States Trading Assets – unincorporated
Guernsey Ports, Guernsey Water, States Works, Guernsey Dairy and Guernsey Waste are trading entities that are part of the States of Guernsey. These are the “unincorporated assets”.
Each unincorporated Asset is run by a States sub-committee of the States Trading Supervisory Board (STSB) that acts as its board. The sub-committee is usually made up of a Chairperson, a political member of the STSB, two or three Business Advisers and the General Manager and Finance Manager of the asset.
States Trading Assets – incorporated
By contrast, Guernsey Post, Guernsey Electricity, Aurigny and JamesCo (tankers) are separate companies with their own independent board of directors, where the States of Guernsey is the sole shareholder. These are “incorporated assets”. Their Boards have paid non-executive directors, rather than unpaid Business Advisers.
This page focuses on the role of an unpaid Business Adviser to an unincorporated States Trading Asset – Guernsey Ports, Guernsey Water, States Works, Guernsey Dairy or Guernsey Waste.
Role of Business Adviser
The role of a Business Adviser is a voluntary one and is similar to a non-executive director but without the legal or fidiciary duties.
Business Advisers contribute fully to the work of the board on which they sit – but they do not have a vote. The board agrees business and financial strategies and makes sure the asset operates in support of the policies set by the States.
At present, each board has one or two external Business Advisers. These are members of the public with commercial and board experience who are recruited to bring expertise, diversity of thinking and independent oversight. As a member of the Board, the Business Advisers help to challenge established practices and assumptions and to drive strong performance by the trading asset in line with its business plan objectives.
Responsibilities
As a Board Adviser you will be:
- Reading papers in preparation for board meetings
- Contributing to business discussions at the board meetings
- Ensuring the company strikes the right balance between social, economic and environmental objectives.
If you would like to be considered in the future, send a letter expressing interest and a copy of your CV to the STSB Nominations Sub-Committee, Brickfield House, St Andrew, GY6 8TY or by email to tradingassets@gov.gg.
Appointment process
When a vacancy arises, applicants are initially shortlisted from the business adviser pool. If successful, an interview process will follow, with a panel that typically consists of representatives of the business concerned including the Chairman.
All recommended appointments are subject to approval by the STSB.
Support
As a Business Adviser, you will be supported by the officers who support your board as a whole. They will give you the schedule of meetings, prepare the papers for you to read before meetings and are available to answer any questions.
You will also be supported by the General Manager of the Asset and the other members of the board.
Training
Training differs for different assets. It may range from site visits and in-depth meetings with the operational team to more specific training relating to the asset’s operations.
Time commitment
Each Trading Asset’s board has its own schedule but it is likely to meet every four to six weeks on average. Meetings tend to be on a specific weekday at the offices of the Asset and can last between two and four hours.
You will be expected to read the papers beforehand and contribute to discussion in meetings. Some board papers will be lengthy so you need to allow several hours to read through them.
In addition, you will be copied in on emails between the members of the board plus other correspondence.
In total, the time commitment is about a day a month in total.
Remuneration
The role of Business Adviser is a voluntary one, there is no salary. Reasonable expenses are paid.
However, the Business Advisers provide a pool of potential candidates for future Non-Executive Director roles with Aurigny, Guernsey Electricity, Guernsey Post and JamesCo for which you can be paid up to £11,000 a year.
Rewards
These are voluntary positions but you will be using your commercial experience and expertise to help drive and improve performance in unique businesses that can touch o the lives of everybody in Guernsey on a daily basis.
Downsides
Board papers can be lengthy and complex.
More information
For more information about the States’ Trading Supervisory Board and the States of Guernsey Trading Assets, plus further details of the role of Business Adviser go to: www.gov.gg/STSBadvisers.
‘Insight into States Trading Assets’ presentation – March 17th 2020
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Corrections
This description of the role of Business Adviser has been researched by Women in Public Life volunteers. If you spot an error, please do let us know by emailing hello@womeninpubliclife.gg.
If you have a question about being a Business Adviser to a States Trading Asset that isn’t answered on this page, email us at hello@womeninpubliclife.gg. We’ll research the answer and then publish it here to help inform others who might be curious about the same thing.