Will the Assembly Commission outline the recruitment process it undertook for the recently created position of Director of Communications and Engagement, and how many applications were received?
The Commission followed a comprehensive process to appoint the Director of Communications and Engagement, as follows:
· Approval to recruit to a Director post was given by the Assembly Commission;
· The Commission engaged an Executive Search Agency to source a broad range of candidates for consideration and to support the selection process through to short-listing;
· The post was advertised and actively sourced for a period of three weeks;
· A long-list of 28 candidates was considered by a Panel comprising the Chief Executive and Clerk, the Executive search agent, and one of the Commission’s Independent Advisors.
· From the long-list, 11 candidates were invited to interview.
· The interview Panel comprised the Chief Executive and Clerk, Director of Resources, Director of Assembly Business and the Executive search agent.
· 5 candidates were subsequently invited to a shortlisting assessment which required them to:
o Deliver a presentation followed by questions on Public Engagement Strategy, to a staff focus group drawn from services and grades across the Commission;
o Undertake a formal interview with a Panel comprising the Chief Executive and Clerk, Director of Resources, Director of Assembly Business, and the interim Chief Legal Advisor.
o Complete a Welsh Language assessment to demonstrate their capability to meet the post requirements.
· A further discussion with the 2 final candidates was held by the Chief Executive and Clerk, as the appointing line manager;
· Subsequent to this an informal offer of employment was made to the successful candidate;
· The Assembly Commission was updated about the process to appoint to the post ; and
· A formal offer of appointment was made.