Apply to be a member of the Governing Board (An Bórd) of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD)

The Minister of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified candidates for consideration for appointment as members to An Bórd of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD).

The Minister intends making five appointments to fill current ordinary member vacancies, which have arisen under Section 6 of the National College of Art and Design Act, 1971.

Expressions of interest are now invited from suitably qualified applicants with the capacity to demonstrate in their application evidence at an appropriately senior level in two or more of the following areas:

• Higher Education and Research - A career history at a sufficiently senior level in a Higher Education Institution and have experience of organisational development, research and the national and international landscape for Higher Education.
• Management and Corporate Governance Experience - Significant experience in the area of management and corporate governance at an appropriately senior level,
• Experience of Philanthropy and Fundraising - Involvement in philanthropy and fundraising within the framework of education. Experience of identifying and cultivating prospective donors and connections, nationally and internationally, would also be an advantage.
• Business Experience - significant business experience at an appropriately senior level.
• Experience of Art and Design - Demonstrate an active involvement in the field of Irish and international art and/or design.
• Professional Legal Experience - Candidates must hold a recognised professional qualification in law and membership of the relevant professional body, or be former legal practitioners.
• Experience of Capital Projects and Infrastructure Development – direct experience of the management and governance of capital projects and infrastructure development.

Desirable

• General Experience - Candidates should be able to demonstrate the ability to take a strategic approach to the issues and circumstances facing the College, the ability to work as part of a team, good communication skills and the ability to act as an ambassador for the College and an understanding of good governance practices.
• Working knowledge of IT system management and or cyber security would be an advantage.
• Experience of enterprise risk management and internal audit would be an advantage.

Appointment terms to the Governing Board of the NCAD are governed by Section 7 of the National College of Art and Design Act 1971. The appointments to An Bord are for a four-year term, other than the Director whose appointment is for so long as s/he is Director.

A member whose term expires may be eligible for reappointment.

Positions on An Bórd of NCAD are unpaid. Travel and subsistence allowances will be paid in respect of journeys undertaken to attend meetings of the Board or to transact its business. Payments will be made in accordance with approved public sector rates and NCAD’s travel and subsistence policy, which aims to minimise the environmental impact of NCAD activities.

Members are required to devote as much time to duties of An Bórd as is necessary for the proper and efficient discharge of their duties.

An Bord convenes six to eight meetings per annum, of approximately 2.5 hours in duration. Preparation time required in advance of meetings is approximately 2 hours.

Meetings are a mixture of virtually held meetings with occasional in person meetings taking place in NCAD at 100 Thomas Street, Dublin 8.

Board members may also be nominated to serve on sub-committees and working groups of the Board such as the Audit and Risk Committee.

To be considered for nomination as a member of An Bórd, your submission should be made via the following link: Appointments to the Board of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) together with your Curriculum Vitae and a cover letter (see Appendix 1 of the Candidate Information Booklet for help with the online process).

The closing date for the campaign is no later than 3pm on Thursday, 11 July 2024.

If you have any questions regarding the application process please email stateboards@publicjobs.ie .

Shortlisting

The selection process may include a shortlisting process dependent on the numbers of applications received.

Specifying background and experience

Please take care when submitting your expression of interest. As the Assessment Panel will generally make its recommendation(s) based on consideration of the documentation which you submit, it is most important that you do the following:

1. Ensure your Cover Letter (and supporting CV) clearly specifies how your particular background and experience meets the requirements of the Board position(s) specified in this booklet, and

2. That you fully answer any supplementary questions which are presented to you as part of our online application process.

This will help ensure that the Assessment Panel is as informed as possible as to the basis and suitability of your candidature.

Conflicts of interest

You must also confirm that you do not have any conflicts of interest or legal impediment which would be likely to interfere with your ability to play a full part on An Bórd. You must also confirm that you can make yourself available to attend meetings of An Bórd.

Nominees outside this process

In making nominations, and in line with best practice as set out in the Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards, it should be noted that it is open to the Minister to consider suitable nominees other than those identified through this process, provided their preferred nominee meets the specified criteria.

Gender balance

The Minister shall have regard to the desirability for gender balance on An Bórd as the Minister considers appropriate and determines from time to time when making appointments.

NCAD is one of Ireland’s foremost creative and cultural institutions and is a community dedicated to creating a rich and lively learning environment for all students.

For over 270 years NCAD has represented excellence in art and design education. This role has continually evolved to reflect the needs of community and industry, enabling NCAD to imagine future possibilities and shape the world around it.

NCAD is a creative community, and one of Europe’s leading higher education institutions for visual disciplines. Its studio-based approach to teaching and research creates the environment for critical enquiry, radical experimentation and creative learning, helping its students and staff to address many of the real challenges confronting society, culture and contemporary business.

