The Northern Ireland Government is resuming its search for a new head for the Province’s Public Service, abandoned last year after the First and Deputy First Ministers failed to agree on a choice among three candidates.
Following Sir David Sterling’s retirement, the post was vacant for three months until former Chief Executive of the Utility Regulator, Jenny Pyper (pictured) was appointed as interim head from December.
Ms Pyper is to remain in that position until August.
A Government spokesperson said arrangements to launch a competition to appoint a new head of the Public Service were at an advanced stage.
Chair of the Assembly’s Executive Office Committee, Colin McGrath said someone from outside the organisation could bring a fresh approach.
“Arguably the Civil Service has at times lacked broad expertise with people coming in at a junior level and working up the ranks,” Mr McGrath said.
“A fresh set of eyes from outside might bring a fresh dynamic which would be very useful to permeate right down through the organisation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Public Service has rolled over its Strategic Partnership Arrangement (SPA) with Fujitsu.
The four-year extension, valued at £58.2 million ($A104 million) came without open competition due to the high level of customisation in the relevant IT systems.
The SPA is a fully-managed contract for payroll and human resources systems and services which came into operation in 2006.
According to a transparency notice published by the Public Service, the systems have been heavily customised over the past 15 years to align with a wide range of HR policies and procedures.
The notice acknowledged that the combination of owning the intellectual property and having the specialised knowledge made Fujitsu the only viable supplier to run the systems for the next four years.
“Changing the contractor for a relatively short period would create an unacceptable level of risk of system failure, along with duplication of costs and a potential disruption to public services,” the notice said.
Belfast, 14 March 2021
