Request for J Category Licence.

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A decision made (28/09/2006) regarding J Category Licence.

Subject:	J Category Licence
Decision Reference:	MD-S-2006-0058		Exempt clause(s):
Type of Report: (oral or written)	Written		Person Giving Report (if oral):
Telephone or e-mail Meeting?			Report File ref:
Written report – Title	Finance Director – Request for J Category Licence
Written report – Author (name and job title)	Mrs Liz Webster, Senior HR Manager
Decision(s): To request a J category licence for the post of Finance Director to enable possible recruitment from outside the Island.
Reason(s) for decision: Restricting advertising to the local market is unlikely to secure a suitable applicant for this critical post. It is necessary to advertise off-Island to attract the right calibre of applicant and this will necessitate the granting of a J category housing licence.
Action required: Population Office to approve the licence.
Signature: (Minister/ Assistant Minister)		Date of Decision: 28 September 2006

Request for J Category Licence.

SOCIAL SECURITY DEPARTMENT

Finance Director – Request for J category Licence

1. Position

The Social Security Department needs to recruit a replacement Finance Director, and requests that the Population Office considers approving a J category Housing licence on a permanent basis.

2. Background

2.1 The need to recruit arises from the decision by the Treasurer of the States and Chief Officers of Social Security and Housing Departments to separate the roles currently undertaken by one postholder as it is not possible for one person to continue to provide senior level support to two Ministries at a time when both Departments require dedicated financial support. The current postholder has tended her resignation and it is therefore necessary to recruit to the full time role at Social Security. The Housing Department will be recruiting a part time postholder (from the local population) to fill their dedicated post.

2.2 Traditionally this has been a ‘difficult to recruit post’ and a previous attempt was made, approximately 5 years ago, to recruit both locally and off-island. The post was advertised earlier in the year and we were successful in appointing a local person at that time but it is unlikely that we will be able to attract a suitable candidate from the local market this time. The States of Jersey as a whole has a very successful track record of training accountants to meet public sector needs, however, a spate of recent promotions and appointments has depleted the number of internal qualified Accountants who would be suitable for this position. There have been 4 recent appointments in the Treasury for trainee Accountants but none of theses trainees will be sufficiently experienced in the near future to take on a role at this level.

2.3 The Finance Director (grade 14) post is critical as the post holder supports the Controller of Social Security and the Minister in developing financial and corporate objectives in accordance with the finance vision and ensuring, on behalf of the Controller, that the Accounting Officer responsibilities are discharge. The Finance Director also has the responsibility to oversee the Building Facilities Management strategy and IT projects for the Department, some of which are bespoke to Social Security and not part of the States corporate financial system.

2.4 Candidates for the post require a professional accountancy qualification and experience in a senior financial management position, ideally in a Public Sector organisation, managing a number of related functions.

3 Conclusion

3.1 The request for a J category housing licence is necessary as at this time it is unlikely that there will be local candidates who will meet the requirements of the post. Currently the loss of experienced staff mainly to senior posts within the States has resulted in a high number of vacancies in the accountancy specialty and Social Security cannot take the risk of limiting recruitment to the local market before seeking UK applicants. The Department hopes to advertise locally and in the UK concurrently but would still appoint locally if there was a suitable candidate.

4. Recommendation

The Population Office are recommended to grant a permanent J Category licence to enable the appointment of a Finance Director for the Social Security Department from outside the Island.

E Webster,

Senior HR Manager

September2006