Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Independent Member

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Salary or salary range: £250 per day

Contract type: Other

Location of position: Manchester, London

Application deadline: 31 May 2024

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to help strengthen the organisation and deliver its strategic aims. Further details about the Commission can be found here: www.equalityhumanrights.com.

To help meet those aims, the Board wishes to appoint one independent member to the Equality and Human Right’s Commission’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.

Successful applicants will be appointed for a period of up to two years from 16 September 2024, with the possibility of renewable for a further term of two years. The Commission is classified as non-department public body and is currently responsible to the Department for International Development via the Government Equalities Office.

The successful candidate will be expected to participate fully in the Committee’s business and will be expected to attend each meeting of the Committee, usually a minimum of four per annum, which are normally held at the EHRC offices in London, with one per year held in Manchester.

Job description

In line with the principles of good governance as laid down by the Treasury, the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) is a sub-committee of the EHRC’s Board of Commissioners. It has an EHRC wide remit and exists to provide assurance to the EHRC Board on the adequacy and effectiveness of the EHRC’s systems of governance, risk management and internal control. The Committee’s Terms of Reference are available to view on the EHRC’s website.

The Committee is a non-executive, advisory, committee and has no executive powers, other than those specifically delegated within its Terms of Reference. It has particular engagement with the work of internal audit (currently provided by TIAA) and the EHRC’s external auditor (National Audit Office) to ensure those relationships are effective.

The Committee formally reports to the Board after each meeting and engages with the EHRC’s Accounting Officer (the Chief Executive), TIAA, the National Audit Office and other key stakeholders from across the EHRC and its wider networks.

The Committee currently comprises of two non-executive members of the EHRC Board, one of whom serves as Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, and two independent members, one of whose term expires on 30 September 2024.

Person specification

Members will be selected to complement the skills and experience of the existing Committee members and to add an additional perspective to the Committee’s oversight. All members are required to have the ability to contribute to the range of activities undertaken by the Committee.

Applicants will be assessed against these criteria in their application and at any subsequent interview. Applications which do not clearly demonstrate how applicants meet the criteria will not progress to the interview stage.

It is essential that successful candidates are able to commit the required time and attention to the role and have the full support of their employing organisation (if applicable) to do so.

How to apply

To apply for this post please send the following to Victoria.Mearns@equalityhumanrights.com no later than 11:55pm on 31 May 2024:

- A CV setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role, together with reasons for any gaps in employment within the last two years.

- A Statement of Suitability (no more than 1000 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.

- Completed recruitment information pack (available through our Civil Service Jobs advert).

Applications will be sifted to select those demonstrating the best fit with the post against the criteria set out in the person specification. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview. Please note that references and open-source due diligence checks (including into social media accounts) may be undertaken for all short-listed candidates.