or she is the Chairman during subsequent years for which he or she would be re-appointed.
The membership of the Jersey Appointments Commission and expiry of their current appointments is:
Name | Role | Start | Expiry date |
Mr Brian Curtis | Commissioner/Chairman[1] | 2006 | 23 February 2014 |
Mr Julian Rogers | Commissioner | 2009 | 23 February 2014 |
Mr Kenneth Soar | Commissioner | 2007 | 19 April 2015 |
Professor Edward Sallis | Commissioner | 2013 | 23 February 2014 |
Mr James Morris | Commissioner | 2010 | 24 February 2014 |
Position
The Chief Minister and States Employment Board are reviewing the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005 and propose that in the future the SEB adopts formal Codes of Practice including that for the recruitment for States of Jersey employees. The role of the Jersey Appointments Commission (JAC) would change, however, it would continue to oversee all of the senior positions and also have a role to ensure oversight and governance arrangements are in place. Details of the proposed changes to the functions of both the SEB and JAC will be outlined to Members in early 2014.
Working with the JAC to agree to these changes, in order to maintain continuity during the period of review and implementation, the Chief Minister wishes to recommend to the States of Jersey the extension of appointments of all 4 members of the Jersey Appointments Commission, whose term of office expires in February 2014.
In 2014, the SEB will recommend to the States of Jersey, revised changes to the Law which will come into effect at the commencement of the term of office for the new SEB in late 2014. The new SEB would then start the recruitment process for the Chairman of the JAC and new Commissioners at the end of 2014 and into 2015.
Appointments
In accordance with the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005 Article 18(5) and (7), the Commissioners whose appointments expire by 24th February 2014 who would be re-appointed to 19th April 2015 are Mr Julian Rogers, Mr James Morris and Professor Edward Sallis.
Mr Curtis was appointed as Chairman for an interim period on 12th September 2012 (under P.75/2012), following the resignation of the former Chairman. In accordance with the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, Article 18 (4) the Chairman appointment must be made for a period of 4 years, however, it is anticipated that the appointment of Mr Curtis as Chairman will run for a considerably shorter period for the reasons stated above. This appointment will be offered on a 14 month basis up to 19th April 2015 as Mr Curtis has agreed to resign under Article 19 (5) at that time.
Biographical Summaries
Brian Curtis has spent the majority of his working life operating at a senior level within Jersey’s finance industry. In recent years however, he has concentrated more on investigative and personnel related operations, both at home and overseas. From the instigation of the Chartered Director programme in the late 1990s, he has been an Accreditation Interviewer, Observer and a member of the Professional Review Group. He became a Fellow of the Institute of Directors in 1992 and gained the Diploma in Company Direction the following year.
During his banking career he was a committee member of the Jersey Bankers Association, becoming its Vice President and then President. For several years he also served on the local committee of the Institute of Bankers. He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers in 1983.
Following the United Nations Eradication of Poverty initiative in 1996, he became Chairman of the working party that investigated the viability of forming a credit union type of operation in Jersey. By 2001 he had carried out all necessary regulatory and structural requirements and became Executive Chairman of the resultant company, Community Savings Ltd and a Trustee of the associated Community Charitable Trust. In 2009 he was awarded the MBE for his voluntary services, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
In recent years, Mr Curtis has continued to devote much of his time developing this enterprise and reduced certain of his other commitments in order to do so and to carry out his duties as a Commissioner: particularly following his appointment as Chairman of the Commission, in 2012.
Mr James Morris holds a Masters in Business Administration (M.B.A) qualification and is a Fellow and Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. He has a wealth of experience gained from a career that has encompassed senior roles both in the financial services sector and in the commercial sector, which have involved him in managing people from diverse backgrounds at all levels of seniority. Mr Morris has held numerous director level positions and has considerable experience of selecting and recruiting candidates for a wide variety of roles. He is a qualified tutor with the Leadership Trust, an independent organisation specialising in leadership training and personal development. Mr Morris has been resident in Jersey for in excess of five years.
Mr Julian Rogers, MA, MBA has been resident in Jersey since 1975 and
owns and runs a software company working with a wide range of clients.
He developed and ran early adult IT Training courses while a full-time
lecturer with the Business Studies department at Highlands. He has been Chairman of the States Members Remuneration Review Body. Since 2004 and held roles with the University of the Third Age, Jersey and The Probus Club of Jersey. He is a commercially-endorsed Yachtmaster.
Professor Sallis has operated at senior management and board level in the education sector, most recently in Jersey where he held the role of Principal and Chief Executive of Highlands College from 1997 to his retirement in the summer of 2012. Professor Sallis has a further board experience with, amongst others, the Jersey Electoral Commission, Chairman of the Registration Board of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, Trustee of the Jersey Heritage Trust and Vice Chairman of the Institute for Learning. Professor Sallis is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and in 2010 was awarded the OBE for his services to Education.
Financial and manpower implications:
This proposal does not have any additional resource implications, as confirmed below –
Manpower: Nil
Property: Nil
ICT: Nil
Law Drafting: Nil
There are no additional financial implications arising from this proposal, as there is already a budget in place for the costs associated with the running of the Appointments Commission.
Recommendation:
The Chief Minister requests that the States approves his recommendation to appoint Mr Brian Curtis as Chairman and the re-appointment Mr Julian Rogers, Mr James Morris and Professor Edward Sallis as Commissioners of the Jersey Appointments Commission for a period up to April 2015.