Commissioner for Standards

at  House of Lords

JOB SUMMARY

The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK Parliament with around 800 members. It is independent from, and complements the work of, the elected House of Commons. The Lords has three main roles: helping to make laws, in-depth consideration of public policy and scrutinising government. The House of Lords Administration employs around 700 people, delivering excellent services to the House and its members, including the Office of the Commissioners for Standards.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The House of Lords expects the highest standards of conduct from its members. An important part of this is having a robust Code of Conduct. It is the role of the two independent Commissioners for Standards to consider and investigate complaints of breaches of the Code of Conduct. This is challenging, often high-profile, work and it has an essential role to play in securing public confidence in the House.
Two Commissioners have been in place since June 2021, sharing the workload between them. One role is now being advertised because one of the Commissioners is standing down. The successful candidate will be responsible for independently and impartially investigating alleged breaches of the House of Lords Code of Conduct.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Candidates will have operated at a senior level within a complex organisation in the public, private or not-for-profit sectors and will bring personal authority to the role. They must be able to reach objective conclusions based on evidence and rigorous analysis of often large volumes of complex information. Successful candidates will bring significant experience of conducting investigations and adjudicating on complaints.
In recruiting a new Commissioner, the House is seeking an individual with integrity, who will demonstrate an independent and objective approach to handling cases. If you think you have the appropriate attributes for this role, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Things you need to know

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

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