Competition to appoint a Legally Qualified Commissioner to the Board of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

Date published: 11 March 2021

The Department for Communities has launched a competition to appoint a Legally Qualified Commissioner to the Board of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI).

Competition to appoint a Legally Qualified Commissioner to the Board of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
Competition to appoint a Legally Qualified Commissioner to the Board of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

This is an open competition and applications are welcome from a wide range of people with an interest in public service.

Applications from women, ethnic minorities, young people and people with disabilities are particularly welcome.

This is an excellent opportunity for an individual to make a significant contribution to the charitable sector as well as ensuring that CCNI fulfils its statutory role as the independent regulator of charities in Northern Ireland. The Legally Qualified Commissioner plays an important role on the Board. Although the individual appointed will be a qualified solicitor or barrister, they will not be required to provide legal advice. Instead they will have the ability and expertise to bring a legal perspective to discussions and the work of the Board. 

All applications for appointment are considered strictly on merit. The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Wednesday 31 March 2021. A Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) will be used. The aim of the GIS is to provide applicants with a disability the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities beyond the initial application stage.

Further information, including an application pack, can be obtained at

NI Direct or by e-mailing Public appointments.

You can also contact the Department on the following:

Telephone:  028 9081 9417                              

Text Relay Service: 18001 028 9081 9417                            

Notes to editors: 

1. This is a competition to appoint a Legally Qualified Commissioner to the Board of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. The appointment is for a term of five years from 1 June 2021 with the final decision resting with the Minister for Communities.

2. The position of Legally Qualified Commissioner attracts a basic rate of remuneration of £2,352 per year with an expected time commitment of approximately 1-2 days per month for board-related activity. (Time commitment and remuneration is currently under review). In addition all Commissioners are expected to serve on several decision making Committees per month and are paid a daily rate for this additional work of £500. This is likely to be an additional 1-2 days per month. All Commissioners are eligible to claim allowances, at rates set centrally, for travel and subsistence costs necessarily incurred on CCNI business.

3. The appointment will be made in accordance with the Code of Practice for Ministerial Public Appointments in NI in accordance with the requirement of the Commissioner for Public Appointments NI. All appointments are based on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of all appointees to be published.

4. The Department for Communities is committed to the principle of public appointments based on merit with independent assessment, openness and transparency of process. The Department is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified people irrespective of religious belief, gender, disability, ethnic origin, political opinion, age, marital status, sexual orientation or whether or not they have dependents. The Department particularly welcomes applications from women, young people, people from an ethnic minority and people with a disability for this position as these groups are currently under-represented at Board level across NI.

5. Media enquiries to DfC Press Office via email: Press Office.

6. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hour’s service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The Duty Press Officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

7. Follow the Department on Twitter @CommunitiesNI

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