Information for Applicants

The Assembly Commission is committed to equality of opportunity in employment and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified applicants irrespective of religious belief, political opinion, race, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or people with dependants or without. All applications for employment will be considered on the basis of merit.

 

Background

The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) is a corporate body established by section 40 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.  It must provide the Assembly, or ensure that the Assembly is provided, with the property, staff and services required for the Assembly’s purposes. The Commission employs a Secretariat to serve the Assembly. The organisational structure of the Assembly Secretariat is illustrated on the Recruitment website.

The focus of the Assembly Commission’s public engagement activity has been on raising public awareness and understanding of the business of the legislature. Following the resumption of normal Assembly business in January 2020, and to support the implementation of the Assembly Commission’s Corporate Strategy, this focus has changed to engaging the public with the business of the Assembly, particularly committee business.

The primary function of the Public Engagement Team is therefore to raise awareness and understanding of the business of the Assembly, in line with the Assembly Commission’s strategic objective of strengthening engagement with the public.

Public Engagement is currently delivered by a number of teams, which will report to the Public Engagement Manager:

  • Education;
  • Events;
  • Outreach;
  • Youth Assembly.

 

Location

The successful applicant will be based in Parliament Buildings, Belfast.

 

Completing the form

Only the information presented in the application form will be considered by the selection panel. CVs or other supplementary material will not be accepted in place of, or in addition to, completed application forms. Completed online forms must be submitted by 12 noon on 15 June 2022.

Access and complete the application form.

Application forms submitted after the closing time and date will not be accepted.

 

Stages of the Selection Process

There are five elements within the Recruitment and Selection Framework:

Experience – the knowledge or mastery of an activity or subject gained through involvement in or exposure to it.

Abilitythe aptitude or potential to perform to the required standard.

Technical – the demonstration of specific professional skills, knowledge or qualifications.

Assembly Skills and Behaviours –the actions and activities that people do which result in effective performance in a job.

Strengths – the things we do regularly, do well and that motivate us.

All elements will be assessed for this role and the selection method(s) that will be used are detailed below. Further information on the Recruitment and Selection Framework are included in the Guidance on Recruitment and Selection for Applicants.

 

Online Testing

Online testing may be used as a shortlisting tool. Invitation to test does not imply that an applicant possesses the essential criteria. The tests will be held online and instructions and further information will be issued to applicants after the closing date for applications. Only those applicants who meet the minimum standard and who score highest in the tests, will be considered for the next stage of the selection process: the eligibility sift.

 

Eligibility Sift

The essential criteria reflect the experience and knowledge that an applicant must possess in order to be able to undertake the role. An eligibility sift will be carried out on the basis of the information contained in the essential criteria section of the application form. You must therefore demonstrate clearly in your form how, and to what extent, you meet with the essential criteria for the post.

 

Shortlisting

The selection panel reserve the right to use shortlisting as part of the selection process for this post. Should shortlisting be used, the shortlisting criterion listed in the Job Specification will be applied. The selection panel reserve the right to set a minimum standard for the shortlisting criterion and/or to only invite those who score highest in the shortlisting criterion to the next stage of the selection process. If shortlisting is not necessary, all applicants who have demonstrated the essential criteria will proceed to the next stage of the selection process.

 

Assessment Stage

As part of this stage of the selection process, applicants will be required to complete:

(a) a written exercise;

(b) an interview, which will address the information contained in the Job Specification and will assess elements of the Recruitment and Selection Framework; and

(c) the preparation and delivery of a presentation to the selection panel. The subject of the presentation will be advised to the applicant on the day of the interview.

The Assessment Stage is planned for week commencing 4 July 2022.

 

Further Interview Stage

The selection panel reserves the right to hold a further interview stage if deemed necessary.

Further information on the Recruitment and Selection process is available in the Recruitment and Selection Framework and Guidance on the Recruitment and Selection for Applicants.

 

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) has been developed for applicants with disabilities or those with a long-term impairment or health condition, that is expected to last for at least 12 months and which means that they cannot meet all of the shortlisting criteria. In these instances, provided that they have demonstrated in their application form that they meet the essential criteria for the role, the applicant will be invited to interview.

If an assessment or test is used as a shortlisting tool then applicants applying under GIS will not be required to complete the assessment or test and will be offered a guaranteed interview, provided that they demonstrate in their application form that they meet the essential criteria for the role.

In instances where an assessment or test forms part of the selection process and is not a shortlisting tool, then all applicants must meet the minimum standard required including those applying under GIS.

The application form will include a section on disability, and an applicant can indicate whether they wish to apply under the GIS for that particular role and the basis on which they qualify for the GIS.

When considering applications made under GIS, the Human Resources Office reserves the right to request medical information from the applicant’s general practitioner (through the applicant and with their consent).

Applicants with disabilities or a long term impairment, or health condition, who require reasonable adjustments to enable them to participate in any part of the selection process, should indicate this on their application. A member of the Human Resources Office will then contact the applicant to discuss.

If an applicant feels that they require any adjustments to the application stage, please contact us at [email protected].

 

Terms and Conditions of Appointment

This is a permanent appointment. The successful candidate will be an employee of the Assembly Commission.  All appointments are subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.

The standard working week is 37 hours, excluding meal breaks (42 hours gross).  Working hours will be dictated by the mode of operation of the Assembly and may involve work into late evenings and on occasions, at weekends and on public holidays. 

In addition to the usual public and privilege holidays, there is an annual leave allowance of 25 days, increasing incrementally by one day per year up to a maximum of 30 days. Please be aware that a major influence in determining when leave can be taken will be the parliamentary timetable.

As an equal opportunities employer, we are happy to talk about the possibility of flexible working in this role with the successful applicant.

The successful applicant will be given suitable training, including formal specialised courses as necessary.

View details of our employee benefits.

 

Equality Monitoring

Under Fair Employment legislation, we are required to monitor the community background and gender of those applying for jobs.  You must therefore complete the equal opportunities monitoring section of the application form when applying for the post.

 

Merit List

The merit list will remain “live” for 18 months from the date it is signed and may be used to fill any further permanent or fixed term opportunities for the same post.

 

Communication during the recruitment process

The Assembly Recruitment Team will issue most communication electronically.  You should therefore regularly check your email account to make sure you do not miss any important communication.  Please note, sometimes the Recruitment Team emails are automatically filtered as spam by email providers.

 

Further Information

If you require more information on the recruitment process, please contact the Assembly Recruitment Team on 02890 521741.

Further information about the Assembly can be obtained on the Internet at website: www.niassembly.gov.uk

The ‘Information for Applicants’ does not constitute any term or condition of employment.