Created: Oct 26, 2024 07:55 AM
Information Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez
A new Information Commissioner for Bermuda is being sought, as lawyer Gitanjali Gutierrez prepares to depart early next year from the post she will have held for a decade.
The Government has posted advertisements locally and abroad for the high-profile $196,000-a-year job, with a closing date of next Thursday for applications.
The statutory position is for an initial five years, although it can be renewed for a further five-year period, as happened in Ms Gutierrez’s case.
She was appointed by the former governor George Fergusson after working as a senior staff attorney with the Centre for Constitutional Rights in the United States, where she represented detainees at Guantánamo Bay.
A graduate of Bucknell University and Cornell Law School, where she served as an adjunct professor of law, her legal career focused particularly on civil rights issues.
Ms Gutierrez is Bermuda’s first Information Commissioner, having taken on the role on March 2, 2015, as the long-awaited Public Access to Information Act 2010 was being brought into effect.
More than 200 ICO decisions about whether publicly held records should be disclosed have been published since then. Last year, Ms Gutierrez issued 55 decisions, a 62 per increase on the year before, and the backlog of pending ICO cases was reduced from 24 to 15.
Ms Gutierrez wrote in her office’s 2023 annual report: “Since its establishment, the ICO has faced a backlog of reviews arising from both internal and external challenges. The delay by my office has burdened public authorities and undermined the rights of the public.
“This year marked a turning point in addressing this deficiency.”
Flyer for Information Commissioner post (Photograph courtesy of www.ico.bm)
The advert posted by the Government, on websites including the Bermuda Jobs Board and The Guardian newspaper in Britain, says the role involves “raising public awareness of the rights conferred” by the Pati Act, working with public authorities to ensure that they understand their obligations, ruling on disputes over the release of information, and leading a small team of investigators and officers.
It states: “The appointee will be the face of the ICO and will need to establish a public profile to explain decisions, raise awareness of the rights and obligations created by the Act, and provide information to the public.
“In addition, the job holder will be required to build appropriate working relationships with senior public officials to help continuously improve the quality of decision-making, encourage compromise and resolve disagreements and conflicts.
“The successful candidate will therefore demonstrate commitment to integrity in public office, excellent judgment under pressure, and strong and sensitive leadership.”
Those applying need to have a bachelor’s degree in law, public administration or other relevant subject and at least ten years’ management experience, including five in a senior role.
Bermudian LaKai Dill was confirmed as the Deputy Information Commissioner two weeks ago.
