The Acting Deputy Governor, Mr. Franz Manderson is pleased to announce the recruitment of Mr. Stran Bodden, Mr. Eric Bush and Mr. Alan Jones, as Chief Officers.

Mr. Bodden will take over, as Chief Officer in the Ministry of Finance, Development & Tourism, dealing with tourism and development, replacing Carson Ebanks who recently retired and Leonard Dilbert who has been acting over the past few months.

Mr. Bush will take over, as Chief Officer for the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs, replacing Mr. Manderson who takes over the role of Deputy Governor.

Mr Jones will take over, as Chief Officer of the Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture, replacing Mr. Kearney Gomez who will be retiring on the 31 January.

They will take up their positions on 1 February 2012.

The Acting Deputy Governor instituted a new recruitment process for this exercise, using an assessment centre approach, he established the essential competencies required for the post of Chief Officer and these were tested by on line assessments a written exam and an interview.

Fifty one persons applied for the three posts and, as part of an open recruitment process a twelve candidates were shortlisted.

All candidates were subjected to a day of tests and assessments. The Portfolio of the Civil Service administered the on-line tests that assessed cognitive ability, emotional intelligence and learning agility.

In addition the candidates undertook an examination which consisted of three separate scenarios that had to be completed in a defined period; these tasks reflected what would actually be expected of a Chief Officer.

The applicants then appeared in front of a panel and were asked to deliver a speech  which they had prepared previously and were interviewed by a panel consisting of Mr. Franz Manderson (Chairman), Ms. Sophia Harris Managing Partner of Solomon Harris and Mr. Jude Scott CEO of Maples and Mr. Peter Gough Strategic Advisor to the Deputy Governor.

Mr. Manderson said “I was exposed to the assessment centre process during my recent visit to the United Kingdom and decided to introduce a similar model in Cayman. I felt that it was important to introduce an open and transparent process for these key appointments, I intend to use this approach in the future for senior posts in Government”.

I welcome Alan, Eric and Stran to the post of Chief Officer they can be justly proud of their performance throughout their career and at the assessment centre. I am very fortunate to be in a position to choose three Chief Officers to support me in my new role as Deputy Governor as we tackle the many challenges facing the Civil Service today”.

Stran Bodden has a MA in Economics and a BSc in Social Science Education. He started his career in Government as an Economist in the Cayman Islands Economics & Statistics Office in 1999 was promoted to Senior Statistician, in 2004 and then became the Acting Director in 2005. He moved into the Ministry of Education, Training, Employment, Youth, Sports and Culture in 2006 as Deputy Chief Officer and moved to the Ministry of Health, Environment, Youth, Sports and Culture in 2009 as Deputy Chief Officer

Mr. Bodden said “I am excited about being given the opportunity to serve as Chief Officer and I would like to thank God, my family, and my close friends that have supported me over the years.  In taking up this new post, I am looking forward to applying the knowledge and experience that I have gained in the civil service in order to deliver services required in these demanding times”.

Eric Bush has a BA in Psychology; he joined the Royal Cayman Islands Police Force, 1999 and after a spell in the private sector joined, Cayman Airways in 2006 as a Senior Manager, Human Resources, he joined Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs in 2007 as Deputy Chief Officer where he has oversight of the Prison, Police and Immigration.

Mr. Bush said  “I am honoured to be entrusted with this new responsibility.  Having worked in the Portfolio for the last five years has allowed me to work with a very talented and hard working group of individuals.  As the Chief Officer, I look forward to building on the strong foundation laid by both Mr. Donovan Ebanks and Mr. Franz Manderson”

Alan Jones, MRICS, has a BSc in Urban Estate Surveying, joined the Cayman Islands Lands and Survey Dept as an Assistant Lands Officer in 1989 was promoted to Chief Valuation Officer in 1998 and became Director in 2004.

Mr. Jones is a Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) and the Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy (CASLE

Mr. Jones said “I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the further development of the civil service and the Cayman Islands in a new capacity and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Mr. Kearney Gomez who over the last 20 years as my chief officer has been a constant and invaluable source of inspiration and support to me”