Vacancy -- Members – Building Regulations Advisory Committee for Wales

BRAC was originally established in 1962 under section 9 of the Public Health Act 1961 (now superseded by section 14 of the Act) to advise the appropriate Secretary of State on the exercise of their powers to make building regulations in England and Wales and on other related matters.   In practice, the views of BRACW will be sought on all relevant policy and technical matters relating to building regulations in Wales.  BRACW is therefore an important sounding board for matters directly affecting the building and, in a sense, the wider construction industry, usually prior to formal consultations with all stakeholders. 

BRACW members are appointed on an independent basis to represent particular areas/fields of expertise and experience, rather than as specific delegates of particular organisations.  The Planning Directorate is seeking a number of members to the current Board members to represent the areas detailed under the ‘Person Specifications’ below, in the current recruitment exercise.

BRACW is defined as a statutory advisory panel and is also designated as a Scientific Advisory Committee under the Government’s Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees 2001.

BRACW members are appointed by the Welsh Ministers. The Welsh Ministers are responsible for making and amending the building regulations in Wales, and will sponsor and consult BRACW via officials in the Planning Directorate. The Secretariat is provided by the Planning Directorate.

To assist BRACW in its statutory role to provide advice to the Welsh Ministers (usually via the Planning Directorate’s officials) on the exercise of their powers to make building regulations covering Wales, and on other related matters.

Key duties:

• To attend BRACW main Committee meetings, having read the papers provided beforehand, and give views and advice on proposals, bringing expertise and experience to bear.  To respond similarly to requests for views and advice sought via correspondence between meetings.

• To sit on BRACW Working Parties and other groups/panels, as appropriate, to assist in the development of policy and technical proposals relating to building regulations, and report back to the main Committee.

The Welsh Government acknowledges the importance of developing and growing bilingual capabilities in public appointments in Wales, and welcomes applications from candidates who demonstrate their capability to work in both English and Welsh.  The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the recruiting body of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Key Personal Skills and Qualities Required

Ability and willingness to absorb and interpret sensitive information and to give comments and advice on policy issues, some of which may be outside your particular sphere of professional knowledge.

Sound judgement, objectivity, impartiality and integrity.

Good communication skills, particularly oral, and the ability to work constructively with others on the Committee in order to achieve a common consensus and to engage others from industry to contribute to, and support the work of the Committee and the Planning Directorate.

A clear understanding and commitment to equality issues and challenging discriminatory practices when appropriate; and

Have a clear understanding and commitment to Nolan’s ‘Seven Principles of Public Life’.

In addition to the personal skills and qualities set out above members will need experience in at least one of the following specialist skill sets: 

• Architecture

• Private Sector Building Control

• Large and/or small house building sector

• Commercial buildings

• Competent Persons schemes

• Materials or construction products producer

• Needs of disabled people

• Quantity or Building Surveying

• Building, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering

• Sustainability

Essential knowledge and Experience

Track record or professional knowledge and experience in the construction sector or professions in relation to the sectors listed above.

Day to day involvement in the construction sector utilising the building regulations and knowledge of other related legislation and guidance.

Sound judgement and decision making and ability to communicate and work effectively as part of a team.

Desirable

Welsh Language Skills.  The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh is desirable.  All candidates are expected to display an awareness of the linguistic profile of Wales and support compliance with the forthcoming Welsh Language Standards.

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To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button below. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system.  You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form.  To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates.  This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4.  Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit.  The second document is a full, up to date CV.  The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.

In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities.  We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years. 

It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence.  You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go.  You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Corporate Shared Service Centre Helpdesk on 029 2082 5454 or SharedServiceHelpdesk@wales.gsi.gov.uk 

For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments