About the Role
Locations: Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, Salford or Nottingham
Salary: £100,000 - £162,500
Standard Civil Service pay principles apply to existing civil servants: Those applying on promotion will receive either a 10% increase of their current basic salary or the pay band minimum (whichever is greater), for those applying on level transfer, there would be no salary uplift, in line with Civil Service pay rules.
This is a once in a generation opportunity to shape and lead a body that will be at the very heart of transforming the world of work for millions of people. As the Chief Executive of this new Agency, your role will be critical to shaping the FWA’s early direction and ensuring it makes a real, positive difference to the lives of working people.
You will provide visionary leadership to promote fair employment practices, uphold workplace rights, ensure the Agency delivers its wide-ranging statutory functions effectively and lead the ongoing transformation of the organisation. With a starting budget of over £65m per year you will ensure the agency delivers value for money, focusing resources where they will have the most impact and constantly innovating to improve performance. You will be critical to working up plans for the Agency’s further expansion, working with the Chair and Advisory Board who will help shape the FWA strategy going forward.
One of the really exciting things about this role is the breadth of responsibilities the FWA will have – it will have a sharp focus on protecting workers from serious labour abuse but also needs to work to support the vast majority of businesses who are trying to do the right thing to comply with the law. The CEO will be absolutely critical in ensuring that the FWA leadership has the full confidence of all of the many stakeholders who will need to be fully engaged if the agency is to meet Ministers’ expectations.
- Strategic Leadership and Transformation: Working with the Chair and Advisory Board to set and deliver the long-term strategy for the FWA, ensuring alignment with government policy. You will drive the transition from multiple enforcement bodies to a single, unified agency, planning for phase two expansion of powers and responsibilities as set out in the Employment Rights Bill.
- Statutory Powers and Enforcement: You will ensure that the powers of the body are used appropriately. This includes supporting businesses to become compliant in the first instance, while also deploying robust, intelligence-led enforcement where this is necessary. You will also play a critical role in the development and then deployment of new powers.
- Financial Stewardship: Manage a substantial budget (circa £65m per annum initially), ensuring value for public money, compliance with government financial and accountability frameworks, and delivery of high standards of integrity and transparency. As the FWA grows the CEO will need to play a critical role in developing ways of assessing the value for money of different interventions, particularly critical given the range of activities (from upstream compliance work through to traditional enforcement) the agency will be responsible for.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain strong, balanced relationships with stakeholders, including government, employers, workers, trade unions, and independent experts across the whole range of the agency's responsibilities. You will ensure effective engagement through the Advisory Board and act as the public face of the agency in national forums.
- Culture and People: Champion a new, collaborative and innovative culture, uniting diverse public and civil service backgrounds who have traditionally taken different approaches to securing compliance and enforcement. You will inspire and lead a growing workforce, embedding continuous improvement and a drive for innovation across the agency.
- Governance and Accountability: Serve as principal advisor to the Advisory Board, supporting robust governance and ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. You will be personally accountable for safeguarding public funds and for the agency's operational effectiveness.
- Operational Excellence and Risk Management: Oversee all aspects of operational management, including financial controls, HR, and service delivery. You will identify and manage risks to the agency's operations, reputation, and statutory compliance, ensuring the FWA is effective from day one and ready for future growth.
- Experienced senior operational leader with a proven ability to significantly improve performance in a high profile, complex, multifaceted service delivery organisation.
- An ability to inspire and connect with people at all levels within the organisation to ensure that there is a clear shared sense of mission and purpose.
- The ability to communicate effectively, inspiring confidence in the wide range of stakeholders who will be critical to the success of the Fair Work Agency. In particular the candidate will need to demonstrate they can win the confidence of both worker representatives and employers.
- Experience of setting strategic direction to ensure multiple competing priorities are met, championing collaboration and healthy challenge at Board level.
- Track record of driving significant innovation to transform service outcomes
- Financial and commercial acumen, with experience of managing large budgets and delivering value for money and improved efficiency.
- Experience of successfully managing significant organisational change, including possible increases in staff size, structure, and amalgamation of organisations with differing cultures.
Interview with FWA Chair, Matthew Taylor
