2 The requirements of the post
4. The Children's Commissioner is an appointment
made by the Secretary of State for Education under Schedule 1
to the Children Act 2004. The primary function of the post is
"to promote and protect the rights of children, with a particular
focus on ensuring that the views of the most vulnerable children
are heard; and that the rights of children in vulnerable circumstances
are upheld".[1] The
Commissioner's statutory remit is set out in Part 1 and Schedule
1 of the Children Act 2004, as amended by Part 6 and Schedule
5 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
5. The recruitment pack drawn up by the Department
for Education set out "a non-exhaustive list of activities
contained in the legislation […] to illustrate the breadth
of the Commissioner's remit". These included:
· gathering
and promoting awareness of the views and interests of children;
· advising central
and local government and those who work with children, on children's
rights, views and interests;
· monitoring
the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child (UNCRC) in England;
· investigating
any matter relating to the rights of children, including the adequacy
of complaints and advocacy services for children;
· carrying out
and following up on children's rights impact assessments on new
policies and legislation that affect children;
· commissioning
research relevant to the rights, views and interests of children;
and
· providing advice
and assistance to children who live away from home or are in receipt
of social care services.
NB: The Commissioner is not an Ombudsman and,
in general, cannot conduct investigations into the case of an
individual child.
In exercising the primary function, the Children's
Commissioner is required to:
· involve
children in all work undertaken and in particular to have regard
to the views of those children who do not have other adequate
means of making their views known;
· ensure children
are made aware of the Commissioner and his/her work and how to
communicate with him/her;
· publish reports
on any matter that the Commissioner has investigated, considered
or researched;
· appoint an
advisory board;
· consult annually
on his or her draft business plan;
· report annually
to Parliament on the impact that the Commissioner has had on the
promotion and protection of children's rights;
· ensure the
efficient running of the Office of the Children's Commissioner
(OCC) and act as OCC's Accounting Officer, responsible for the
efficient and proper use of the public funds it receives;
· work closely
with the Children's Commissioners in Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland and the European Network of Children's Commissioners;
and
· work with a
wide variety of other bodies to promote children's rights and
the delivery of public functions and services in a way which respects
children's rights.[2]
6. Candidates for the post were required to demonstrate:
· an
understanding of the issues and problems facing children and young
people from different backgrounds, and the ability to bring about
changes that have a demonstrable impact on children's lives;
· an understanding
of the delivery of public services affecting children and the
policy context within which those services operate;
· the ability
to lead a high profile and complex organisation, create effective
partnership working, influence stakeholders and provide effective
challenge;
· the ability
to successfully communicate with a wide range of audiences-including
children, decision makers, government, parliament and the media;
· the ability
to think strategically about the issues affecting children in
order to represent their views and interests effectively;
· the ability
to engage with and gain the confidence of children and young people
in order to effectively represent their views and interests;
· an understanding
of how children's rights are protected and promoted through the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC),
domestic legislation and other international treaties; and
· a sound grasp
of financial management and the importance of securing value for
money.
7. The appointment is for a single, non-renewable
term of six years at a "competitive salary".[3]
1 See appendix 3 Back
2
See appendix 3 Back
3
See appendix 3 Back
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