What
is a Public Appointment?
There are some 12,000 Public Appointments in the UK, covering a
huge range of interests, from the arts and sport to health services
and education. Public Appointments can relate to local, regional
or national issues and services.
A Public
Appointment can be an appointment to the board of a public body
(such as an NHS Trust or National
Parks Authority) or it can mean you can be assessor for a professional
standards body, or you can be involved in deciding how to allocate
grants for certain causes. There is a public body which is responsible
for nearly every issue that affects you, your family and your neighbourhood!
A Public
Appointment can also be an appointment to:
-
the board of a Quango
-
a board of trustees
- a
board as a non-executive member of a public company
Examples
of local public appointments include lay magistrates, independent
custody visitors or school governors.
Public
appointments offer you the opportunity to be strategically involved
in monitoring, advocacy, standard setting, and service delivery
and to influence policy or monitor policy implementation on issues
you are truly passionate about.
Is
a Public Appointment right for you?
If you meet a post's criteria and you are committed to public service
then the answer is 'yes'. For some Public Appointments no specialist
knowledge is needed, for others specific qualifications or experience
may be necessary. All advertisements for Public Appointments will
outline specific application criteria and person specifications.
But don't be afraid if you don't meet all the criteria. It is more
important that you think about what and how your skills and experience
are relevant or transferable for the needs of a particular Public
Appointment This is where DiPA's expertise can really help.
Under-represented
groups tend to undervalue their expertise, in fact research shows
that women and black and ethnic minorities, for example, hesitate
to apply for positions because they think their skills aren't suitable
or because they don't feel they can meet all the requirements. DiPA
can help you to identify your transferable skills and show you how
to present them to achieve maximum impact.
Be
realistic, be confident
Selection for all Public Appointments is extremely competitive but
all appointments are made on merit. Remember, DIPA cannot
guarantee to get you a Public Appointment so at DiPA we encourage
you to be realistic about your application but most importantly
we remind and support you to be confident about what you can bring
to a position.
'Make
your shout count'
If you are passionate about an issue then a Public Appointment that
suits your talents, is a practical way of influencing decision-making
and gaining skills which can be invaluable in other aspects of your
life or career. It can also be an extremely satisfying way of helping
achieve change in things that matter to you. At DiPA we like
to think of it as 'making your shout count'.
Useful
sites
Take a look at these useful web sites to find out more about Public
Appointments and see what vacancies are available in your areas
of interest.
How
can DiPA help me? Read more» |