The Department of Health has announced the appointment of a Chair to the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS).
Mr Jay Colville’s appointment will commence on 1 July 2023 and end on a date not later than 30 June 2027.
Permanent Secretary Peter May said: “NIFRS protects and serves the entire population of NI, providing a range of fire and rescue services and the Chair is responsible for leading its Board and for ensuring that it successfully discharges its overall responsibility for the organisation.
“I would like to congratulate the newly appointed Chair. His skills, experience and dedication to public service will prove invaluable in the years ahead.”
The NIFRS Non-Executive Chair position attracts an annual remuneration of £28,178 with a time commitment of 2 ½ - 3 days per week.
This appointment is made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) was established on 1 July 2006 through the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (the 2006 Order).
NIFRS protects and serves the entire population of Northern Ireland, an area of over 5,500 square miles providing them with a range of fire and rescue services. Under the 2006 Order, the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, and the Fire and Rescue Services (Emergencies) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011, NIFRS responds to fires, road traffic collisions and other emergencies including chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incidents, search and rescue incidents, serious flooding and serious transport incidents. A range of community engagement initiatives are provided to help reduce risk and keep people safe from the dangers of fire and other types of incidents that we respond to. The organisation has a dedicated Regional Control Centre where all the Fire 999 calls for Northern Ireland are answered, and Fire Crews mobilised to respond. NIFRS has 68 Fire Stations across Northern Ireland utilising a variety of crewing models using Whole-time, On-Call and Volunteer Firefighters.
NIFRS Board Members are appointed in accordance with Schedule 1 to 2006 Order. The Board of NIFRS comprises the Chief Fire and Rescue Officer, a Non-Executive Chair and 10 other Non-Executive Members appointed by the Department.
Notes to editors:
- Mr Jay Colville was previously the Area Director of Nationwide Building Society for Northern Ireland and West Scotland. In a 37-year career across the UK he has worked in a variety of roles: Area Director, Regional Sales Management, Management Training, Marketing project leader. Mr Colville was the Chairman of the Council of Mortgage Lenders during the credit crunch 2008-2010 and played a key part in the recovery of the Housing market. He currently holds one other Ministerial Public Appointment with the Department for Communities as Vice-Chair of Sports Northern Ireland (NI). This position attracts remuneration of £3,492 per annum with a time commitment of 1 day per week.
- Appointments to NIFRS are made with the approval of the Department of Health.
- 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. Mr Colville has declared that he has not engaged in any political activity in the last 5 years.
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