Could you champion the role of licensing, good regulation and excellent partnership working?

The Institute of Licensing (IoL) is looking for its next National Chair to help take our work and organisation to the next level. The IoL is the professional body for licensing practitioners across the UK representing circa 5,000 licensing practitioners from local government, police, industry and private practice.    

The IoL champions excellence in licensing law and practice from all areas, and its broad church brings together all sectors including regulators and industry to achieve its objectives.    The IoL promotes good practice, partnership working and professional standards across all areas of licensing and aspires to attain chartered status to elevate the profession to a higher level.

This is an exciting time for the IoL with a growth agenda which includes increased engagement on all levels alongside continued development of professional qualifications and career pathways.

Our new Chair will represent the IoL with a clear understanding of the IoL’s broad church and neutral, non-lobbying position. The Chair must impartially represent the sometimes diverging views and interests of Board members and the IoL’s wider membership. The Chair shall act in accordance with IoL Policies and not act in a way that risks damaging the reputation, interests or objectives of the IoL. They will support the executive at a range of stakeholder meetings, offer public comment on media work, chair our quarterly board meetings and oversee the implementation of our business development plan.  Our ideal candidate will be an experienced chair with previous experience of running an organisation, charity and/or significant business, a notable figure with connections to licensing, a keen understanding of the power in partnerships and collaboration and good business acumen.

For further information contact our Executive Officer Sue Nelson via sue@instituteoflicensing.org 

Closing Date for Applications:  17:00hrs on 31^st January 2024.

Role Specification for the position of IoL Chair

BACKGROUND

The Institute of Licensing (IoL) is the professional body for licensing practitioners across the UK.  We are a broad-church organisation, and membership is open to all those with an interest in licensing.  Our membership currently includes circa 5,000 practitioners including local authority (officers and councillors), police officers, industry practitioners (pub chains, hackney carriage and private hire firms and gambling providers), and private sector practitioners (lawyers, consultants and trainers).  The Chair must impartially represent the sometimes diverging views and interests of Board members and the IoL’s wider membership. The Chair shall act in accordance with IoL Policies and not act in a way that risks damaging the reputation, interests or objectives of the IoL.

The IoL is a registered charity, and its charity objectives include increasing the professionalism of licensing, fostering mutual understanding and achieving recognised standards of professional development and competency in the field of licensing and related practice.  The IoL is governed by a voluntary Board of Trustees, drawn from across the field of public and private sectors.   IoL staff include experienced former local authority licensing officers.

The objectives of the Charity as set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association for the benefit of the public:

1. to advance the development, evaluation and recognition of professional skill, technical competency, ethical conduct and practical achievement in the field of licensing and regulatory activity; including their application in the public and private sectors and in the framing and enforcement of laws and regulations in pursuit of prevention of crime disorder and nuisance, the promotion of health and safety, the protection of children and vulnerable people, the protection of the environment and other licensing and regulatory objectives;
2. the fostering of mutual understanding and respect between practitioners and the communities and sectors they serve;
3. the development, encouragement and certification of related standards, education, training, study, scholarship, communication, consultation, knowledge creation and information dissemination; and
4. other activity consistent with the public good in the field.

In pursuing its objectives, the IoL fully committed to considering not only the licensing regime but also the broader issues, such as the effective and proactive management of the nighttime economy, including effective partnership working with all stakeholders and use of the wide variety of tools available to the various partners involved. 

The objectives of the IoL are for the benefit of the public and are principally concerned with education in the field of licensing and regulatory activity, and the application / development of licensing laws to promote the prevention of crime, disorder and nuisance together with the promotion of health and safety, protection of vulnerable people / children and promotion of wider objectives.

This is achieved  through regular communication with IoL members and relevant external groups / bodies, provision of targeted training courses, engaging with Government departments to discuss practical issues around licensing laws and proposed / forthcoming changes to legislation, responding to consultations to project the views and concerns where relevant of IoL members (gathered as part of our process in responding to consultations), and sharing good practice / promoting partnership working to the benefit of all parties within the field of licensing.

Ultimately, the IoL aims to influence licensing practitioners to achieve excellent working practices both in regulatory and regulated fields thereby improving recognition and respect for licensing practitioners, and professionalism of the field. 

ROLE SPECIFICATION

• The IoL champions excellence in licensing law and practice from all areas, and its broad church brings together all sectors including regulators and industry to achieves its objectives. The IoL promotes good practice, partnership working and professional standards across all areas of licensing and aspires to attain chartered status to elevate the profession to a higher level.
• This is an exciting time for the IoL with a growth agenda which includes increased engagement on all levels alongside continued development of professional qualifications and career pathways.
• Our new Chair will represent the IoL with a clear understanding of the IoL’s broad church and neutral, non-lobbying position. They will support the executive at a range of stakeholder meetings, offer public comment on media work, chair our quarterly board meetings and oversee the implementation of our business development plan.  Our ideal candidate will be an experienced chair, a notable figure with connections to licensing, a keen understanding of the power in partnerships and collaboration and good business acumen.

The Chair will:

• Chair IoL Board meetings: the Board is scheduled to meet four times a year and meetings normally last approximately two hours;
• Attend informal Board meetings held online to provide a more regular update and discussion opportunity between the Board and team.
• Chair stakeholder groups where the IoL is elected by members of the group to do so.
• Chair the IoL’s National Training Conference held annually, and other conference style events where appropriate.
• Liaise as appropriate with the executive, providing insight and guidance on both internal organisational matters and external communications and policy work.
• Represent the IoL and support the executive at a range of external meetings which may include evidence hearings and informal networking opportunities.
• Give public comments for IoL press release, and comment to the press on media queries where appropriate.
• Provide a short Chair’s address at IoL Training Conferences where appropriate and in the annual Trustee’s Report and other IoL publications from time to time.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The successful candidate will:

• Be a figure with a national reputation of standing and credibility with a connection to licensing law and practice.
• Be experienced at chairing meetings, drawing out differing views and guiding the discussion to an agreed conclusion.
• Have excellent communications and interpersonal skills and keen business development acumen.
• Understand the role of professional bodies, particularly in relation to the development of career path opportunities including professional qualifications.
• Have a keen understanding and commitment to building and maintaining strong partnerships with other organisations in order to strengthen key messages and achieve mutual understanding and respect.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The Chair will be co-opted by the Board and elected to the position for an initial three-year period.  All co-opted positions on the Board are eligible for re-election on a three-year cycle.

The Chair will be a company director and a charity trustee of the Institute of Licensing limited.

All out of pocket travel and other reasonable out-of-pocket expenses are reimbursed in accordance with our policy on expenses. The Chair is personally responsible for any tax and other liabilities.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Applications should be sent to Executive Officer Sue Nelson by no later than 17:00hrs on 31^st January 2024.   Please submit a full CV, together with a covering letter explaining how your experience and qualities meet the role and person specification above.  Please also advise when you would be available to take up the role if successful.

Please include the names and full contact details of two referees, who must have known you in a professional capacity for at least three years.  Alternatively, please provide at least 2 testimonials from professional contacts, including their contact information.

The IoL is committed to equal opportunities; applications are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates who meet the stated criteria.