DiPA - Diversity in Public Appointments Diversity in Public Appointments   Contact DiPA:
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Public Appointments - right for you?
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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»

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start quoteUnder-represented groups tend to undervalue their expertise... DiPA can help you identify your transferable skills and show you how to present them to achieve maximum impact.end quote
   


  
 
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