Department for the Economy public appointments

DfE current vacancies

Vacancy	Closing date
No current vacancies

Why apply for a public appointment?

In this video, Sheila McClelland explains how she developed her skills further by applying for a public appointment.

The benefits of a public appointment

In this video, Frank Bryan (Chair of Belfast Metropolitan College) discusses the many personal benefits associated with public appointments.

For more information on the role of a public appointee, please see the following articles by the current Vice Chairperson of HSENI, Hilary Singleton, and Marie Mallon, Chairperson of the Labour Relations Agency:

Public Bodies sponsored by DfE

The Department sponsors a number of public bodies. Appointments to these bodies are made by the Minister for the Economy.

Regulated Appointments – Appointments within the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments for NI (CPANI)

Information on the role of CPANI is on their website.

Public Body	Web link	Board information
The Certification Officer for Northern Ireland	NI Certification Officer website
The Board of CITB Construction Skills	CITB website
Consumer Council for Northern Ireland	Consumer Council website	Consumer Council board information
The Governing Bodies of Northern Ireland's Six Colleges of Further Education	FE colleges information on nidirect
The Health & Safety Executive for Northern Ireland	HSE NI website
Invest Northern Ireland	InvestNI website
The Board of the Labour Relations Agency	LRA website
Northern Ireland Screen	NI Screen website
The Governing Body of St. Mary's College	St Mary's College website
The Governing Body of Stranmillis College	Stranmillis College website
Tourism Northern Ireland	TourismNI website	TNI board information

Appointments within the spirit of the CPANI Code (Unregulated)

Public Body	Web link
Re-instatement Committee for Reserve Forces in Civil Employment	No website
The Industrial Court	https://www.industrialcourt.gov.uk
Office of the Industrial Tribunals and The Fair Employment Tribunals	https://www.employmenttribunalsni.co.uk

Non-Ministerial appointments

Public Body	Web link
NI-CO NI Co-operation Overseas Ltd	http://www.nico.org.uk

Becoming a Public Appointee

You can find out more about becoming a public appointee including information on the application and interview process on the nidirect website.

Public appointments (nidirect)

Upcoming vacancies

The “All Aboard” newsletter published by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister provides an overview of public appointments coming up over the next six months across the whole of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

Public Appointments including "All Aboard" (Executive Office website)

Recent appointments and competitions

The table below shows appointments made and competitions launched since May 2016.

Date	Appointments/Competitions
5 January 2022	Appointment of Chairperson to the Governing Body of Stranmillis University College
16 September 2021	Competition to appoint a new Chairperson to Stranmillis University College Governing Body
26 August 2021	Public appointment competition for Construction Industry Training Board Northern Ireland board members
23 July 2021	Public appointment competition for further education governing body members
22 June 2021	Frew announces appointments to board of Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland
19 May 2021	Dodds extends term of the chair of Stranmillis University College governing body
18 May 2021	Dodds appoints governing body chair at Northern Regional College
4 May 2021	Dodds makes appointments to the Labour Relations Agency Board
30 March 2021	Appointments to the Board of the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland
4 January 2021	Appointments and extensions to the governing body of South Eastern Regional College
28 October 2020	Search begins for a new Chair and Board Members for the Labour Relations Agency
28 October 2020	Appointments and reappointments to the Board of Tourism NI
21 July 2020	Appointments to Stranmillis University College Governing Body
3 July 2020	Minister announces reappointments to further education college governing bodies
18 June 2020	Re-appointments and extensions to board of Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland
17 June 2020	Minister announces board appointments to Northern Ireland Screen
10 June 2020	Department for the Economy public appointment extensions
2 June 2020	Economy Minister announces appointments to the Board of The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland
28 May 2020	Minister announces five Industrial Court reappointments
20 May 2020	Re-appointments to St Mary’s University College Governing Body
21 April 2020	Minister announces Invest NI Board appointments
29 January 2020	Extensions to DfE Public Appointments
19 December 2019	Reappointment to South Eastern Regional College Governing Body
21 November 2019	Extensions to Invest NI public appointments
01 November 2019	Appointments to Stranmillis University College Governing Body
15 October 2019	Extensions to DfE public appointments
1 October 2019	Reappointments to Belfast Metropolitan College and Southern Regional College Governing Bodies
1 October 2019	Governing Body Chair appointed at Northern Regional College
11 September 2019	Extensions to DfE public appointments - Consumer Council, HSENI, Labour Relations Agency and Tourism NI
10 September 2019	Reappointments to the six Further Education college governing bodies
2 September 2019	Extensions to DfE Public Appointments - Invest NI, Northern Regional College and Stranmillis University College
15 August 2019	Extensions to Further Education college governing body public appointments
23 July 2019	Appointments to the Board of Northern Ireland Screen
10 July 2019	New Chair of Invest Northern Ireland appointed
25 June 2019	Construction Industry Training Board Northern Ireland re-appointements
21 May 2019	Extensions to DfE public appointments
8 April 2019	Invest NI Board re-appointments
1 March 2019	Extenstions to DfE public appointments
27 February 2019	Chair appointed for MATRIX panel
9 January 2019	Extensions to Department for the Economy public appointments
8 January 2019	Governing Body Chairs appointed at Northern Regional College and South West College
12 December 2018	Temporary Governing Body Chair appointed at South Eastern Regional College
27 September 2018	Extensions to DfE public appointments - September 2018
11 September 2018	Extensions to Public Appointments - September 2018
29 June 2018	Extensions to Public Appointments - June 2018
22 March 2018	Search begins for new Board Members for Northern Ireland Screen
20 March 2018	Search begins for new Chairs of Further Education Colleges
23 February 2018	Extensions to Public Appointments
7 December 2017	Search begins for new board members for the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (The Consumer Council)
16 November 2017	Extensions to Public Appointments (LRA and HSENI)
14 September 2017	Non-Executive Board Member appointed to the Department for the Economy
8 September 2017	Reappointment and extensions to public appointments (Certification Officer, InvestNI, CITB, Stranmillis University College, NI Screen, Tourism NI nad South Eastern Regional College)
7 July 2017	Temporary Governing Body Chair appointed at Northern Regional College
6 June 2017	Agri-Food Strategy Board Term of Appointment Extended to 31 August 2017
1 June 2017	Extensions to Public Appointments
10 March 2017	Northern Ireland Screen Board reappointments
10 March 2017	Appointment of new Chair to Board of Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland
9 March 2017	Competition launched - Two new Board members to the Board of Tourism Northern Ireland
24 January 2017	Appointment to North West Regional College Governing Body
1 November 2016	Reappointment to Board of Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland
8 September 2016	Competition launched - Chairperson for Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland
7 September 2016	Tourism Northern Ireland Board reappointment
30 August 2016	The Consumer Council
4 August 2016	College Governing Bodies
6 July 2016	Re-appointments to Construction Industry Training Board

Privacy Notice

How we handle personal information is set out in our privacy notice:

Privacy Notice - Public Appointments

Complaints procedure

The Public Appointments Unit (PAU) within the Department for Economy (DfE) is committed to the principles of public appointments as set out in the Commissioner for Public Appointments (CPANI) code of Practice.

Public Appointments Unit - Complaints procedure

Contact the DfE Public Appointments Unit

The Department has a dedicated Public Appointments Unit which co-ordinates the Public Appointments process. For general queries or to register your interest in upcoming vacancies visit our contact page:

Public Appointments contacts