Circular No. 09/2019/TT-BVHTTDL stipulates the criteria for the positions of Director and Deputy Director of Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Departments of Culture and Sports; and Departments of Tourism under provincial People's Committees and municipal People's Committees directly under the central government.

CIRCULAR

REGULATIONS ON THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE TITLES OF DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PROVINCE/CITY DEPARTMENTS OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM; DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE AND SPORTS; DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM UNDER THE PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES OF PROVINCES AND MUNICIPALITIES DIRECTLY UNDER THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Public Officials and Civil Servants dated November 13, 2008;

Pursuant to Decree No. 24/2014/NĐ-CP dated April 4, 2014 of the Government on the organization of specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees and municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government;

Pursuant to Decree No. 123/2016/NĐ-CP dated September 1, 2016 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of Ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 79/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 17, 2017, of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism;

The phrase "or examination" is abolished pursuant to Clause 6, Article 8 of Circular No. 15/2025/TT-BVHTTDL dated November 25, 2025, of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism amending and supplementing certain articles of Circulars prescribing job codes, qualification standards, and salary grades for civil servants in the heritage culture, library, grassroots cultural activities, sports, fine arts, art performance, film, and cultural propaganda sectors, which takes effect from January 15, 2026.

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall issue a Circular to regulate the qualifications for the titles of Director and Deputy Director of Province/City Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Department of Culture and Sports; Department of Tourism under the People's Committees of Provinces and Municipalities Directly Under the Central Government.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular regulates the qualifications for the titles of Director and Deputy Director of Province/City Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Department of Culture and Sports; Department of Tourism under the People's Committees of Provinces and Municipalities Directly Under the Central Government (hereinafter referred to collectively as Director of Department and Deputy Director of Department).

2. This Circular applies to:

a) Individuals who are considered for recruitment, appointment, reappointment, transfer, rotation to hold the title of Director of Department and Deputy Director of Department;

b) Agencies, organizations, and individuals implementing or supervising the implementation of recruitment, appointment, reappointment, transfer, rotation, removal, planning, training, development, and evaluation of the titles of Director of Department and Deputy Director of Department, and other related agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Article 2. Principles of Application

Individuals who are considered for recruitment, appointment, reappointment, transfer, and rotation to hold the title of Director of Department and Deputy Director of Department must meet the general and specific qualifications stipulated by the Party and State and those specified in this Circular.

Chapter II

GENERAL STANDARDS

Article 3. Political Ideology

1. Loyalty to the interests of the Party, the nation, and the people; firm in Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, the goal and ideal of national independence and socialism, and the Party's reform policy.

2. Possess a firm political stance, viewpoint, and resolve to resolutely struggle to protect the Party's Program, policies, Constitution, and laws of the State.

3. Patriotic spirit, placing the interests of the Party, the nation, the people, and the collective above personal interests; strictly comply with organizational assignments and fulfill assigned tasks effectively.

Article 4. Morality, Lifestyle, Organizational Discipline Awareness

1. Possess bright moral qualities; live honestly, modestly, sincerely, simply; be thrifty, frugal, honest, upright, impartial, dedicated to work, responsible, and have a spirit of unity, construction, democracy.

2. Not engage in corruption, bureaucracy, opportunism, self-interest, and actively combat and prevent the erosion of ideological, moral, and lifestyle issues within the organization, firmly oppose bureaucracy, corruption, favoritism, waste, individualism, opportunistic and utilitarian lifestyles, factionalism, group interests, and ensure consistency between words and actions; be fair, upright, value talent, and not allow relatives or acquaintances to exploit positions and powers for personal gain.

3. Adhere to and strictly implement the organizational and disciplinary principles of the Party.

Article 5. Regarding Qualifications

1. Hold a bachelor's degree or higher in a field relevant to the position and area of responsibility.

2. Hold a certificate in advanced theoretical studies on politics or equivalent.

3. Have a certificate in state administrative management knowledge training for leadership and management at the provincial level.

4. Have a computer skills certificate meeting the basic standard for information technology usage as prescribed in Circular No. 03/2014/TT-BTTTT dated March 11, 2014, issued by the Minister of Information and Communications on Information Technology Usage Standards or an equivalent application-level computer skills certificate.

5. Have a foreign language certificate equivalent to Level 3 of the Vietnamese Foreign Language Proficiency Framework as prescribed in Circular No. 01/2014/TT-BGDĐT dated January 24, 2014, issued by the Minister of Education and Training on the Vietnamese Foreign Language Proficiency Framework of Six Levels or a certificate in ethnic minority language training from an authorized educational institution for individuals working in ethnic minority areas.

