Rank review group Terms of reference February 2012
Introduction 1. The following document sets out the terms of reference for the time limited Rank review group tasked with reviewing the purpose of and making recommendations on the future use of rank with the new regional SJA structure, hereon in referred to as the group. 2. The group has been established in response to the demands of a growing number of volunteers who have been asking for a review for sometime. The group is tasked with assessing the use of rank in a modern service delivery organisation. The review is taking place now to take advantage of the ideal opportunity that reorganisation provides. Purpose 3. To review the current purpose of rank within SJA in the following areas; a. Service Delivery i. Commercial ii. Charitable b. Youth i. Youth Leadership ii. Young people (Badgers and Cadets) c. Training i. Community (external, non-commercial) ii. Volunteers (internal) 4. Assess the current relationship between rank and role and consider if/how this relationship should change/ continue as a result of the changes resulting from the regional reorganisation 5. Consider the increasing mixture of employees and volunteers performing similar roles throughout the organisation and the implications this has for a rank structure 6. Make recommendations regarding the extent to which the current rank structure is fit for purpose going forward 7. Make recommendations for consideration by the SJA Board of Trustees regarding the extent to which any rank structure should continue and if so, how it should be operated 8. Any recommendations to change will take into account the process of moving from the current rank structure and how that change process should be managed. Rank review grp ToR v1 5 JL Page 2 of 6
Membership 9. An independent chair from outside St John Ambulance will be appointed who has appropriate experience to lead the group 10. The chair will ensure that the group operates within the scope of these terms of reference at all times 11. Members of the group will be; a. Independent chair b. One representative from each of the following transformation working groups i. Commanders ii. Commissioners iii. Principle Youth Officers c. One member of the National unit leader forum d. One member of the National Youth Advisory Board e. Up to two county staff officers operating between Commissioner (Youth, Operations, Training etc) and Unit Leader level f. One regional director Facilitation and secretariat 12. The group will be facilitated by the NHQ Volunteering/ HR teams who will attend meetings in this capacity. 13. The Volunteering Department will provide the secretariat for the group. Selection criteria 14. Members of the group will be selected to ensure that the membership provides a suitable geographic spread enabling each region to be represented within the membership 15. Members will comprise volunteers and employees with differing levels of experience of SJA to ensure that as broad a perspective as possible can be represented. Members will therefore include both experienced senior county volunteers, with current operational experience, as well as individuals who are new to the organisation 1. 16. The group will also be made up of volunteers who hold a range of different ranks within the current structure. 1 New is defined as having been a volunteer for less than two years Rank review grp ToR v1 5 JL Page 3 of 6
Stakeholder engagement 17. Additional internal and external stakeholders may be asked to join the group for specific meetings or will be offered the opportunity to make representations to the group. Such stakeholders will include; a. SJA Board of Trustees b. Senior NHQ volunteers (as agreed with the Chief Commander) c. Representatives of statutory services, such as NHS Ambulance Trusts and the Police Frequency 18. The group is not a standing committee, it will meet for the period necessary to achieve its purpose and then be disbanded 19. The group will meet at times agreed by the chair and at a frequency necessary to achieve its purpose and meetings will also be conducted via conference call and using other technologies where appropriate 20. The chair will sanction work to be conducted outside of meetings in order to establish the views of internal and external stakeholders Reporting 21. The group is a time limited advisory group responsible to the Chief Executive and Chief Commander as delegated by the SJA Board of Trustees 22. It will report via the independent chair and the Volunteering Department at NHQ 23. The SJA Board of Trustees will make final decisions on the groups recommendations a. Recommendations will be submitted to the SJA Board of Trustees by the end of 2012 24. All meetings/online discussions will be conducted in accordance with a formal agenda which will be circulated to participants prior to the meeting 25. Matters discussed will be recorded allowing an auditable trail for action points and progress. These records will be published to an agreed distribution; some technical or commercial information may be withheld if necessary. Rank review grp ToR v1 5 JL Page 4 of 6
Provisional work programme When What Who January Review announced and terms of reference Volunteering Department published February Chair interviewed Head of Volunteering March Call for members launched Volunteering Department Chair appointed Chief Executive and Chief Commander Approval of members and draft work plan Chair, Chief Executive and Chief Commander April 1 st Review group meeting Agree stakeholders to be engaged and Chair, Chief Executive, Chief Commander, Review Group mechanism for engagement May - July Stakeholder engagement Chair September Formulation of recommendations Review Group October Consultation on draft recommendations Chair November Final recommendations produced Chair, CEO, Chief Commander, SMT December Presentation to SJA Board of Trustees Chair and Chief Commander Rank review grp ToR v1 5 JL Page 5 of 6
St John Ambulance 27 St John s Lane London EC1M 4BU 08700 10 49 50 www.sja.org.uk St John Ambulance 2012 Registered charity no. 1077265/1 Rank review grp ToR v1 5 JL Page 6 of 6