Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has no new boss yet, temporary manager appointed from within
The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has not yet chosen a new director to replace Radek Jiránek. As of the close of September he is no longer director and as of 1 October management of the Agency has been temporarily handed over to Radka Soukupová.
Jiránek became the Agency’s third director on 5 June 2015. He replaced Martin Šimáček, who was dismissed by Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier after spending six years in the post.
The Agency has already completed its first selections procedure for its next head. Three candidates applied, but none were successful.
“The first round was announced on 9 August and interviews with the candidates took place a month later, on 7 September. The recommendation of the hiring committee was then reviewed by the Deputy Minister for Management of the Human Rights Section of the Office of the Government and the State Secretary, who decided not to appoint the recommended candidate to the position of director. The law on state services establishes, in such a case, that the first round must be reopened,” Agency spokesperson Lucie Nemešová told news server Romea.cz.
“Because there was no winner of the first round, Deputy Minister Martina Štěpánková entrusted management of the Department for Social Inclusion (the Agency) as of 1 October to Radka Soukupová, who is the head of its Local Concepts and Social Inclusion division and acts as a senior government councillor,” Nemešová said.
The next round of the selections procedure has been announced. “Repetition of the first round has already been announced, the closing date for the applications was Monday, 16 October. More information, including the number of applicants, will be provided as soon as possible, along with the announcement of the outcome of this round,” Nemešová told Romea.cz.
In 2007, then-Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Džamila Stehlíková began advocating for the creation of the Agency. It began its activity in March 2008, when it became a department of the Office of the Government.
The Agency worked ran two years as a pilot project in 12 chosen localities. Its first director was Marek Podlaha, who was dismissed by Stehlíková after less than a year.
Martin Šimáček replaced Podlaha in 2009. Šimáček was appointed to the post by the then-Human Rights Minister Michael Kocáb.
The Agency is currently collaborating with 48 localities, 44 of whom are involved in the so-called Coordinated Approach to Socially Excluded Localities. By 2020 it plans to expand its activity into more localiites by the dozens.
