Government of Jersey

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

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demonstrating that good governance, and clear lines of accountability and authority, are in place around decisions-making – including the reasons and basis on which a decision is made, and the action required to implement a decision
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A decision made 25 November 2009 regarding: Appointments Commission - appointment of new member.

Decision Reference: MD-C-2009-0092
Decision Summary Title :	Appointments Commission – Appointment of new member		Date of Decision Summary:	23 November 2009
Decision Summary Author:	Senior Human Resources Manager, Chief Minister’s Department		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Appointments to Jersey Appointments Commission		Date of Written Report:	November 2009
Written Report Author:	Senior Human Resources Manager, Chief Minister’s Department		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Appointments Commission – Appointment of Chairman and new member
Decision(s): The Chief Minister approved the report and proposition recommending that Mr Alan Merry be appointed as Chairman of the Jersey Appointments Commission for a term of 4 years and Mr James Morris be appointed as a new member also for a term of 4 years.
Reason(s) for Decision: Vacancies for the position of Chairman and also of member of the Appointments Commission have arisen following the expiry of the terms of office of the former Chairman and another member. An appointment process has been completed in accordance with the requirements of the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005 and has resulted in Alan Merry being selected as a suitable replacement Chairman and James Morris as a member, each for a term of office of 4 years.
Resource Implications: None
Action required: Proposition to be forwarded to the Assistant Greffier of the States and the Publications Editor to arrange for it to be lodged “au Greffe” for consideration by the States as soon as possible.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Appointments Commission - appointment of new member

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, to appoint Mr Alan Merry as a replacement Chairman of the Jersey Appointments Commission and Mr James Morris as a new Commissioner, each for a period of 4 years commencing on 24 February 2010.

Chief Minister

REPORT

Under the Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, Part 4, The Jersey Appointments Commission is established. The Commission consists of a Chairman and not more than 4 other commissioners. The purpose of this report is in reference to paragraph 18 (2) of this Law and the Chief Minister’s recommendation to the States of Jersey to appoint Mr Alan Merry as a replacement Chairman, and Mr James Morris as a new Commissioner, each for a period of 4 years, with effect from 24th February 2010.

Background:

Currently the membership of the Jersey Appointments Commission, their periods of office to date and expiry of their current periods are :

Name	Role	Period of office to date in 2010	Expiry date
Mr Michael Liston	Chairman	8 years	February 2010
Mrs Elizabeth Rees	Deputy Chair	8 years	February 2010
Mr Brian Curtis	Commissioner	4 years	February 2013
Mr Kenneth Soar	Commissioner	3 years	April 2011
Mr Julian Rogers	Commissioner	1 year	April 2013

A competitive open appointment process was undertaken which complied with the Appointment Commission’s Code for Recruitment to Autonomous and Quasi-Autonomous Bodies and Tribunals.

The appointment panel was Senator T Le Sueur, Chief Minister, Mr Mike Liston, Chairman of the Jersey Appointments Commission and Ms Ruth Davies, HR Director, in her capacity as Executive Officer to the Commission.

The vacancy was advertised in Jersey and seven candidates were invited to be considered for the Chairman, Commissioner or both roles. These candidates were interviewed and assessed against the role description and person specification for the roles.

Mr Alan Merry was assessed as a suitable candidate for the role of Chairman and Mr James Morris for that of Commissioner.

Mr Alan Merry has operated at senior management and board level in both international and local organisations, with experience spanning both human resources and general management roles. He was directly responsible for defining and implementing recruitment and selection processes for a wide range of executive and board-level positions, as well as overseeing these processes for the entire organisation. As an effective board member of an international business, he has well developed leadership and facilitation skills. Mr Merry holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), and has lived and worked in Jersey for the past nine years.

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 in the financial services sector and of managing people in a sales and customer service focused environment. Mr Morris has held 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 organization, specialising in leadership training and personal development. Mr Morris has been resident in Jersey for the past five years.

The States Employment Board has approved the appointments, and the Chief Minister now wishes to recommend to the States of Jersey the appointment of Mr Alan Merry as the new Chairman, and Mr James Morris as a replacement Commissioner, of the Jersey Appointments Commission, each for a term of 4 years, with effect from 24th February 2010, when the current Chairman, Mr Mike Liston, and Commissioner, Mrs Elizabeth Rees, complete their terms of office.

Thanks are extended to the retiring Chairman, Mr Mike Liston and Deputy Chair/Commissioner, Mrs Elizabeth Rees, each for their 8 years’ service with the Jersey Appointments Commission.

Financial and manpower statement

There are no financial or manpower consequences arising from the adoption of this proposition.