Public appointments
Public bodies play an important part in the governance of Northern Ireland. They provide specialist advice to Ministers, assist with the delivery of essential public services and carry out important regulatory functions.
Membership of Public Bodies
Membership of public bodies enables the wider community to play a role in influencing and shaping the provision of a range of public services and ensures that particular expertise is brought to the direction of these services.
Ministerial appointments
Each Minister in the Executive is ultimately responsible for the activities of the public bodies sponsored by their Departments and in most cases (except, for example where there is separate statutory provision) Ministers make the appointments to their boards.
The final decision about who to appoint rests with the Minister.
Commissioner for Public Appointments
The Commissioner for Public Appointments in Northern Ireland (CPANI), Judena Leslie, regulates, monitors and reports on the process for making Ministerial public appointments.
The Commissioner’s statutory remit extends only to appointments to those public bodies listed in the relevant legislation. The Commissioner has published a Code of Practice for Departments on how the public appointments process is managed.
CPANI Workshops
- The Commissioner runs free, half-day workshops aimed at explaining the nature of the public appointment process and how best to complete an application. These are normally held on the Stormont Estate. If you would be interested in attending, details can be found on the CPANI website at https://www.publicappointmentsni.org/workshops
Current public appointment competitions
Public appointments across the Northern Ireland Civil Service are advertised on nidirect, the government website for people living in Northern Ireland.
Details of public appointment competitions for bodies sponsored by the Department of Justice are displayed below. There are currently no open competitions.