Former Utility Regulator to be appointed interim Civil Service boss

By David Young, PA

Former Utility Regulator Jenny Pyper is to become the interim head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

Mrs Pyper will fill a position left vacant since retiring Civil Service head David Sterling left his post on August 31.

The appointment has been approved by First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill.

The post is being filled on an interim basis after Mrs Foster and Ms O’Neill failed to agreed a permanent replacement for Mr Sterling.

In the last recruitment exercise, three candidates made it through to a final interview stage with the ministers in September, but Stormont’s leaders were not able to reach consensus on an appointment.

The interim head, who will not be in the running for the full-time role, is expected to occupy the position for around eight months.

She is the first woman to take up the position.

The salary range is £160,000 to £188,000 a year. Mrs Pyper, who starts in the job on December 1, will be in the middle of that range.

She will have a packed in tray. One of her key jobs will be to head up a new taskforce to roll out Northern Ireland’s Covid-19 vaccination programme.

She will also take the helm as the Civil Service wrestles with the challenges presented by the end of Brexit transition period.

Mrs Pyper said she was proud to take on the job.

“I am delighted and honoured to have the opportunity to lead the NICS and progress delivery of the Executive’s priorities,” she said.

“I am aware of how hard staff right across the organisation have worked and adapted in difficult circumstances, especially throughout the Covid response, to maintain delivery of services to people here, in addition to developing new schemes in response to the challenges of the pandemic.

“I am confident that the resilience and dedication of the workforce will endure through and beyond these unprecedented times.

“I am proud to have been a civil servant for over 28 years and I will do all I can to further develop a high-performing, outcomes-focused and inclusive NICS that supports the institutions of government and makes a real and positive difference in people’s lives.”

Mrs Pyper has many years of experience with the Civil Service.

Joining in 1985, she worked in several economic development roles, including tourism, enterprise and inward investment policy, sector training and development and innovation policy.

In 2004 she became director of energy policy in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

The married mother-of-two then took up a post as director of regional planning and transportation in the Department for Regional Development.

She was promoted to Deputy Secretary in the Department for Social Development in 2011.

She joined the Utility Regulator in 2013 and retired this autumn.

In a joint statement, Mrs Foster and Ms O’Neill welcomed the appointment.

“She will take up post at a critical time as the Executive continues to manage its response to, and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and prepares for the end of the EU exit transition period,” said the ministers.

“This includes addressing immediate health, societal and economic challenges as well as planning for the future and putting us in the best possible place to rebuild our economy, rejuvenate our society and transform our public services.”

Mr Sterling announced his intention to retire last December.

During Stormont’s powersharing impasse, he was effectively in charge of running public services in Northern Ireland.

He described those three years as the “most challenging and difficult in the history of the Northern Ireland Civil Service”.