Committee Member – Equality and Human Rights Scotland

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a non-departmental public body established by the Equality Act 2006, we work independently from Government and are recognised as an authority on equality and human rights law, evidence, and analysis. We employ approximately 210 employees across four office locations. Manchester is our Head Office, and offices in Cardiff, Glasgow, and London.

Our role is to make the country a fairer place by enforcing and upholding the laws that safeguard everyone’s right to fairness, dignity, and respect. We enforce the Equality Act 2010, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against or harass individuals based on the nine protected characteristics. We use the full force of our legal powers to defend people from unfair or unequal treatment and to challenge breaches of the law.

We are the first port of call for policy makers, public sector bodies and businesses who require authoritative guidance on equality and human rights law. We work with employers, governments, parliament, and a wide range of organisations, to promote understanding of equality and human rights and support them to make improvements in practice. But we are also ready to hold them to account and take enforcement action if they fall short.

We also conduct inquiries to uncover barriers to progress and make recommendations for improvement.

As a National Human Rights Institution, we promote awareness, understanding and protection of human rights, and encourage public bodies to comply with the Human Rights Act. We are charged with protecting those most at risk of human rights abuses and monitoring human rights in Britain, reporting our findings to the United Nations and to government. In Scotland we share our human rights mandate with the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

Our strategy for 2022-25 sets out how we use our powers to protect and promote equality and human rights, and that we have identified the main challenges in society where we can make a difference in our role as a regulator. More information on our legal duties and our powers can be found on our website.

Being a Committee Member offers you a unique opportunity. You will work with dedicated and expert colleagues to influence the equality and human rights agenda in Scotland, supporting the important work of our Board of Commissioners and the wider Commission. We are looking for our new Committee Member to bring knowledge and understanding of the equality and human rights agenda in Scotland, governance experience and skill in bringing constructive challenge to the Commission’s work.

To ensure we have the right balance of skills and expertise across the Committee, we are particularly interested in hearing from people with experience of operating at a senior organisational level, and who have a knowledge or personal experience of the barriers faced by those with protected characteristic, such as disability or ethnic minority.

• Significant experience of operating at a senior level, with experience of regulation being an additional benefit.
• Proven knowledge of the context of the equality and human rights across Britain, and particularly in Scotland,
• Practical understanding of the social, economic, cultural, legal, and political context in Scotland,
• Proven ability to work impartially and non-politically, in a sensitive and sometimes politically charged policy agenda.
• Ability to assimilate complex information and participate fully in Committee deliberations and strategic debate across the whole range of the Commission’s work,
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills, demonstrating an ability to work collaboratively, identify key issues and reach balanced conclusions,
• Ability to work in partnership and engage with a wide range of people and organisations in Scotland to promote and explain the work of the Commission.
• Knowledge, skills and/or experience in one or more of the areas listed below:
  • Communities and Civic Society
  • Public sector
  • Economy, Academia, Legal or Business
  • Third sector, Charity, or Voluntary Sector
  • Experience of how a regulator operates.
  • Human Rights
  • The…