NCAD graduates, whether in Design, Fine Art, Education or Visual Culture are equipped to approach situations, questions or challenges through a process of creative thinking that they learn while students at the College. They are well qualified to bring their creativity and skills to many different careers when they leave NCAD, and NCAD graduates have gone on to make their mark in many areas of the economy and society.

Functions of An Bórd

The National College of Art and Design was established under the National College of Art and Design Act, 1971 which was updated by the Higher Education Act 2022 (HEA Act 2022).

Section 5 of the National College of Art and Design Act, 1971(as amended by the HEA Act 2022) sets out inter alia the following functions for the Board:

• the management of the college and the organisation and administration of its affairs and shall have all such powers as are necessary for or incidental to those purposes.
• establishing and carrying on schemes of education in art, crafts and design,
• providing courses for the training of persons as teachers of art,
• providing courses and lectures for the further training of teachers of art as such teachers,
• providing, if it so thinks fit, lectures on art, crafts and design for the public by members of its academic staff and other persons whom it considers suitably qualified for the purpose,
• establishing and carrying on schemes (as approved of by the Minister) for the giving of scholarships, bursaries, prizes and other awards in relation to art, crafts and design,
• holding exhibitions of art and crafts of students of the college, exhibitions of art and crafts and exhibitions devoted to any other subject matter relevant to the activities of the college,
• defraying the reasonable and necessary expenses for staff and members of An Bord in attending conferences and exhibitions, relevant to their duties,
• providing courses of study in art, crafts and design for the purpose of granting degrees, diplomas and other similar educational awards, and that lead to the grant of such degrees, diplomas or similar educational awards by that body,
• subscribing to associations and institutions of or concerned with art, crafts or design.

The HEA Act 2022 added the following additional functions for the Board:

• promote the success (including academic success) and reputation of the college.
• satisfy itself that appropriate systems, procedures and practices are in place:

-for the internal performance management and accountability of the college in respect of the performance of its functions, and the achievement of the aims in the strategic development plan

-in order to implement, and report on compliance with, the relevant policies of the Government or a Minister of the Government.

• establish and implement arrangements for the management of the performance of the Director.
• approve expenditure for major capital and investment projects.
• approve annual financial statements.
• provide for and maintain a system of audit.
• provide for and maintain a system of risk management.
• provide for and maintain a system of quality assurance.
• review and oversee the implementation of major plans of action and provide strategic direction.
• delegate such functions as may be appropriate to the Director.
• manage the financial affairs of the college to ensure value for money and its financial viability.
• account to the HEA for funding provided to the college by the HEA.

Key priorities for the work of An Bord during its current term will be development of the NCAD Campus, strategic positioning of NCAD within the international and national context of art and design and organisational development.

Composition of An Bórd

The composition of An Bórd is set out in Section 6 of the National College of Art and Design Act, 1971. The Board consists of eleven members, appointed by the Minister, including a Chairperson.

The Board is comprised of the following members:

• Chairperson
• Five independent non-executive directors,
• two academic staff representatives nominated by the academic staff,
• two student representatives nominated by the students,
• the Director, who is an ex-officio member.

Subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Acts, 2014, applications will be treated in strict confidence. All enquires, applications and all aspects of the proceedings are treated as strictly confidential and are not disclosed to anyone, outside those directly involved in that aspect of the process.

Certain items of information, not specific to any individual, may be extracted from computer records for general statistical purposes.

The Data Protection Act 2018 provides that the processing of personal data shall be lawful where such processing is necessary for the performance of a statutory function of a controller. PAS is mandated by statute under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act, 2004 to act as the centralised assessment and selection body for the civil service and to carry out all the procedures necessary to undertake the recruitment, assessment and selection of suitable candidates for appointment. By submitting your personal data (including your name, address, contact details and details of your education and work history contained in your curriculum vitae and cover letter) via publicjobs.ie, you acknowledge that such data may be used by the Public Appointments Service and disclosed to and used by client departments, in connection with its statutory roles to assist and advise relevant Ministers in relation to appointments to the boards of State bodies. The information contained in your publicjobs profile is yours to manage, amend, update or delete as appropriate. For more detailed information on our Data Protection Policy, please see our Code of Practice for the Protection of Personal Data in the Public Appointments Service.

If your application is assessed and you are considered to be suitable for appointment your c.v. and cover letter (and any additional supplementary information requested as part of the application process), will be forwarded to the State Board Liaison Officer in the relevant Department. Once it obtains your personal data, the Department will act as data controller of such data and will retain it for up to one year following the appointment/s. Unless you request the withdrawal of your application such data may be used in considering your suitability for other similar vacancies/roles that arise for a period of up to one year for this Board.