Four non-executive members are being sought for the Board of Cowes Harbour Commissioners (CHC). The Board is responsible for the strategic oversight of a wide range of activities that are vital to the safe management and economic prosperity of the ‘Trust Port’ of Cowes.
Cowes Harbour is currently in an exciting and challenging phase of its development and Commissioners will play a key role in helping to shape the future of the harbour and its services. The Commission considers the continued successful management of the harbour is fundamental to the future prosperity of Cowes and the Isle of Wight.
CHC are keen to attract capable individuals from a broad section of the local community and to ensure that a balance is maintained in respect of the skills and interests of its Board members. Applications are welcome from candidates with enthusiasm, commitment and local knowledge who can add real value to the current Board.
In particular, CHC are seeking candidates with knowledge and expertise in finance, law, and project management. Additional relevant experience relating to the following skill sets would be advantageous but is not prescriptive: port development, business management, safety, marine science and engineering, HR, and information technology.
These key posts offer an excellent opportunity for individuals to make a tangible and valuable contribution to the management of Cowes Harbour. CHC have recently completed an extensive stakeholder consultation, and a strategic review of the vision, objectives, plans and policies for Cowes Harbour for the period 2016-2021 is underway and will be finalised in 2016. The first stage of the harbour protection programme has been successfully delivered with the new detached Cowes Breakwater, and CHC are now looking forward to completing the second and third phases with the extension to the Shrape breakwater and new Eastern Channel.
In line with good governance the Commissioners are appointed on merit, on an open recruitment basis to provide the Commission with the professional skills and experience to determine the policy and business decisions of the organisation.
The appointments will be effective from 1st May 2016 and will run for a period of three years. Further detail and information is available on CHC’s website. If you are interested in being considered for these positions, please apply to the Harbour Office, Town Quay, Cowes, Isle of Wight PO31 7AS by email: chc@cowes.co.uk or telephone: 01983 293952.
STOP PRESS: Applications for Commissioner vacancies on the Cowes Harbour Board will now close at 1200 on Friday, 4th March 2016.
Notes to Editors
Cowes Harbour is a Trust Port, which means it has no shareholders or other owners, but is managed for the benefit of its users, or ‘stakeholders’. The port is run by an independent Board of Commissioners, appointed through a public selection process, who give their time on a voluntary basis.
Cowes Harbour Commission’s main function is to be the Statutory Harbour Authority for Cowes and to undertake commercial marine activities so that it can be self-financing. As the Commission has no shareholders, any surplus funds raised through its activities are reinvested back into the harbour and its facilities, to the benefit of its harbour users, or ‘stakeholders’.
In line with good governance and to benefit from new ideas and attitudes, the Commission rotates Board membership regularly. Commissioners can only be reappointed by the Board for two three-year terms, after which, if they wish to stay on for a third and final term, they are required to participate in an open recruitment exercise. The Commission is currently seeking to appoint four Board members to commence their term from 1st May 2016.
