Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner – Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner – Northern Ireland Office Closed
* Closes 01st November*

The Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner is a challenging and rewarding opportunity. It calls for someone who can work effectively with a wide range of individuals and who has good judgement, resilience, sensitivity and vision of a high order. He or she will be expected to engage with, listen to, and act upon the experiences of service users; promote rigorous and supportive challenge, while being sensitive to the views of others;

foster and maintain good relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, and liaise effectively with the UK and Northern Ireland Governments, Health Boards, local councils and other local and national partners.

Thank you for your interest in the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner position.

I place great importance on the role of Commissioner and seek an individual to be the advocate for veterans in Northern Ireland and ensure that their voices are heard and their needs are met.

The Commissioner must understand the wider public sector landscape and hear directly from veterans and from those who do so much to support them. Understanding the veterans’ perspective, knowing where the problems are, and working alongside partners to identify solutions, will be crucial to the continuing success of this office and that will require creativity and leadership. A good working knowledge of the veterans sector or the ability to understand it quickly will therefore be essential as would be experience of working in or with the public sector.

The enclosed information will, I hope, answer many of the questions you may have about the role and work of the Commissioner. The post is non-statutory and, as such, does not have legal powers or duties. It does, however, offer a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual to deliver maximum impact for former members of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force in Northern Ireland.

I will be looking to appoint an individual who can bring vision, influence and innovation to the role; someone who will work collaboratively with third sector partners and public sector leaders to drive improvements in standards of service. I welcome applications from all suitably experienced individuals regardless of ethnicity, religion or belief, political opinion, gender, sexual orientation, age and disability.

I hope that you will feel able to submit an application and, once again, thank you for your interest in the post.

“Appoint a Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner to act as an independent point of contact to support and enhance outcomes for veterans in Northern Ireland.”

The Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner will be a visible leader and advocate, establishing strong networks and being influential. The Commissioner, working constructively with senior stakeholders, from public sector organisations and the ex-service sector, will support improved outcomes for veterans in Northern Ireland through collaboration and negotiation.

The work of the Commissioner must remain outcome-focused, requiring an individual who is able to foresee and overcome barriers to progress, in order to support continuous improvement.

The Commissioner must have or be able to quickly gain an understanding of the veterans sector and the broader military landscape.

Much of the Commissioner’s work will focus on the veteran’s journey as they navigate public services and thus familiarity with the public sector in Northern Ireland and how it provides services to the veterans’ community will be desirable. An understanding of the complaints handling and appeals procedures in place within the public sector would also be of benefit.

In advising on future policy development, the Commissioner should be cognisant of the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive’s strategic objectives and the wider policy context, taking a long‑term, strategic and holistic approach. They should make connections across a number of environments and…