System for Election of

Chairperson of Council

The Education Workforce Council (‘the Council’) will elect a Chairperson from amongst its membership in accordance with its Standing Orders and the Education (Wales) Act 2014 (as amended).

Job Description and Person Skills required for the post of Chairperson

Job Description

The Chairperson will be responsible for:

creating and maintaining a high public profile for the Council, involving public speaking and undertaking engagements and visits;

developing relationships with others in the education world in Wales;

chairing meetings of Council and relevant Committees;

working closely with the Chief Executive to provide strategic leadership of the Council, providing a key interface with Welsh Government and a focus for the media;

encouraging high standards of propriety;

ensuring that the Council, in reaching decisions, takes proper account of the Council’s statutory responsibilities;

undertaking the Chief Executive’s annual performance development review and the members’ annual review process.

Person Skills

The Chairperson should have:

a genuine understanding and empathy for the core responsibilities of the Council as set out in legislation and its Strategic Plan;

experience of best practice in corporate governance;

good communication skills and the capacity to represent the Council publicly and notably to the Welsh Government and Senedd itself;

a commitment to supporting a coherent and practical vision shared by the Council, the wider profession, and others with an interest in education, to help establish Wales as an outstanding place in which to teach and learn.

Further responsibilities and key behaviours expected of the Chairperson are set out in the Council’s Code of Conduct & Best Practice for Members.

Time Commitment and Reimbursement

Time Commitment

The time commitment of the Chairperson is not expected to exceed on average two days per week. However, there will be times when less time commitment is required and periods when this might be exceeded. An agreement regarding time commitment will be negotiated to ensure the delivery of the Council’s work as well as flexibility with the Chairperson’s other commitments.

Reimbursement

For a Chairperson who is employed, the employer will be reimbursed for their existing salary and on-costs. This will operate in a manner similar to a secondment whereby the Chairperson will continue to be paid by their employer and the Council will recompense the employer (including reimbursing the employer for payments to NI and superannuation).

For a Chairperson who is self-employed or who is not employed, a daily rate will be paid which will be set by the Council in accordance with the EWC’s Financial Control Procedures (FCP). This will be paid via the EWC payroll process and will be subject to tax and NI deductions.

System for the Election of Chairperson

An election will be held for the appointment of the Chairperson.

Nominations and Election Period

A candidate for election to the post of Chairperson must be a member of the Council.

Candidates must be nominated by a member of the Council and the nomination must be seconded by another member of Council.

Nominated candidates must give their permission for their names to be put forward for election on the nomination forms.

The Returning Officer will be the Chief Executive of the Council.

Nominations for the post of Chairperson must be submitted by dates set by the Returning Officer.

The Returning Officer will arrange for a secret ballot whereby all Council members are able to vote for the Council Chairperson from all of the nominations received by the closing date for receipt of nominations.

If only one nomination is received for the post, the Returning Officer will declare that candidate to have been elected.

If no nominations are received, the Council will meet to discuss and resolve the matter with the knowledge that the Council must have an elected Chairperson.

Electoral System

The electoral system will be the Alternative Vote system. For each election, each Council member will be able to rank their candidates in an order of preference by marking on the ballot paper a ‘1’ next to their favoured candidate, a ‘2’ next to their second favoured candidate, and so on.

The candidate who receives a majority of the vote will be declared to have been elected as Chairperson by the Returning Officer. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the second choices for the candidate at the bottom will be redistributed. The process will be repeated until one candidate receives an absolute majority.

Counting of votes will take place by the Corporate Governance Officer acting as an independent scrutineer in the presence of the Returning Officer.

The Returning Officer will declare the result of each election to all Council members as soon as the election result is known.

Electoral Timeline

As specified in the Standing Orders, the term of office for Council members is 4 years. As the Council elects a Chairperson from amongst its membership, the Chairperson cannot be elected until after the first Council meeting. The appointment will therefore be concurrent with their term as a Council member.

