Appointing a BBC Trust Chair
The process for appointing a new BBC Trust Chair begins today, Culture Secretary Sajid Javid has announced.
The position has been advertised publicly today and interested individuals can now submit applications.
Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said:
The BBC is a great British institution that entertains and educates while helping to showcase the best of British around the world.
We need an exceptional individual to lead the Trust to get the best out of the BBC for licence fee payers.
Lord Patten resigned as Chair on health grounds, and applications to be his successor must be submitted by 20 June 2014. The deadline for submitting applications has been extended by a week to 27 June 2014.
A shortlist of candidates will be interviewed over the summer and the Culture Secretary will meet all appointable candidates. The Government will then select a preferred candidate.
The preferred candidate will appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for pre-appointment scrutiny and the Government will then make its final decision.
The time commitment for Trust Chairman has been 3- 4 days per week (or 12-16 days per month). However, suitable candidates able to offer a lesser time commitment will also be considered. The remuneration will be up to £110,000 per annum. (Updated 19 June 2014).
The Chair will be appointed for a term of 4 years.
The key priority facing the new Chair will be reviewing the BBC Charter, which expires at the end of 2016.
The Government will not begin Charter review in this parliament.
The appointment process will be overseen by an independent Public Appointments Assessor, who will ensure the appointment complies with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
BBC Trust Chair interview panel selected (updated 26 June 2014)
The members of the panel that will interview candidates for BBC Trust Chair have been selected.
They are:
- Lord Kakkar (independent);
- Carolyn Fairbairn (has extensive experience of the industry);
- Sir Jeremy Heywood (representing Government).
The panel will be chaired by Public Appointments Assessor Mark Addison. He will ensure the appointment complies with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
The preferred candidate will appear before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for pre-appointment scrutiny. The Government will then make its final decision.