A trustee of the National Union of Students has condemned the organisation’s decision to appoint Ben Kernighan as chief executive, claiming he lacks relevant campaigning experience and will be paid too much.

In a blog written last week, on the day that Kernighan’s appointment was announced, Edd Bauer (pictured) said: “We have recruited someone who does not have any experience as a student campaigner and who cannot show commitment to our cause and work.”

He also condemned the board’s decision, made at an emergency trustee board meeting to decide the pay and criteria for the new CEO, to raise the salary for the role by 16 per cent to £100,000.

Salary increase

Bauer wrote: “I left the emergency trustee board meeting in disgust.  I do not know what the final agreed wage is yet, the contract was negotiated with the applicant and the figures have yet to be released…but Liam Burns (NUS president) forced a motion through the board to give the chief executive position a 16.27 per cent pay rise to £100,000.

“The wage of the previous chief executive Matt Hyde was £86,000, which was already clearly far too high.  NUS musters as little as £5,000 each year for campaigns for postgraduates and international students.

“It would be a vastly more appropriate financial decision to put this money into a frontline campaign that would actually help the situation of students who are increasingly suffering financial hardship.”

Of the personal attributes specified for the role, Bauer wrote: “The NUS is a campaigning organisation and the chief executive is expected to be a part of this. If we are going to have a chief executive of the NUS we should be looking for someone with a background in mass campaigning not simply someone with ‘managerial or communication skills’.

“At the meeting I pushed for clauses to be inserted to show a commitment and belief in what the NUS stands for. These requests were shot down by the other trustees, including the president Liam Burns.”

NUS leadership 'pale, stale and male'

He also lamented the appointment of another white male to the senior management team: “It is well known that the leadership of the NUS is pale, stale and male.

“There is a clear problem with equality and liberation within the NUS. I demanded as a minor concession that when recruiting for the chief executive role we sought someone out with the skills, training and experience to ensure diversity within the organisation, if not a clear and demonstrable understanding of the structural barriers many face.”

Kernighan, currently deputy CEO at NCVO, declined to respond, referring enquiries to the NUS.

NUS: Kernighan is 'a proven campaigner'

Liam Burns, NUS president, said Kernighan was a "proven campaigner" with a wealth of experience at both Terrence Higgins Trust and NCVO.
 
He added: “As NUS group chief executive, Ben will be responsible for the strategic development and overall management of one of the country’s leading campaigning, membership organisations, representing seven million students.
 
“The role of group chief executive also entails management of our sizeable commercial and charitable services arms, which bring in a £17m turnover, 220 staff across the UK and a £70m purchasing consortium.
 
“Both the requirements and remuneration for the post of group chief executive reflect the size and complexity of the role.”

Burns and Bauer clashed previously

According to Liverpoolstudentmedia.com, Bauer survived a motion of no confidence moved by Burns last year following Bauer's public condemnation of the route for #demo2012. The motion failed to gain the required majority at a meeting of the National Executive Committee in November.

NUS wins £5m from HEFCE

Separately, the NUS has been awarded £5m by HEFCE  for a Students’ Green Fund, which aims to help students engage with their universities and colleges on sustainable development, and to ensure that sustainability remains a priority with institutions.

NUS will run a single-round bidding competition in summer 2013, to allocate the funding. The successful projects will then receive the funding over two years, 2013/14 and 2014/15.