Authority Extraordinary Meeting 18 December 2020 - 08:00

Authority Meeting

08.00 on 18 December 2020

Chairman Present:

Jacob Kohnstamm

Voting Members Present:

Gailina Liew

David Smith

Clarisse Girot

Paul Routier MBE

Helen Hatton

Apologies

No apologies.

Non - Voting Members Present:

Dr Jay Fedorak – Information Commissioner

Guest Speaker

No guest speaker

Minutes:

Sam Duffy – HR Support

 

 

 

Item

Action

1.0

Call to order and discussion topics agreed.

 

 

 Purpose of the Meeting:

The Chair called the Extraordinary Meeting for voting members to discuss the recent Information Commissioner recruitment process and to agree next steps;

·       Recruitment process outcome

·       Structure of JOIC

·       Communication and next steps

 

 

2.0

Information Commissioner Recruitment process

 

2.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Authority Chair summarised the recent recruitment process for the Information Commissioner:

 

-      18 candidates

-      5 shortlisted

-      4 interviewed

-      1 withdrew

All candidates interviewed were of a good quality, with one clear overall winner.

 

The voting members not present during this recruitment process gave their approval to this decision.

 

The term for this appointment will be 5 years from July 2021. In the meantime the current Information Commissioner will remain in post.

 

The Authority Chair explained that of the other 3 candidates interviewed, two had been Jersey residents. A letter of thanks should be sent to the other two unsuccessful candidates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOIC HR Manager to raise contract and offer letter


JOIC HR Manager to contact unsuccessful candidates.

 2.2

JOIC Structure

 

 

A replacement for the Deputy Information Commissioner was discussed. Ideally this would be someone with senior policy skills to support the Information Commissioner, while also having an operational background. Internal candidates can develop to fill these roles.

 

Consideration was given as to whether the office structure needs a Deputy Information Commissioner. It was agreed that although this structure was appropriate following the last Information Commissioner appointment, there was not the need to duplicate this going forward and a new structure should be proposed.

 

The Authority discussed existing JOIC resources and agreed it was important to consider internal skills and experience during the proposed restructure. In particular, the new Information Commissioner could develop members of the management team with a view to delegating more to them.

 

Also relevant to a new organisation structure was:

-      Whether the JOIC has adequate Compliance and Enforcement resources.

-      The JOIC development needs against the Business Plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Information and Deputy Information Commissioners to propose a new organisation structure for the February Board meeting.

 

2.3

Communication and next steps

 

 

 The recruitment process has delivered a conclusive outcome, ahead of time. This is a good thing, for the stability of the JOIC, to enable handover and succession planning.

 

This presents a slight challenge in terms of communication. It was deemed too early to share the news broadly, however the Authority members agreed that government should be informed of the outcome, as a courtesy and to clarify arrangements. A letter should be drafted to this effect

 

 

 

 

 

 

Information Commissioner draft letter for government.

3.0

Other Business

No other business. The meeting closed at 9.00am