The Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has extended the closing date for its competition to recruit non-executive board members.
DAERA is currently seeking to recruit members for the management boards of the department and of its two agencies; the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and Forest Service.
The deadline for receipt of applications has now been extended to 5:00p.m on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
DAERA
According to DAERA, non-executive board members play an important role on departmental and agency boards by bringing “an external and independent perspective to support and challenge officials”.
The department said that the external views brought by these board members can significantly enhance the corporate decision-making process.
This also enables the accounting officer to gain assurance on governance and risk management issues.
The fees payable in relation to board membership will be £554 per day (or pro-rata), plus expenses.
Katrina Godfrey, permanent secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs said:
“This is an exciting opportunity to play a leadership role at board level, providing advice on strategic and operational issues and scrutinising and challenging performance so that crucial public services are delivered effectively and efficiently.
“We are particularly keen to attract people who share our commitment to public service and who can bring skills that complement and add to those already around the board table, particularly in areas such as commercial expertise, science, technology and innovation, corporate governance or talent management.”
The department said that it is anticipated that successful candidates will be appointed from February 2025.
Agencies
The NIEA is an executive agency of DAERA tasked with protecting and enhancing Northern Ireland’s environment.
It has approximately 600 staff located across Northern Ireland, including in its headquarter sites in Lisburn and Belfast.
NIEA also manages seven country parks and 65 nature reserve sites across Northern
Ireland.
The Forest Service, which also an executive agency of DAERA, has responsibility for the development and regulation of forestry and for the management of the department’s 75,000ha of forests in Northern Ireland.
It also has responsibility for plant health matters and works to safeguard the plant health status of Northern Ireland, ensuring full compliance with the relevant legislation.
The agency employs around 200 staff to deliver forestry and plant health programmes with annual operating expenditure of £24 million and an income generating capacity of £12 million.
