Extensions to the Terms of Appointment of the Chair and two Non-Executive (Lay) Members to the Business Services Organisation
Date published:
Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt has announced extensions to the terms of appointment of the Non-Executive Chair and two Non-Executive (Lay) Members to the Business Services Organisation (BSO).
Mrs Julie Erskine, Mr Robert Bannon and Professor Dorothy Whittington’s extensions commenced on 1 December 2024 and will end on a date not later than 30 November 2025.
The Non-Executive Chair position attracts renumeration of £26,160 per annum with a time commitment of 2 days per week. The Non-Executive Member positions attract remuneration of £6,332 per annum with a time commitment of 3 days per month.
These extensions are made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.
BSO is a Non-Departmental Public Body which came into existence on 1 April 2009. Its services are provided to 10 Arm’s Length Bodies of the Department of Health and to the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, as well as to the six HSC Trusts. It also delivers services from a number of satellite offices located throughout Northern Ireland.
The Board of the BSO consists of 9 Non-Executive Members including the Chair and 4 Executive Members including the Chief Executive.
Notes to editors:
- Julie Erskine was appointed Chair of the Business Services Organisation in 2016. She has over 40 years’ experience in the health care sector and has held a number of positions in the private, public and voluntary sector. Her background in health ranges from business management through to service and service delivery.
- Robert Bannon has spent almost 30 years in the Insurance Industry gaining extensive experience in Sales, Resource and Administration Management, Strategic Planning, Business Development and Budget Management. In recent years, he has successfully developed his own consultancy practice specialising in human resource management, organisational development, coaching, mentoring, recruitment and selection. Mr Bannon is currently a Lay Member with the Northen Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission.
- Dorothy Whittington is Emeritus Professor of Health Psychology in the University of Ulster. She has published extensively on communication, social skill, and quality assurance in health care and other contexts. Professor Whittington has held executive and non-executive board level posts in the Higher Education Academy, in North Bristol NHS Acute Care Trust and in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. She was an Education Associate of the General Pharmaceutical Council for ten years and acted as a lay member of the Council’s panel for the accreditation of university courses leading to qualification in Pharmacy.
- Appointments to the BSO are made with the approval of the Health Minister.
- All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published. The appointees have all declared that they have not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
- Learn more about the Business Services Organisation (BSO) via Home - Business Services Organisation (BSO) Website
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