Search begins for the Chair of the new BBC Board

26 Oct 2016 09:07 AM

Government has launched the recruitment process for the Chair of the BBC Board - the new body that will govern the BBC from April 2017.

The BBC Trust is currently the governing body of the BBC, responsible for representing the interests of licence fee payers. Under government plans set out in the draft Charter published last month, the BBC Trust is to be replaced by the new BBC Board.

Prospective candidates for the role must be able to demonstrate a commitment to the independence, mission and public purposes of the BBC, as well as demonstrating they meet a majority of the following criteria to a high degree:

• experience working at the highest level of public or commercial life in the UK and/or internationally, with experience of sitting on commercial and/or public sector boards;
• an understanding of the key challenges and opportunities facing public service broadcasting in the UK, and of the commercial media sector and the impact on audiences;
• strong leadership skills at board level, including the ability to chair meetings and represent a large institution in the public arena;
• a proven ability to think through complex issues strategically, independently and imaginatively;experience exercising excellent financial management and securing value for money; and
• excellent communication and relationship management skills, and the ability to represent the BBC capably to a wide range of stakeholder groups, including audiences, parliamentarians and the media.

The time commitment for the Chair will be at least 2-3 days per week. The Chair will be responsible for providing strong leadership of the Board and the role will require a greater level of public facing, engagement and management activity than the other Board members.

The fee for the Chair, set by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, will be £100,000. It is expected that the appointment will be for a single term of up to four years, with the possibility of renewal for one additional term in exceptional circumstances. Terms for the Chair and other new members will not necessarily be the same, so that the terms of all non-executive directors do not expire at the same time.

Overall the new BBC Board, which will be responsible for overseeing a strong and independent BBC, will be made up of 14 members:

• a Chair appointed via a public appointments process coordinated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The selection panel for this appointment will be chaired by a Public Appointments Assessor, nominated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments;
• four non-executive board members representing each of the devolved nations, also appointed through a public appointments process coordinated by DCMS;
• five non-executive board members appointed by the BBC Board; and
• four executive members appointed by the BBC, including the BBC Director General, Tony Hall.

Recruitment for the nine non-executive board members is expected to begin in early November 2016.

Details on the BBC Chair recruitment including the job description and process can be found on the Centre for Public Appointments website.