Cabinet Office
Commissioners - Commission on Human Medicines
| Body: | Department of Health and Social Care |
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| Appointing Department: | Department of Health |
| Sector: | Health |
| Location: | London |
| Number of Vacancies: | 5 |
| Remuneration: | The Commissioners are remunerated at the standard rate of £325 per meeting. |
| Time Requirements: | Approximately 22 days per year, including 11 meetings and any ad-hoc meetings based on need. |
Campaign Timeline
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Competition Launched
12/10/2020
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Closed for Applications
10/11/2020 at 12:00
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Panel Sift
07/12/2020
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Final Interview Date
11/02/2021
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Announcement
TBC
Assessment Panel
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Stephen Lightfoot Added 12/10/2020
Panel Chair
Chair of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency • Representative of Organisation
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Dr June Raine Added 12/10/2020
CEO of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency • Representative of Organisation
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Professor Sir John Bell Added 12/10/2020
Regius Professor of Medicine, Oxford University • Other Panel Member
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Rima Makarem Added 12/10/2020
Non-Executive Director, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence • Independent Member
Vacancy Description
Ministers are seeking to make 5 appointments to the board of the CHM.
Role and Responsibilities of a Commissioner
Commissioners are required to:
- possess or develop a working knowledge and understanding of the UK medicines regulatory procedures
- attend all scheduled and unscheduled meetings of the CHM (and to be present for the whole meeting)
- consider, comment and contribute by drawing on their individual expertise and judgement, as appropriate, on all agenda items and to assist the CHM to frame clear and unequivocal advice to Ministers in accordance with the CHM’s terms of reference
- be able and prepared to speak on a range of relevant issues and not just on their own areas of specialism
- provide formal and informal advice to Ministers between meetings when required
- contribute to and ensure the CHM’s advice takes account of a wider view of risk and benefit, particularly as it is perceived by patients, carers and other members of the public
Person Specification
The Department of Health and Social Care values and promotes diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community. The boards of public bodies should reflect the population they are there to serve. Boards also benefit from fresh perspectives, and we are always keen to encourage candidates with private sector experience to consider applying for our roles.
Essential Criteria
To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills and experience to meet all the essential criteria for appointment.
- ability to operate effectively on a national expert scientific committee
- be skilled communicators
- ability to assimilate complex scientific information at short notice
- ability and prepared to contribute actively to the work of the CHM
In addition, for the five specialist posts successful candidates should be recognised by their peers and/or be Fellows of the relevant Royal Colleges in one of the following areas:
- pharmacogenomics/pharmacogenetics;
- in clinical pharmacology/ pharmacovigilance;
- epidemiology and clinical trials;
- a nurse specialist;
- an expert in pharmacy and standards;
- a toxicologist.
We may also require additional expertise of a psychiatrist.
Additional Information
The functions of the CHM are:
- To advise Ministers on matters relating to human medicinal products (except those that fall under the remit of The Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products (ABRHP) and the Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee (HMAC) including giving advice in relation to the safety, quality and efficacy of human medicinal products, where either the CHM think it appropriate or where it is asked to do so.
- To advise the Licensing Authority (LA) where the LA has a duty to consult the CHM or where the LA chooses to consult the CHM
- To consider representations made in relation to the CHM’s advice (either in writing or at a hearing) by an applicant or by a licence or Marketing Authorisation (MA) holder; and;
- to promote the collection and investigation of information relating to adverse reactions for human medicines (except for those products that fall within the remit of ABRHP or HMAC) for the purposes of enabling such advice to be given.
Background on some aspects of the CHM’s work
An annual report is produced at the end of each calendar year which is laid before parliament and made public. A link to the 2019 report is available through the Gov.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-medicines-regulations-2012-advisory-bodies-annual-report-2019
How to Apply
Thank you for your interest in the appointment of a Commissioner to the CHM.
To make an application please email your CV, a supporting letter and completed monitoring forms to:
appointments.team@dhsc.gov.uk – please quote VAC:1725 in the subject field.
If you are unable to apply by email, please contact the Appointments Team via the above email address to discuss alternative options.
Applications must be received by midday on 10 November 2020.
