Appointment of governing body member to Belfast Metropolitan College

The Department for the Economy has appointed Dr Maurice Keady as a new member of Belfast Metropolitan College governing body (GB).

Governing body member appointed

Dr Keady’s appointment is for a four year period, effective from 1 August 2023.

The appointment has been made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.

Notes to editors: 

1. Maurice Keady holds a Doctorate in Governance from Queens University, Belfast. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma (Higher Education) from Chester University, an MBA; an MA (Public Management); an MSc. (Economics); and he also holds a Master of Laws from Leeds Law School graduating in 2023. He has previously served as Academic Dean and as a director of the Irish Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management. He is a solicitor and a Notary Public. He is a member of the board of the Faculty of Pathology at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and is a member of the Property Services Regulatory Authority. He was appointed by the North-South Ministerial Council to the Advisory Committee to Safefood. Previously, he was a director of the Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland. He is a director of the Irish Architectural Archive and a former director of the Irish Architecture Foundation. Maurice has been appointed to the business mentor panel of Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership by Cambridge University. He is a former council member of the Veterinary Council of Ireland and is CEO of a state agency. He is an independent member of the Audit & Risk Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission, which meets four/six days per annum, and is remunerated at £350 per day for this role. He is a non-executive member of the Leadership Board of Forensic Science Northern Ireland for which he is remunerated £500 per day when it meets. Maurice has lectured extensively including the Institute of Public Administration, the National College of Ireland and the Sorbonne University of Paris. Maurice is a director at Dublin LGBTQ Pride, a director at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, and is a former winner of the Ledwidge International Poetry Prize.

2. Belfast Metropolitan College is one of the six further education colleges in Northern Ireland. Colleges are non-departmental public bodies of the Department for the Economy, which are established under the Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. The GB of a further education college is responsible for securing the efficient and effective management of the college, the provision of suitable further education to its students and determining the college’s strategic direction. In delivering college services, the GB considers the educational needs of the business sector and the local community.

3. Dr Keady has been appointed from the reserve list of a multi-college public appointment competition held in 2021.

4. The post of GB member is remunerated at £250 for a governing body meeting and £150 for a committee meeting or event sanctioned by the Chair plus travel and subsistence allowances which are payable at Northern Ireland Civil Service rates in respect of activities conducted whilst fulfilling their duties.

5. 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 (if any declared) to be published. Dr Keady has not undertaken any political activity in the last five years.

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7. For media enquiries contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk

8. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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