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The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is a hybrid organisation. We have an office in central London which you can work from, although we welcome applications from all across the UK, offering flexible homeworking on UK mainland locations. In-person presence in London required at quarterly Board meetings and for investigations as and when necessary.

Background:

IPSA is the independent body that regulates and administers the business costs and decides the pay and pensions of the 650 elected Members of Parliament and their staff in the UK. We were created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, as the world’s first independent regulator of MPs’ financial remuneration.

IPSA is on a mission! We want to enable MPs to do what really matters by providing an exemplary, seamless regulatory service. We have a compelling plan and we’re intent on transforming IPSA. Transparency lies at the heart of everything we do. We publish details of business costs claims made by MPs and their staff, as well as annual data about every MP’s spending and other aspects of their activity.

The Compliance Officer for IPSA was established as part of the reforms to the regulation of MPs’ business costs under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 as amended by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. As an office holder appointed under statute, the Compliance Officer acts independently of IPSA’s executive, and reports to, but cannot be directed by, IPSA’s Board. To ensure the smooth functioning of the role and its duties, the independent Compliance Officer will necessarily liaise closely with members of the IPSA Executive on individual cases and with the Chief Executive’s office on wider issues as appropriate.

The Compliance Officer is an independent office holder with legislative responsibility for handling complaints and requests for investigation regarding alleged breaches of the Scheme. Such investigations can be referred by IPSA or requested by an MP or member of the public. The Compliance Officer also conducts reviews following requests from an MP in circumstances where IPSA have refused to pay a business cost claim.

The Compliance Officer is appointed for a single five-year term by the People Committee of the IPSA Board.

A key function of the office is to adjudicate on disputes between IPSA and MPs regarding business costs (but not pay or pensions). While the position requires a close working relationship with IPSA, the postholder may reach conclusions and take positions distinct from IPSA. MPs’ expenditure is an issue of high public interest and media scrutiny, necessitating a deep understanding of the wider political climate in which IPSA operates and how compliance investigations may be politically sensitive.

In 2021-22, the Compliance Officer handled 27 complaints, largely made by members of the public. One led to a formal investigation. A further seven complaints were made to the Compliance Officer but fell outside of their remit. In the same reporting period, five MPs requested reviews of claims.

The Compliance Officer retains statutory powers to issue penalty notices to MPs who fail to cooperate with enquiries. To date, there has been no requirement to initiate formal measures compelling cooperation. More information can be found on the Compliance Officer’s website.

Main responsibilities:

• Conducting assessments of all complaints and investigations and taking appropriate and proportionate action in accordance with the Act and the investigative procedures made thereunder, including fairly updating all parties involved and providing robust rationales for decisions.
• Conducting investigations on their own instigation, at the request of IPSA, or in response to an allegation from a member of the public or an MP about MPs allegedly in breach of the Scheme. Ensuring effective, timely, and thorough investigations to determine an evidence-based outcome fully in line with the procedures for Compliance Officer investigations determined by the IPSA Board.
• Maintaining dialogue with MPs, recovering sums and applying sanctions where applicable in law.
• Following a request from an MP, carrying out reviews in circumstances where IPSA has refused to pay a claim either in whole or in part.
• Providing regular reports to the IPSA Board on the activities of the Compliance Office, usually on a quarterly basis, and an annual report to the Board on key issues/themes arising.
• Managing the responsibilities of the Compliance Office such as legal costs, sound data protection and retention processes, responses to Freedom of Information requests, public records duties, managing a budget, and all contracts/procurement flowing therefrom.
• Ensuring timely publication via the Compliance Officer’s website of reviews and investigations so that they are available to the public, and appropriate record-keeping in line with IPSA’s record management system, data protection, and with consideration of the Freedom of Information Act.
• Producing an Annual Report from the Compliance Office for inclusion in IPSA’s statutory Annual Report and Accounts to be laid before Parliament, as well as responding to IPSA consultations as a statutory consultee under the Act as appropriate including, for example, on IPSA’s publication scheme.

You’ll have demonstrable track record in a senior investigatory role in a comparably complex environment. Your ability to assess complex information and exercise sound judgement will be first rate, and you’ll always base your decisions upon evidence and the principle of proportionality, and outline these logically verbally and in writing. You’ll bring with you a proven record of remaining neutral and demonstrating a genuine independence and impartiality in a highly politicised environment.

You’ll have experience of interpreting and implementing a complex framework of rules and regulations whilst remaining pragmatic, focused on reaching a satisfactory outcome, and mindful of the bigger picture and wider operating context.

You’ll be confident, sensitive, and have effective communication skills with an interpersonal influence that will succeed with a range of audiences and under intense media scrutiny. You’ll bring with you experience of building effective working relationships across bodies/stakeholders whilst providing appropriate challenge when necessary.

A full person specification is available on our website

• Civil Service Pension
• Generous starting holiday entitlement of 25 days + bank holidays, increasing by 1 day each year up to 30 days (pro-rated)
• Season ticket/rent deposit loans
• Hybrid and flexible working by default, with occasional travel for team meetings
• Access to learning and development tailored to your role
• Working in a high-performing organisation
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity with time to participate in workplace networks
• Cycle to work scheme

• Volunteering days

Our commitment and values

We’re committed to making IPSA a more diverse and inclusive organisation and we choose to recruit, retain, and develop people with a diverse mix of skills and experience We are a high-performing organisation that values diversity and we live our values through all the work that we do. Our inclusive workplace environment welcomes people from all backgrounds and our ID, Green, Women’s and LGBTQIA+ networks signal our commitment to celebrating and promoting diversity, inclusion, and sustainability.

Our core values are Staying Connected, Seeing the Bigger Picture, Being Open, Doing the Right Thing and Making a Difference. If you share and live our values, then we would like to hear from you. We are a values-based organisation, and you can expect these to feature throughout the recruitment process and beyond.

Job contact :

Name :
The People Team
Email :
[email protected]

Recruitment team :

Email :
[email protected]