Applications invited for appointments to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

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The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is seeking to appoint eight new Commissioners to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is a non-departmental body established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 whose purpose is to promote equality of opportunity. It is sponsored by The Executive Office which has responsibility for equality policy in the Northern Ireland Executive.

Personal Specification

An outstanding individual is sought to become a member of the Commission. The successful applicant will be someone who can work effectively with a wide range of individuals and who has good judgment, resilience, sensitivity and vision of a high order.

Terms of appointment

The position of Commissioner is for a term of three years. The position attracts an annual remuneration of £5,000 with an expected time commitment of two to three days per month.

How to apply

Those interested in applying for the post should download the application pack from the Cabinet Office’s public appointments website.

Completed applications should be sent by email to: ecni2022@nio.gov.uk by the closing date of 27 February 2022.

Equality of Opportunity

Appointments will be made on merit and with regard to the equality provisions set out in Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. We encourage applications from all sections of the community.

Published 3 February 2022




Diana Berry, Dounia Nadar and James Lambert OBE have been appointed as Trustees of the National Gallery

Diana Berry

Diana Berry’s professional life has been spent almost entirely in the arts and in public affairs. She was a senior director at Sotheby’s and chairman of the Sotheby’s Institute. She has curated exhibitions with numerous museums and public bodies, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Regional Arts Associations, and the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

Her experience of fundraising includes museums and educational charities – among others, she has been a trustee of the Holburne Museum in Bath, and development director and then trustee of the New Schools Network – and for medical and national causes. She has served as the first female Master of a London livery company, was a trustee of Policy Exchange, and is currently a trustee of the Attingham Trust for Historic Houses.

Dounia Nadar

Dounia is a philanthropist with extensive museum experience along with other charitable organisations. Until 2020, she was a Trustee of the Wallace Collection where she led fundraising for the International Council.

Dounia was a founding member and is co-chair of the Contemporary and Modern Middle Eastern Art (CaMMEA) acquisitions group at the British Museum. She also sits on the governance board for the University of Texas Foundation and is a trustee at the St. James’s Conservation Trust. Historically, Dounia has served in leadership roles at Breast Cancer Care as well as St. Paul’s Girls’ School.

James Lambert OBE

James Lambert OBE is a Founder shareholder and Deputy Chairman of Value Retail PLC, which developed and operates Bicester Village and ten sister Villages in Europe and China. The Collection of Villages in Europe and China welcomed 45 million visitors in 2019 including 7.3 million at Bicester Village, which has the highest sales densities of any shopping destination in the world.

James’ pro bono activities are focused on education and the arts. He is a founder Trustee of IntoUniversity, originally a local charity which successfully scaled into a national charity with 31 centres. James retired as Chair and Trustee in 2018 and is a member of the Advisory Panel. The charity currently supports 35,000 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to attain either a university place or another chosen aspiration.

James is a Trustee of Somerset House and an Honorary Fellow of the New College of the Humanities, where he sits on the Advisory Board. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year’ Honours List, in recognition of his services to social mobility in education.

Trustees of the National Gallery are not remunerated. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election.

Diana Berry has not declared any activity. Dounia Nadar has declared that she has made recordable donations to the Conservative Party – details of which can be obtained from the Electoral Commission website. James Lambert has declared that a company he controls, Caverncharm Limited, has made recordable donations to the Conservative Party – details of which can be obtained from the Electoral Commission website.




Anya Hindmarch CBE, Danny Rimer OBE, Howard Shore, Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE and Lord Ed Vaizey have been appointed as Trustees of the Tate

Anya Hindmarch CBE

Anya Hindmarch CBE is a British accessories designer, design and arts advocate, sustainability campaigner and Sunday Times bestselling author.

She founded her eponymous brand in London in 1987 and is currently working as its Creative Director and Chief Executive Officer.

Anya is Emeritus trustee of both the Royal Academy of Arts and the Design Museum and a trustee of The Royal Marsden. In 2017, she received the title Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her contribution to the British fashion industry. She has also received several notable industry awards, including a British Fashion Award, and in 2021 published her first book, ‘If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair.’

Danny Rimer OBE

Danny Rimer OBE is an investor and partner at Index Ventures, a global venture capital firm. He opened the firm’s London and San Francisco offices and has been ranked by the Midas List as one of the world’s top investors for more than a decade.

Danny spearheaded Index’s investments in Figma, the design and collaboration platform; Patreon, the membership and monetisation platform for creators; and Discord, the global communication service. He also led Index’s investments in 1stdibs, Farfetch, Glossier and GOAT and has been a director at Dropbox, Etsy, King, Sky, MySQL and Skype. Danny joined Index after roles at The Barksdale Group and Hambrecht & Quist (now owned by JP Morgan), where he began the internet sector equity research group and took Amazon, Netscape and Verisign public.

Danny was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2017. He has sat on the board of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the cancer charity MAGGIE’S Centres.

Howard Shore

Howard Shore is an international entrepreneur and philanthropist, whose business interests originated in stockbroking and now span various alternative asset classes including real estate, MedTech and growth capital. His philanthropic interests cover healthcare, education and the arts, including sponsoring the Shore Initiative for Melanoma Diagnostic Imaging at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, which aims to utilise artificial intelligence to reduce Melanoma mortality through early detection.

