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Notes from the SCAR President, number 17 (12 November 2009)
SCAR Secretariat Staffing (Response needed by 26 November 2009)
Colleagues,
As announced in recent weeks, Dr. Michael Sparrow will be assuming the position of SCAR Executive Director as of April 1, 2010. As Dr. Sparrow is currently the SCAR Executive Office, the EO position will become vacant on his promotion. This presented an opportunity to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the SCAR Secretariat staffing structure. As a reminder, the current Secretariat staffing was agreed as part of the restructuring of SCAR in 2002 and includes a full-time Executive Director (ED), a full-time Executive Officer (EO), and a half-time Administrative Assistant (AA). Now that this staffing plan has been in place for more than five years, there is ample experience to determine if this is the optimal staff structure or whether an alternative staffing model might be more effective. In addition, the responsibilities of the Secretariat and the mix of duties have evolved and expanded as SCAR has become reinvigorated.
As the ones most familiar with the inner working of the Secretariat, Colin (ED) and Mike (EO) provided the SCAR Executive Committee with an assessment and recommended changes to the SCAR Secretariat. According to the SCAR Rules of Procedure, the internal workings of the Secretariat and decisions related to Secretariat staffing are the responsibility of the Executive Committee. As such I asked the Executive Committee to consider the proposal and a consensus view has emerged that these changes are warranted and should be implemented.
For your information, I attach the proposal to the SCAR ExCom provided by Colin and Mike and I will let the document speak for itself, so please review. In essence, the major change is to move from a full-time Executive Officer (EO) to a part-time (3-days per week) Executive Officer (EO) that primarily deals with and assists the Executive Director with scientific and administrative responsibilities. The part-time EO is supplemented by a part-time (2 days per week) Financial Assistant (FA) to deal with budgetary and financial matters formerly handled by the EO. The part-time EO would be selected by a search and the part-time FA by an interview process.
From a staffing point of view this allows the Secretariat to hire two people with more specialized skills to handle quite diverse responsibilities that require different skills producing greater efficiency. In addition it provides the flexibility to adjust work hours as demands vary. This change also provides flexibility to respond to suggestions that more of the management of SCAR meetings be undertaken by the Secretariat. While this discussion and a detailed plan are yet to be presented and agreed, the proposed staffing change will provide the flexibility to adjust the staff should more involvement in the management of SCAR meetings become a Secretariat responsibility.
As all organizations, SCAR is always looking for ways to reduce administrative costs while maintaining the services provided. The proposed changes and the promotion of Mike to ED will result in significant reductions in administrative costs. Since Mike is at an earlier stage in his career than the current ED, short-term salary savings will be realized. The combined average salary of the two part-time positions will be less than a full-time EO position. Base work hours for the Financial Assistance would only be expanded when those costs can be recovered from additional assignments. Depending on the assumptions, it is expected that between $23,000 and $35,000 will be saved the first year with these changes (between an 8 and 13% reduction in administrative cost).
As with any decision there are advantages and disadvantages. The ExCom was cognizant that a change to part-time employees could have the unintended consequence of limiting the geographic diversity of the Secretariat staff. It was noted that in most organizations like SCAR, Secretariats are primarily staffed by local residents, due partly to national labor laws but also matters of economics and language, for example the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. In response to this concern and to increase diversity in the Secretariat, the ExCom committed to:
- Make special efforts to recruit a non-UK EO. The Secretariat assures me that they have some leads already and we will make sure that potential candidates are aware of the position, especially encouraging applicants from other countries in all advertisements.
- Secondments should be more aggressively pursued - this issue was already a topic of discussion and this gives added urgency to encourage secondments as a mechanism to expand participation in the Secretariat.
In conclusion, the ExCom felt that the gains in efficiency, flexibility, and cost savings outweighed the potential negative impacts of this decision. Before we move to implement these changes, I ask SCAR Delegates to review the proposal and provide comments. Consultation is important and we welcome any and all comments. The restructuring of the Secretariat in 2002 was one of the most important changes in SCAR and has been a major factor in SCAR's reinvigoration, therefore we do not lightly recommend changes to something that has been so successful. However, we do believe this is a prudent choice for the reason outlined above and in the proposal.
As it is our goal to have the Secretariat fully staffed when Mike assumes leadership in April 2010, I ask that you respond to this request for comment by 26 November 2009.
Thank you for your continuing support and participation in SCAR!
Chuck K.
President of SCAR
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