Non Executive Directorships

Salix Non-Executive Director Board Chair

Location: Various

Date Posted: 21/06/2023

Closing Date: 21/07/2023

£500/day 48 days/year

About the role

Introduction

It is an exciting time to join Salix and we are now recruiting a new Non-Executive Director Board Chair who will support our CEO and provide oversight to the Board, ensuring that Salix continues to be seen as a national exemplar in its field, delivering the Government’s ambitions in achieving net zero. The Chair is expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity, probity, impartiality and objectivity and to be the driving force in ensuring that the Board and Salix’s executive team are instilling the appropriate culture, values and behaviours in the boardroom and beyond. As Non-Executive Director Chair, you will also help oversee Salix’s management of a number of smaller public sector schemes on behalf of the Department for Education and the Scottish and Welsh Governments.

You will be an experienced non-executive director with an in-depth understanding of regulated environments, particularly with regards to ensuring the integrity of effective governance. A proven leader, you will build strong relationships at a senior level and demonstrate an awareness of public policy developments as well as an ability to shape and implement strategy through periods of transformation and uncertainty. Experience of chairing and working with or for Local Authorities and / or Housing Associations is desirable.

The role is a challenging yet rewarding one and offers the successful candidate the opportunity to have a positive impact on the next generation and beyond.

Salix Finance operates as a Non-Departmental Public Body, under the sponsorship of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. This appointment is a Public Appointment. Public Appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition process which is conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. It is expected that this appointment will be made by the end of the year.

Introduction from the Secretary of State

Dear Candidate,

Thank you for your interest in the role of Non-Executive Director Chair at Salix Finance Ltd.

Salix Finance Ltd. (“Salix”) is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Salix’s purpose is to operate and deliver schemes for government:

• In the Public Sector – Salix provides finance to public sector and similar organisations to drive down their carbon emissions, including through heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures. The body has an excellent track record of delivering public sector loan schemes since 2004, more recently becoming an NDPB in 2020 and delivering grants worth £1 billion. Salix has been allocated a further £1.425 billion to deliver between 2022 and 2025.

• In the Housing Sector – Salix also provides grants to improve the energy efficiency of social housing and other private residential homes in England. This is through the Government’s domestic retrofit schemes; Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant. Now is an exciting time to join Salix as it expands its portfolio and steps up to deliver grants and match funding totalling £2.5 billion to 2025.

The organisation is undergoing a real transformation as it continues to play a pivotal role in ensuring the Government meets its ambitious Carbon Budget targets, by slashing public sector greenhouse emissions by 50% by 2032 and by 75% by 2037 compared to 2017 levels.

As Non-Executive Director Chair, you will also help oversee Salix’s management of a number of smaller public sector schemes on behalf of the Department for Education and the Scottish and Welsh Governments.

We welcome candidates who will provide the level of strategic focus and expertise to steer Salix towards meeting government ambitions, including providing visible leadership in Manchester, building on ambitious progress under the Places for Growth agenda.

Applications are welcome from candidates of all backgrounds, and we particularly welcome applications from groups which are typically under-represented in public sector Board appointments and those based outside of London.

Lord Callanan

Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance

Role description

The role of the Salix Non-Executive Director Board Chair (“the Chair”) is to ensure that Salix’s policies and actions support the wider strategic policies of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (“the department”) and that its affairs are conducted with probity.

Where appropriate, the Chair will support the Salix CEO in ensuring that the department’s policies and how Salix will support them, are clearly communicated, and disseminated throughout Salix.

Recognised chairing skills are required such that the Board is enabled to understand the challenges faced by the organisation and the proposals to address them, to challenge the status quo and to lead, guide and support the Executive and to make informed and effective decisions.

Over 2023/24 to 2024/25, the Chair’s leadership will be particularly instrumental in ensuring that Salix can successfully deliver across three strategic objectives:

1. Ensuring that Salix continues to be seen as a national exemplar in its field in delivering the Government’s ambitions in achieving net zero;

2. Ensuring the timely implementation of recommendations arising from the departmental reviews of Salix undertaken during 2022/23 and any future reviews; and

3. Making good progress on locating roles outside of London under the Government’s Places for Growth agenda.

The Chair will have an obligation to ensure that:

• the work of the Board is regularly reviewed and is working effectively. The Chair will also Chair the Audit and Risk Committee and will draw upon their financial acumen and professional experience to ensure financial probity and transparency.

• the Board has a balance of skills appropriate to directing Salix’s business, as set out in the Government’s Code of Practice for Corporate Governance; and

• they and the other Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) receive appropriate training on financial management and reporting requirements, covering any differences that may exist between private and public sector practice, including the department’s NEDs Partnership’s training.

The Chair is expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity, probity, impartiality, and objectivity and to be the driving force in ensuring that the Board and Salix’s executive directors are instilling the appropriate culture, values, and behaviours in the boardroom and beyond.

Organisation description

Salix has recently expanded its portfolio and is at the forefront of delivering key energy efficiency and decarbonisation schemes in buildings across England. Specifically, Salix is the Delivery Body for the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) and Public Sector Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF). The PSDS provides grant funding to public sector organisations for heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from public sector buildings. The LCSF provides funding to ensure public sector organisations have the capacity and capability to develop heat decarbonisation projects.

Since its formation in 2004 up to 31 March 2022, Salix has helped public sector organisations commit to more than 21,500 projects by administering;

£2.7 billion of funding, with projects saving 1.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

This year Salix has also become the Delivery Agent for two domestic retrofit programmes within the government’s Net Zero Buildings Portfolio. Salix will be responsible for the provision of grants via a separate Delivery Partner to improve the energy efficiency of the Social Housing stock and other private residential homes in England (the domestic retrofit schemes). In addition, Salix will be providing strategic value through its own Intelligent Client Function, harnessing data insights to understand how retrofit policy and delivery can be optimised and building learning communities across grant recipients to understand best practice.

Public Sector buildings

Salix is playing a pivotal role in helping to realise the Government’s ambition for the public sector set out in the Net Zero Strategy and Heat & Buildings Strategy (both launched in October 2021), to reduce direct emissions from public sector buildings by 75% from 2017 levels by the end of 2037.

Board composition

Information on the board composition can be found https://www.salixfinance.co.uk/about-us/our-governance

Person specification

Essential criteria

An understanding of the organisations core objectives and public policy developments, and the ability to utilise this to set strategic direction.

• Evidence of effective leadership within a large organisation, including during periods of transformation, change and uncertainty.

• Ability to build relationships with a range of stakeholders, and experience of influencing, challenging, and building consensus at a senior level.

• A strong understanding of governance processes, ideally gained through prior board experience.

• Experience of working with senior public policy makers and implementation of public policy.

Desirable criteria

Experience of acting as a Board Chair;

• Experience working with or for Local Authorities and/or Housing Associations;

• Experience in managing external delivery partners to deliver high quality outcomes; and/or an understanding of how to operate in the public sector organisation and make evidence-based recommendations to inform future government policy and strategy.

• Excellent media and communication skills.

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