Dr Malcolm McKibbin, currently the acting permanent secretary at the Department for Regional Development (DRD), has been appointed as the next head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS).

McKibbin, who succeeds Sir Bruce Robinson, will take up the post shortly. He has been acting permanent secretary at DRD since August 2010. Prior to this appointment he served as the permanent secretary of the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development since 2007.

He has also held senior posts in the Department for Finance and Personnel and the DRD, and spent most of his career at the Northern Ireland Roads service, including five years as its chief executive.

Sir Bruce has been head of NICS since 2008. He is now retiring from the civil service. Last month the Northern Ireland Civil Service Commissioners raised concerns that McKibbin had been appointed through an internal competition. Click here to read more.

Written by Civil Service World