Public Servant of the Year Award

Celebrating Excellence Across Government

Overview

We are carving out a new vision for the civil/public service in Liberia. This new vision accentuates skills, innovation, and the basic core values of public service: honesty, integrity, service, impartiality, and objectivity. The Public Service Awards, which began back in 2012, albeit informally, are designed to recognize and award public servants, who distinguish themselves through exemplary work, leadership, and innovation, which inspire others and impact service delivery, change, and efficiency in the public service.

Eligibility for Nomination

Eleven (11) winners of the award will be honored each year during celebrations marking Public Service Day on June 23rd all awardees will receive the “Public Servant of the Year Award”. One of the eleven recipients will be selected for the “Distinguished Public Servant of the Year Award”. The awards will cover work done from the hosting of the last award to the close of nominations for the current year’s award. Nominees for the awards may be selected from any level of public service and any entity of government, however, all recipients must have made significant contributions as career public servants in an entity of government. Public servants nominated for the award must have done some or all of the following on a sustained basis:

  • Made a profound difference in improving service to the public
  • Being willing to take risks to achieve change
  • Changed the way a governmental organization operates so that it better achieves its goals
  • Achieved substantial savings in government
  • Develop a cadre of other government leaders

Core Criteria for Selection

These criteria are applied to evaluate every awardee, in addition to other specific criteria:

  • Civil Service Values: Has the nominee promoted or demonstrated the civil service values and behaviors set out in the Civil Service Standing Orders: honesty, integrity, service, impartiality, and objectivity?
  • Above and Beyond: Has the nominee’s achievement gone above and beyond their normal job role?
  • Measurable Benefits: Is the action of the nominee achieving tangible results?
  • Impact: Has the nominee made an impact beyond their immediate team, unit, or department?

 

Nominating, Public Servant for the Award

Nominations will be made by the public, and government institutions, who desire to recognize the work and achievements of their employees. Nominations may also be made by recognizing civil society organizations, that follow and observe the work of public servants in the society as they deliver public service in their roles as public servants.

Nomination or Submission Deadline:

Nominations must be received by June 1 each year to be assured of receiving full consideration.

Evaluating the Nominations

Award Committee Membership: The committee shall consist of seven (7) members, with the Deputy Director-General for HRM as chair. Other committee members shall come from the civil society council, the Press Union of Liberia, the Civil Service Association and a retired senior civil servant, the Liberia Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Association of Human Resource Professionals. A senior civil servant shall serve as Secretary to the committee, while the Director-General of the Civil Service Agency shall serve as an advisor.

Method of Selecting Award Recipients: The committee shall review the submissions, rank them, interview the nominees, do a background check on the nominees, and shortlist nominees for the award.

Judging Criteria: The following matrix will be used for scoring the nominees, leading to the final shortlist.

Criteria Weight Measures

Innovation and design

 30% ·     Initiative showed by the individual in identifying the potential for improvement to systems or service provision to the public.

·     Evidence of innovation in responding to a problem, opportunity, or new policy, and in the delivery of service.

·     Commitment to public service values, leadership, collaboration, excellent customer focus, and stakeholder engagement.

·     Perseverance and dedication throughout the execution of tasks to ensure success.

Benefits and results

 30% ·     Evidence of how the individual effectively contributed to, initiated, and/or lead the overall success of a project or initiative.

·     Evidence of how well their work improved systems, services, or outcomes in the workplace or beneficiaries of public service.

·     Evidence that the individual optimized opportunities engage stakeholders effectively, manage risks or issues, or saved cost?

Above and beyond

 40% ·     Did the individual go above and beyond their normal duties or in the execution of a project or initiative?

·     Did the individual demonstrate commitment to public service values, including excellent collaboration, customer focus, stakeholder management, and leadership?

·     Did the individual exceed expectations for the work to succeed?

 

Presentation of the Award

The award will be presented at the Public Service Day Celebration on June 23rd each year or at another appropriate event.

The Candidate Nomination Authorization Form can be downloaded from HERE and uploaded on the Nomination Form.

Please note that the Candidate Nomination Authorization Form MUST be uploaded in PDF or PNG format only.

Click this link to submit the Candidate Nomination  Form