Experts cite reputation, politics in State Chancellery hiring struggle

Latvia’s State Chancellery has reopened its search for a director with significantly lower requirements after the first competition ended without a successful candidate, LSM reported. Experts say the difficulty may reflect not only the selection criteria but also how attractive the position is to highly qualified professionals.

Only six people applied in the first competition, and none progressed beyond the document assessment stage. In June, Latvia’s parliament amended the State Civil Service Law to allow the prime minister, in certain cases, to appoint a State Chancellery director without an open competition.

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs of the United List told Latvian Radio that no applicant had fully met the previous requirements. He said the criteria had been disproportionately high and had excluded some qualified candidates.

Under the new competition, a master’s degree is no longer mandatory but is considered desirable. Applicants no longer have to have managed at least 50 people; experience managing 20 people is sufficient. Experience representing Latvia’s interests in European Union and international institutions has also been changed from a mandatory requirement to a desirable one.

“In practice, this narrowed the pool of applicants to 20 people in public administration. That is not right,” Kulbergs said. He added that the revised criteria were intended to make it possible to attract professionals from the private sector.

Experts cited by LSM said the position’s reputation and the political background surrounding it could also discourage potential applicants. The Providus think tank said the current political environment may deter candidates, while the Delna association described the State Chancellery director’s position as difficult.