Becoming a Trustee

How to become a Tate Trustee

The process for appointment to the Board of Trustees is laid out in the code set by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Trustee vacancies are advertised externally in the media and on Tate website in order to reach as diverse an audience as possible. All applicants are expected to complete an application form and submit it by a specified date. Each application is then assessed against set criteria. Those who adequately meet the criteria are short-listed and are asked to attend an interview. The key stages of the appointment are overseen by a panel that will normally include the Director, Tate; the Chair of the Board, and an Independent Assessor who is appointed by the DCMS.

Once the interview process is finished, the Panel will write to the Minister for Culture with the names of the two best candidates and will request her decision on whom she should recommend to the Prime Minister for appointment. The Panel usually indicates which of the two candidates it favours, for what ever reason. The Minister's recommendation is then considered by the Prime Minister who then makes and announces the appointment.

The OCPA Principles

Tate trustees are appointed on the basis of the Code of Practice for ministerial appointments to public bodies, guidance for departments on adopting best practice in appointment procedures. This code was developed by the Public Appointments Unit in the Cabinet Office in association with OCPA. The seven principles underpinning the code are:

• Ministerial responsibility
  The ultimate responsibility for appointments is with ministers.
• Merit
  All public appointments should be governed by the overriding principle of selection based on merit, by the well-informed choice of individuals who through their abilities, experience and qualities match the need of the public body in question.
• Independent scrutiny
  No appointment will take place without first being scrutinised by an independent panel or by a group including membership independent of the department filling the post.
• Equal opportunities
  Departments should sustain programmes to deliver equal opportunities principles.
• Probity
  Board members of public bodies must be committed to the principles and values of public service and perform their duties with integrity.
• Openness and transparency
  The principles of open government must be applied to the appointments process, its working must be transparent and information provided about the appointments made.
• Proportionality
  The appointments procedures need to be subject to the principle of proportionality, that is they should be appropriate for the nature of the post and the size and weight of its responsibilities.