Appointment of the Group Director of Policy Development (FOI)

Request

My question concerns the recent appointment of Paul Wylie to head up the Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance Department.

Could you place advise:

A

How this role is different to the that of Tom Walker, the director general for Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance?

B

Who decided that we needed such a position?

C

Where, when and for how long this role was advertised?

D

Who were the members of the interview panel for this role?

E

Were the same people on the interview panels for any other applicants?

F

As the press release mentions that this is to do with Covid-19 and Brexit, is this a permanent role or time sensitive?

G

Was the role advertised locally within the civil service and, if so, were there any local applicants?

H

Where can I find this person's CV?

Response

A

The role of Group Director of Policy is a senior executive role within the department of Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance and reports directly to the director general of the department Tom Walker. It has been part of the structure for SPPP since 2018 and is a replacement for a previous post holder who left in the summer.

Specifically, the Group Director of Policy is responsible for:

As the principal adviser on all public policy, the purpose of this role is to use effective policy development to leverage outcomes for the benefit of the community and to maintain a breadth of knowledge and understanding of how all public policies interact with each other to deliver these benefits.

To ensure the coherent development and maintenance of internal and external policies as well as leading the development of legislation, in line with the broader States of Jersey strategic framework. Taking a risk-based approach to the prioritising of policy initiatives and using resources flexibly to address areas of concern, the post holder will ensure that strategic outcomes are enabled by effective and agile policymaking.

To co-ordinate and manage policy specialists across Team Jersey and beyond, to ensure a consistent approach to policy formation across all areas of government activity. The post holder will also be responsible for building policy-making capability across the Government of Jersey.

B

The role was agreed as part of the Target Operating Model for the Government and also the department. The role and recruitment into it was ultimately agreed by the States Employment Board.

C

The role was advertised on www.gov.je, www.oneteamjersey.gov.je  internally within GOJ and also in the Sunday Times. The advertising was live for a period of three weeks to supplement for the formal executive search. The campaign launched on the 24 August 2020.

D

The whole process was overseen by the Jersey Appointment Commission. The panel composition was:

Jersey Appointment Commissioner

Charlie Parker – CEO GOJ

Tom Walker – Director General SPPP

Lucy Smith – Director General from UK GoV and external / independent panel member

Graeme Smith – CEO of Jersey Business and external / independent panel member

In addition and as part of the initial candidates’ assessments, an independent technical assessment was completed by Mark Hammond.

E

No, this panel was specific to the Group Director of Policy assignment.

F

This is a permanent role and appointment.

G

Yes the role was advertised internally across GOJ and also via www.gov.je.  In total, there were two applications from local applicants.

H

This information is restricted under Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) 2011 Law.

A brief resume of Mr Wylie’s experience was detailed in the press release on his appointment.

Group Director of Policy Appointed

Article applied

Article 25 Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.

(3) In determining for the purposes of this Article whether the lawfulness principle in Article 8(1)(a) of the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 would be contravened by the disclosure of information, paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 2 to that Law (legitimate interests) is to be read as if sub-paragraph (b) (which disapplies the provision where the controller is a public authority) were omitted