Members who may be interested in standing for election will need to consider their position with regards to the time commitment required to be the Chairperson of the Council as outlined at paragraph five. Potential candidates may wish to speak to their current employer and/or the Chief Executive of the EWC to establish whether or not adopting the position of Council Chairperson is feasible. To allow sufficient time for this and to ensure continuity in the Council’s work, one of the following two options will be adopted:

(a)	In the case of the current Chairperson being reappointed for another term as a Council member

As referred to in the Members’ Annual Review Process members are afforded the opportunity to note their intention to be considered for possible reappointment following the end of their term.

In the instance that the current Council Chairperson is reappointed as a Council member, they will remain in the capacity of Council Chairperson until a start date has been agreed with the new Council Chairperson following the announcement of the election result. This will ensure that the Council has a Chairperson in place for its first meeting and allow adequate time for the election process to take place.

The election process to appoint a Council Chairperson (as outlined at paragraphs 8-20) will commence immediately following the first meeting of the new Council (April immediately following the Council’s Induction) and the successfully elected member will commence as the Chairperson of Council upon agreeing a suitable start date and will thereafter remain as Chairperson for the remainder of the four year term of office.

Should the current Council Chairperson not be reappointed, option (b) as listed below shall be adopted.

(b)	In the case of the current Chairperson not being reappointed for another term as a Council member (this may be of their own accord or in line with the Welsh Government’s public appointments procedure)

Welsh Government typically begin the public appointments recruitment process during the autumn of the fourth year of Council’s term. At this stage, members who had expressed an interest in being reappointed to serve another term should be notified of the Minister’s intention in this regard.

Once it is known which members will be reappointed to continue for another term, the Council will discuss and decide which of these members will act as Interim Chairperson for the period between the conclusion of the current Chairperson’s term and the announcement of the result of the election of a new Chairperson.

This discussion among members will usually take place in the November of the fourth year of term of the Council. Should the information regarding the reappointment of members be unknown at that point then a special meeting of Council will be convened for the discussion to take place.

The primary role of the Interim Chairperson will be to Chair the first meeting of the new Council and the Induction Training in the April. The Interim Chairperson may also be required to undertake any of the duties outlined at paragraph two during the interim period although will not be expected to commit to the obligations outlined at paragraph five.

The Interim Chairperson will be entitled to claim the agreed daily rate for the Council Chairperson as outlined in the Council’s Financial Control Procedures while undertaking these duties.

A decision on who to appoint as Interim Chairperson will be decided as a consensus by the Council rather than an election process.

Adopting the role of Interim Chairperson will not prohibit an individual from standing for election as Council Chairperson when the process opens.

In order to protect the Council, members must come to a consensus on an Interim Chairperson to ensure that there are no periods in time whereby the Council does not have a Chairperson.

Following the first meeting of the new Council, the election process will open and will follow the procedure listed at paragraphs 8-20.

All members will be formally notified of the result of the election in advance of the Council’s second meeting which will usually take place in July. The elected Chairperson will then commence their term and remain in this position for the remainder of the four-year term in line with the terms of Council membership.

Resignation of the Council Chairperson / Removal from office

Should the elected Chairperson of Council wish to resign their position or is removed from office as a Council member during their term as per the reasons outlined in the Council’s Standing Orders, formal written notice should be provided to the Chief Executive. A suitable notice period will be collaboratively agreed to allow ample time for another election to take place.

The Council may wish to convene to appoint an Interim Chairperson dependent on the circumstances.

ANNEX A

ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON OF COUNCIL

NOMINATION FORM

Name of Nominated Candidate: __________________________

I give permission for my name to be put forward as a candidate for the post of Chairperson: Signature : _______________________________________

Proposed by Please print name : ________________________________ Signature : ____________________________________

Seconded by Please print name : ________________________________ Signature : _____________________________________

Return to the Returning Officer by email, by XXXXX.

ANNEX B

Ballot paper for the Election of Chairperson of Council

The electoral system will be the Alternative Vote system. Members are invited to rank their candidates in an order of preference by marking on the ballot paper a ‘1’ next to their favoured candidate, a ‘2’ next to their second favoured candidate, and so on.

The candidate who receives a majority of the vote will be declared to have been elected by the Returning Officer. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the second choices for the candidate at the bottom are redistributed. The process will be repeated until one candidate receives an absolute majority.

SURNAME, NAME
SURNAME, NAME
SURNAME, NAME

Return to the Independent Scrutineer by email, by XXXXX.