In making an application please note the following:
Supporting letter
The supporting letter is your opportunity to demonstrate how you meet each of the criteria set out in the person specification. It will benefit the Advisory Assessment Panel if you can be clear which specific evidence you provide relates to which criteria. Providing separate paragraphs in relation to each criterion is common practice. Please write all acronyms in full first.
Please ensure your full name, the role to which you are applying and the corresponding reference number for the post are clearly noted at the top of your letter.
Please limit your letter to two pages, and type or write clearly in black ink.
Conflicts of interest
If you have any business or personal interests that might be relevant to the work of the CHM, and which could lead to a real or perceived conflict of interest if you were to be appointed, please provide details in your Supporting letter.
If appointed, you will also be required to declare these interests on appointment and they will be entered on a register which is available to the public.
Standards in public life and ensuring public confidence
Given the nature of public appointments, it is important that those appointed as members of public bodies maintain the confidence of the public and Government. If there are any issues in your personal or professional history (including any convictions or bankruptcy) that could, if you were appointed, be misconstrued, cause embarrassment to Ministers or the CHM or cause public confidence in the appointment to be jeopardised, it is important that you bring them to the attention of the Advisory Assessment Panel and provide details of the issue/s in your Supporting letter. In considering whether you wish to declare any issues, you should also reflect on any public statements you have made, including through social media and blogs. Due Diligence may be carried out on any publicly available information and shared with the Advisory Assessment Panel.
The panel may explore any issues you declare with you before they make a recommendation on the appointment.
Failure to disclose such information could result in an appointment being terminated, as those who hold public appointments are expected to demonstrate the highest standards of corporate and personal conduct and are required to subscribe to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, as part of agreeing to the terms and conditions of appointment. You can access this document at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/board-members-of-public-bodies-code-of-conduct
There are also circumstances in which individuals may not be considered for appointment, due to them not meeting certain eligibility criteria for appointment. For further information, please refer to Section 2.3: Eligibility Criteria
If you wish to discuss any queries on conflicts, please see the contacts section.
CV
Please ensure your CV includes:
- Your full name, title, home address, personal contact telephone numbers (land line and mobile), personal email address and details of any twitter accounts and LinkedIn accounts including your twitter handle/username.
- Similar contact details for two referees who will support your application. One referee should be the person to whom you are/were accountable in your current/most recent appointment or position of employment. Please indicate the relationship of each referee to you. References will be requested for short-listed candidates prior to interview
- Brief details of your current or most recent post and the dates you occupied this role. Please identify any past or present Ministerial appointments.
Monitoring form
Please complete the monitoring form. Diversity monitoring information will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel assessing your application.
Political activity information is primarily for monitoring purposes only, however if you are shortlisted for interview, this information will be shared with the selection panel. The reason for this is that it is appreciated that such activities may have given you relevant skills, including experience gained from committee work, collective decision-making, resolving conflict and public speaking. If you have had such experience and you consider it relevant to your application for this post, you should also take the opportunity to include it separately in your supporting statement. If possible, you should not, however, identify the relevant political party in your statement.
If you are appointed to this role, please note that any political activity you declare will be published in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme
The Department of Health and Social Care operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) for disabled people. The Equality Act 2010 defines a person as disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Under the GIS a disabled candidate will be selected for interview if they meet the essential criteria for the post.
If you wish to apply under the GIS please complete the GIS form and return it with your application.
All applications will be acknowledged by email after the closing date.
Contacts
For further information regarding the selection process, please contact
Sally Brough-Hirst
Appointments Team
Tel: 0113 2546138
Email: Sally.Brough-Hirst@dhsc.gov.uk
For further information regarding the role of the CHM and the role of a Commissioner please contact:
CHM Appointments Team
Tel: 020 3080 6060
Email: ECS.Appointments@mhra.gov.uk
Please quote reference VAC-1725 on all correspondence.
If you choose to apply, we would like to thank you in advance for your time and effort in making an application.
| Attachments | |
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VAC-1725 Commissioners Info Pack v.final |
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14.1 diversity-monitoring-form |
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15. GIS_Form |
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12.1 DHSC_Privacy-notice-v03 |
