Thursday 01 February 2024
The Guernsey Overseas Aid & Development Commission is delighted to announce the appointment of a new voluntary Commissioner - Mr Mike Allen. He was appointed at the January States Meeting and commenced in the post on 1st February 2024.
This follows the vacancy being advertised across local and social media in October 2023 and a thorough selection process being undertaken. The new Commissioner has been appointed to serve the remainder of the term of Mrs Margaret McGuinness, until 31st July 2026. Mrs McGuinness stood down from the Commission on 31st January, as she will be moving to the UK. She dedicated six and a half years of service as a volunteer Commissioner.
The Commission, on behalf of the States of Guernsey, distributes funds for aid and development overseas by making grants to charities undertaking development and humanitarian work in the world's least developed countries, and by contributing to emergency and disaster relief.
Mr Mike Allen is an experienced business leader who has successfully led multi-disciplined teams internationally in multiple sectors. Mr Allen has supported charitable projects globally, with the supply of services and products at the behest of International Government Development Agencies. He has also visited many of these projects to understand their needs and how best to maximise the results for the beneficiaries. Mr Allen also founded his own business providing outsourced procurement services for governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with partners in West and East Africa. It is considered that Mr Allen's extensive experience of conducting business in the developing world, as well as working alongside charities and governments, will be of great benefit to the Commission and allow it to gain a greater international perspective in regard to how businesses, government and charities interact on projects.
Deputy Chris Blin, the President of the OA&DC, said:
"I would like to publicly welcome and congratulate Mike Allen as the new Commissioner, his experience and expertise will certainly be well utilised by the Commission.
I would also like to thank all those who applied for the position. All applications received were of a very high quality and their interest in the position was much appreciated.
My personal thanks also go to Margaret McGuinness for her hard work. Her professional experience and knowledge has been invaluable over the past six years. The role of Commissioner is an unpaid one, but they spend many hours reading and assessing each of the hundreds of Grant Aid applications received each year, as well as providing guidance to the Commission in general."
