“While I am indeed a Jersey Appointments Commissioner, and one of the most senior ones at that, the JAC is not regulating this appointment,” said Mr Nash.
“It could not, as its statutory remit under Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005, does not extend beyond Jersey.
“But the Chief Pleas of Sark have invited me to act as the independent chair and convenor of their selection process and to report on its good governance and public ethics.”
He said his work in Alderney, Guernsey and now Sark, coupled with a forthcoming role in the selection of Jersey’s next CEO “is probably a unique combination of roles to be held by one person”.
“In each role I seek to apply general principles of public ethics in a way that is appropriate to each jurisdiction’s constitution and character. I am informed by the JAC standards, the UK Civil Service Commission standards and other jurisdictional documents.
“At the end of these independent processes I write a letter to the President of P&R, the Lieutenant-Governor or the President of Alderney as the case may be, and these are publishable documents that put on record the approach to ethics and governance that has been observed.”
Jersey is the only Channel Island to have a permanent and well established appointments commission.
The current Acting Chief Secretary of Sark is Dianne Marshall. She was preceded by Zanette Bougourd who left a year ago, and before that Kath Jones who made the jump to be Alderney’s CEO instead. While not SEO’s they held a similar position as the future SEO – which is a new role – will hold.
The window for applications for the job of SEO closes tomorrow [24 January] having been advertised via the national press for the past month.
It’s understood that a good number of strong applicants have already applied to the £55k a year position.
The Job
The new SEO will be responsible for delivering the strategic direction of the island as set by Chief Pleas. They’ll lead the transformation of the civil service and engage in proactive community engagement.
“The Senior Executive Officer is a new role which combines responsibility for all public employees, acting as a clerk to the legislature and its principal committees and leading public communications on the Island,” said a spokesperson.
“It is expected that the successful candidate will be based in the beautiful Island and play an important role within Sark’s community.”