Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan, TD, announced that expressions of interest are being sought from suitably qualified and experienced persons to fill vacancies on the Board of the Educational Research Centre.
The Educational Research Centre was established as an agency of the Department of Education and Skills on 9th September 2015.
A board will now be put in place under the terms of the establishment order of the Centre. The process of filling vacancies to the Board of the Educational Research Centre is being managed by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) under the revised procedures put in place in late 2014 for the appointment of persons to positions on State boards. Applications may only be made through the dedicated website www.stateboards.ie. PAS will undertake an assessment process in relation to the expressions of interest received and at the end of that process it will provide the Minister with a list of candidates deemed to be suitable for appointment to the Board.
The closing date for the receipt of applications via the website www.stateboards.ie is Friday 13th November 2015.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
In accordance with the Government's decision to advertise vacancies on State Boards, the Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, invites expressions of interest from persons interested in being appointed to the board of the Educational Research Centre (ERC) operating under the Department's aegis.
The process of filling the vacancies on the Board of the ERC is being managed by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) under the revised procedures put in place in late 2014 for the appointment of persons to positions on State boards. Applications may only be made through the dedicated website www.stateboards.ie. PAS will undertake an assessment process in relation to the expressions of interest received and at the end of that process it will provide the Minister with a list of candidates deemed to be suitable for appointment to the Board.
The selection process may include a short interview dependent on level of interest.
A person being proposed for appointment as chairperson of a State Body/Agency will be required to make themselves available to the appropriate Oireachtas committee to discuss the approach which he/she will take to their role as chairperson and their views about the future contribution of the Body/Agency or Board in question and, following that discussion, decisions will be taken by the Minister or the Government, as appropriate, to confirm the nominee as chairperson.
5 board members are sought, one to serve as chairperson and one as deputy chairperson.
Travel and subsistence allowances will be paid in respect of journeys undertaken to attend meetings of the Board or to transact its business.
The Educational Research Centre
The Centre carries out independent research on many aspects of education and at all levels of the system. This includes the conduct of national and international assessments of attainment and achievement, including PISA, the evaluation of initiatives and programmes (e.g. DEIS) and critical analysis of issues in education. A significant part of the work of the Centre is the development of standardised tests and other assessment instruments which are made available to schools through the Centre’s Test Department. While a significant amount of the research and development work of the Centre is done on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills, work is also undertaken for other agencies or is initiated within the Centre.
The board is responsible for the governance of the Centre. This includes overseeing the planning of the Centre’s work, the submission of annual plans and reports to the Minister, the appointment and management of staff, including the Chief Executive, the expenditure of the Centre and the general supervision of the activities of the Centre.
ERC has a staff of 25, headed by a Chief Executive Officer, and an annual budget of around €2.5m.
The website of the ERC is available at www.erc.ie