Education Chief departure will save Gov £160k

Friday 18 October 2024

The Government will make an "anticipated saving" of £160,000 a year following the departure of the Chief Officer for Children, Young People, Education and Skills – and further restructuring of his department remains "under discussion".

Rob Sainsbury, who took charge of CYPES in October 2021 in an interim capacity and was appointed to the role permanently in December 2022, yesterday told colleagues that he would finish work on 31 October.

But following queries from Express, it has emerged that Mr Sainsbury’s formal employment at the Government of Jersey will end on 30 November – but he will be on leave from 1 November.

Deputy Malcolm Ferey, Vice-Chair of the States Employment Board, also confirmed that further restructuring of the CYPES department is also "under discussion".

Whilst the Government refused to reveal the cost of any redundancy package for Mr Sainsbury, Deputy Ferey did confirm that the "anticipated saving" from his departure is £160,000 a year.

He added that Keith Posner – the current Director of Improvement and Transformation in the CYPES department – has been appointed interim Chief Officer.

Arrangements for a new permanent Chief Officer "be announced in due course".

Deputy Ferey said: "Rob’s decision to step down allows us to continue with our efforts to curb growth in the public sector and right-size our workforce to ensure it is as efficient and effective as it can be."

Deputy Rob Ward, Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, added: "We thank Rob Sainsbury for the hard work that he has done in the Department and look forward to working with Keith Posner as Interim Chief Officer."

Connétable Richard Vibert, Minister for Children and Families said: "We would like to thank Rob for his seven years of service with the Government of Jersey and wish him well in his next endeavours."