Guidance

Call for expression of interest for the Industry Co-Chair of the Food and Drink Export Council

Published 20 July 2022

This is a call for expressions of interest in being a voluntary Co-Chair of the Food and Drink Export Council.

Background

In October 2021, the government announced the intention to establish a new Food and Drink Export Council (Export Council) to promote British goods overseas. The Export Council will use a collaborative approach. It will harness expertise and resource from government and industry across the UK in a collective endeavour to increase agriculture, food and drink exports.

The Export Council will comprise of strong representation from government, industry, and regionally across different parts of the UK. This will ensure the council delivers for all parts of the UK and all scales of business. The membership will be diverse and dynamic with an onus on innovation, raising ambition, building capability and effective collaboration.

It will comprise of:

• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Department for International Trade (DIT) representatives
• devolved administrations
• industry bodies
• a selection of dynamic and innovative businesses including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

DIT is calling for applications in order to appoint an industry co-chair who has the expertise and interest in driving forward agriculture, food and drink exports.

Industry co-chair

The Food and Drink Export Council will be led by the Minister for Exports and an industry co-chair.

Operation of the Export Council

Meetings of the Export Council will be convened by the Minister for Exports and the industry co-chair. The Council shall act at the request of the Minister for Exports and agree to be bound collectively by its terms of reference (TOR) as a condition for joining.

The Council shall meet upon DIT’s invitation on government premises or virtually. DIT shall provide secretariat services. The Council will meet at least on a quarterly basis. The Council will run for an initial 2-year term, with periodic reviews to ensure it delivers in line with its TOR. The location will be flexible.

Person specification

Applicants for the co-chair should provide evidence as to how they demonstrate the following criteria:

Essential:

1. Experience across key sub-sectors such as: drinks, meat and dairy, processed foods, plant-based, organic, healthy, sustainability.
2. Recognised dynamic leader within sector.
3. Track record and/or experience of actively growing exports or supporting others to grow exports, with tangible results.
4. Contribute to the Council’s ability as a whole to equitably represent business from all parts of the UK.

Desirable:

1. Experience being innovative in delivery of exporting.
2. Has worked in a business with diverse ownership and/or business model.
3. Experience and knowledge of animal welfare and/or sustainability issues.

Individuals will be selected on the basis that they will provide a breadth of knowledge and experience related to the work of the Export Council.

Individuals will need to demonstrate how they are a strong, dynamic leader who can reinforce the principles in the TOR. They will need to build a cohesive Council, maintain momentum, working equitably across sub-sectors, and hold members to account in collectively owning and delivering tangible outcomes.

Appointment

The industry co-chair will be appointed by the Minister for International Trade, from applicants meeting the criteria referred to in this call for evidence.

How to apply

To apply complete the:

• expression of interest form (ODT, 18KB)
• candidate organisation and conflict of interest form (ODT, 35KB)
• diversity monitoring form (ODT, 23KB)
• disability confident form (ODT, 47KB)

You must then submit the completed forms and your CV to agri.food.drink@trade.gov.uk.

See DIT’s public appointments privacy notice.

Deadline for application

The closing date of this call for expression of interest is 11:59pm 10 August 2022.

All applications will be acknowledged by email after the closing date.

You should note that DIT will only provide feedback to those applicants invited to interview. This post is NOT regulated by The Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Selection procedure

All expressions of interest will be considered and assessed against the criteria by policy experts and ministers representing DIT. Panel member names will be published upon confirmation. The Advisory Assessment Panel reserves the right to only consider applications that contain all of the elements listed above, and that arrive before the published deadline for applications.

Panel interviews with applicants will be held week commencing 22 August 2022, with announcements planned for September 2022.

In appointing members of the Council, the Minister for Exports shall aim at ensuring, as far as possible, a high level of expertise. A balanced representation of relevant areas and interests will also be considered. Appointments will additionally take into account the specific tasks of the Council, the type of expertise required, as well as the relevance of the applications received.

To facilitate an open and constructive discussion at Council meetings, members will be expected to conform to the highest standards of confidentiality and will be required to sign TOR as a pre-condition for joining the Council.

Candidate declaration form

It is a requirement of the appointments process that we ask interested applicants to declare the below activity as part of our due diligence.

These comprise:

• declaration of conflicts of interest or perceived conflicts of interest; previous conduct which could bring the reputation of the department into disrepute; political activity
• requests for references

As such, please complete and return the attached candidate declaration form as part of your application. Please note that we will also carry out searches of candidates’ financial probity, public statements, and publicly available social media profiles.

You should note that political activity detailed in this form will be provided separately to the panel and may, if appropriate, be discussed with you during your interview.

Diversity

Her Majesty’s Government embraces and values diversity in all forms. DIT welcomes and prides itself on the positive impact diversity has on the work we do, and we promote equality of opportunity throughout the organisation. We therefore encourage applications from the widest range of qualified groups.

We encourage all applicants to complete the diversity monitoring form as part of their application. Diversity monitoring forms will not be used as part of the application assessment. Details will be anonymised and used in aggregated format to assess our performance against DIT’s diversity and inclusion objectives.

Disability Confident scheme

DIT is committed to providing equality of opportunity for all candidates during the selection process, so that appointments are selected from the widest pool of talent available. 

We are signed up to the Disability Confident scheme and as part of that commitment we guarantee an interview to any candidate who fulfills both of the following requirements:

• has disclosed a disability as defined under the Equality Act 2010 (see definition below)
• meets the essential criteria for the post(s) in question, as set out in the role advertisement

The Equality Act 2010 defines a person as disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

If you wish to apply under the Disability Confident scheme, please complete the disability confident form (ODT, 47KB) and return it with your application.