Recruitment for new specialist Certification Panel

We are looking to recruit a specialist Certification Panel to oversee the assessment process for our bespoke accreditations for the disability employment sector – the Social Enterprise Disability Employment Mark and the Local Authority Disability Employment Mark.

The criteria for these accreditations has already been developed with the aid of people with declared disabilities or long-term health conditions, as well as organisations who employ and support them. We therefore want to ensure this experience continues to be reflected in the oversight role performed by the Certification Panel.

As such, we are ideally looking for people with a declared disability or a long-term health condition, who can bring their lived experience when helping the Panel reflect on the evidence being examined as part of the assessment process. Over time, they will also provide a valuable contribution to how the accreditation criteria and assessment process may evolve.

The Panel’s role will be to consider and make judgements on assessments conducted, ensuring these conform with criteria expectations and setting new precedents for assessing eligibility going forward. This will include reviewing all assessments where set evidence requirements are not clearly met, and routinely examining a selection that have been approved by SEMCIC every year, to ensure consistent standards of assessment are being applied.

In the interests of independence and impartiality, we are seeking representatives from outside the group of organisations currently involved in these accreditations. To find out more about the role and to express your interest, please contact Richard Cobbett at richardc@socialenterprisemark.org.uk or 07813 151234.

Please note this is a voluntary role and involvement typically requires attendance at two meetings a year, which are usually conducted in Exeter or Plymouth, although virtual attendance is also an option. Outside of this requirement, Panel members are called upon to review assessments across the year. Although the number of times this happens may vary, it is unlikely to exceed a couple of hours in a month and it is quite rare for the Panel to be called upon in this way more than half a dozen times a year.