Howard began his career in discretionary fund management with Grieveson Grant and Co., and subsequently became one of the first financial futures brokers when the Liffe market was established in 1982. Between 2001 and 2003, he served as a non-executive director at Tottenham Hotspur PLC.

Howard founded Shore Capital Group in 1985 and built it up to be one of the UK’s leading independent investment groups specialising in principal finance, capital market activities and asset management. He remains chairman and majority shareholder but relinquished operational responsibilities in 2017.

Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE

Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE is the artistic director of the Young Vic theatre. He was artistic director of Baltimore Centerstage from2011 to 2018, and artistic director of the Festival of Black Arts and Culture, Senegal, 2010, where he wrote and directed the opening ceremony at Senghor stadium.

As a playwright, Kwame was the first African Caribbean to have a play, Elmina’s Kitchen, produced in London’s West End. His triptych of plays was produced at the National Theatre where he later created the online resource, The Black Plays Archive. Kwame is visiting Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford and a patron of Ballet Black and The Black Cultural archives. He also chairs the Warwick Arts Centre advisory board. From 2010 to 2015, Kwame was Chancellor of the University of the Arts London.

Kwame was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2011, and in 2020 listed as one of the 100 Great Black Britons.

Lord Ed Vaizey

Ed Vaizey is a member of the House of Lords and sits on the Communications and Digital Committee.

Ed was the Member of Parliament for Wantage between 2005 and 2019. During that time Ed was the UK’s longest-serving Minister for Culture, working for UK Prime Minister David Cameron from 2010 to 2016.

Ed was responsible for the UK’s national museums and galleries; the Arts Council; and heritage policy. During his time in office, Ed maintained free admission to museums; oversaw a radical reform of English Heritage; and published the first White Paper on cultural policy for more than 50 years. He also introduced tax credits to support theatres, museums, and orchestras, and introduced the National Music Education Plan.

Ed currently sits on the boards of the National Youth Theatre, Music Masters and the Documentary Society.

Trustees of the Tate are not remunerated. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election.

Anya Hindmarch CBE, Danny Rimer OBE and Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE have not declared any activity. Howard Shore has declared that he has made recordable donations to the Conservative Party – details of which can be obtained from the Electoral Commission website. Lord Ed Vaizey has declared that he was a Conservative Member of Parliament between 2005 and 2019 and now sits as a Conservative Peer in the House of Lords.




Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Julian Reilly

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Mr Julian Reilly has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ambassador Julian Reilly

Mr Julian Reilly has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina in succession to Mr Matt Field who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Reilly will take up his appointment during July 2022.

Full name: Julian Reilly

2019 to present FCDO, Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea
2016 to 2019 FCO, Head of East Africa Department, Africa Directorate
2015 Cabinet Office, Deputy Director, Prosperity, National Security Secretariat
2015 FCO, Head of Strategy Department, Middle East and North Africa Directorate
2014 Riyadh, Director Trade and Investment, UK Trade and Investment
2013 to 2014 Riyadh, Deputy Head of Mission
2010 to 2013 FCO, Deputy Head, Western Balkans and Enlargement Department
2010 FCO, Acting Deputy Director, Russia, South Caucasus and Central Asia Department
2006 to 2009 Moscow, Head of Chancery
2004 to 2005 FCO/Department for International Development, Deputy Head Political, Sudan Unit
2003 to 2004 FCO, Duty Manager, FCO Response Centre
2000 to 2003 FCO, Head of Iran Section, Middle East Department
1996 to 2000 Khartoum, Second Secretary Political, then Deputy Head of Mission
1994 to 1996 Full-time Language Training (Arabic)
1993 to 1994 FCO, Desk Officer for Angola, Mozambique and Namibia, Africa Department (South), Africa Directorate

Published 3 February 2022




Spotlight on Diversity and Inclusion – February 2022.

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Paul Vickers shares a story on making reasonable adjustments for the latest Analysis Function newsletter.

This month, Paul Vickers from the Analysis Function Diversity and Inclusion working group talks to us about the importance of making reasonable adjustments in all aspects of life, and how this approach can help all of us to bring our whole selves to work.

“If you saw a picture of my immediate family, we would look a typical family. And we are. There are, however, things that you can’t see in a photo. You wouldn’t be able to tell that two of the people are on medication for depression, you might not spot the same sex couple, the person who suffers from epilepsy and the person who is on the autistic spectrum.

When we meet, we don’t notice this either, as over the years we have subconsciously made the reasonable adjustments so that everyone can be themselves and be comfortable. We don’t play background music as it makes the person on the autistic spectrum unable to concentrate and we watch for any signals that might indicate the onset of an epileptic fit. Making these adjustments ensures that we have a wonderful time when we all catch up.

I like to think we do the same at work. It’s so important that we make reasonable adjustments at work so that everyone can be themselves without fear of any discrimination. It’s also important that that we feel able to discuss reasonable adjustments, that we have a culture where it is right to speak out when we don’t feel comfortable and that we respond with a growth mindset if someone has the courage to raise issues with us.

Helping to create an inclusive environment is the key theme of the Analysis Function Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit. Why not dip into it today so that you can play your part in creating an inclusive culture where you work – just send an email to Analysis.Function@gov.uk to request your copy”.

Published 3 February 2022