Article 6. Regarding capacity and credibility

1. Possess innovative thinking, strategic vision; scientific working methods; have the ability to synthesize, analyze, and forecast.

2. Have the ability to identify contradictions, challenges, opportunities, advantages, new issues, difficulties, limitations, and inadequacies in practice; boldly propose appropriate, feasible, and effective tasks and solutions to promote, resolve, or remove obstacles.

3. Have leadership and management experience, practical capability, grasp and understand basic current situations to concretize and effectively organize the implementation of Party guidelines and State policies and laws on specialized fields according to assigned functions, tasks, authorities, and work areas.

4. Be proactive, creative, daring to think, act, and take responsibility.

5. Have leadership and directive capabilities; set examples, unite, and mobilize collective strength; be trusted and supported by cadres, party members, and the people.

Article 7. Other criteria

1. Have sufficient health to fulfill tasks as prescribed.

2. Meet age requirements for appointment; the initial appointment age must be sufficient to serve a full term. Special cases are reviewed and decided by competent authorities.

3. Currently hold the rank of Senior Specialist or equivalent.

4. Individuals disciplined with a reprimand or higher cannot be appointed for at least 01 (one) year from the date of the disciplinary decision. Those under consideration for discipline are not considered for appointment.

Chapter III

SPECIFIC CRITERIA

Article 8. Title of Department Director

1. Position and responsibilities

The Department Director is a civil servant heading the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; Department of Culture and Sports; Department of Tourism under the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Provincial People's Committee), responsible to the Provincial People's Committee, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, and the law for performing the functions, tasks, and authorities of the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; Department of Culture and Sports; Department of Tourism.

2. Standards

a) Regarding capacity:

- Possess the ability to forecast and guide development, summarize practice, participate in researching and building cultural, family, sports, and tourism policies and normative legal documents; have the ability to advise and propose management solutions and methods for culture, family, sports, and tourism to serve provincial People's Committee state management activities; have the ability to effectively address, grasp, discover, and handle contradictions, existing issues, limitations, and newly emerging problems related to assigned professional fields and tasks;

- Have the ability to identify and utilize capable and virtuous individuals; gather civil servants, officials, and workers in the agency to lead and coordinate with various levels, sectors, localities, and other agencies to implement assigned tasks;

b) Have at least 05 (five) years of work experience in culture, sports, and tourism, including at least 03 (three) years in a leadership or management position at the level of department head or equivalent in the assigned professional field;

c) Be planned for the position of Department Director or equivalent.

Article 9. Deputy Director of the Department

1. Position and responsibilities

The Deputy Director of the Department is the deputy to the Director of the Department, assisting the Director of the Department in directing certain aspects of work and being responsible before the Director of the Department and the law for the tasks assigned.

2. Standards

a) Regarding capacity:

- Possess the ability to summarize practical experiences, participate in researching and drafting policies and regulatory legal documents on culture, family, sports, and tourism; have the capacity to advise and propose solutions and management methods on culture, family, sports, and tourism to serve the state management activities of the provincial People's Committee; have the ability to effectively address existing issues, limitations, and new problems arising in the specialized field and tasks assigned.

- Have the ability to coordinate with various levels, sectors, localities, and other agencies and units to implement assigned tasks.

b) Have at least three years of work experience in the fields of culture, sports, and tourism, including at least two years in a leadership or management position in the specialized field or sector from the level of Deputy Head of Department or equivalent and above.

c) Be included in the planning for the position of Deputy Director of the Department or equivalent and above.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 10. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from October 25, 2019.

2. Decision No. 41/2008/QĐ-BVHTTDL dated May 14, 2008 of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the issuance of standards for Directors and Deputy Directors of Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular takes effect.

3. Directors and Deputy Directors of Departments who were appointed before the date this Circular takes effect but do not meet the standards prescribed in this Circular shall be trained and further educated to meet the standards for the position according to regulations on strengthening training prior to appointment to leadership and management positions for civil servants, public officials, and relevant personnel, and other related regulations.

Article 11. Responsibility for Implementation

1. Provincial People's Committees; Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Departments of Culture and Sports; Tourism Departments; and other agencies, units, and individuals concerned are responsible for implementing this Circular.

2. For Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Departments of Culture and Sports; and Tourism Departments that have been supplemented with functions and tasks outside the fields of culture, sports, and tourism, in addition to the standards prescribed in this Circular, the competent authority shall base on the position of leadership and management and the standards and conditions set by the specialized state management agency to supplement the standards when considering recruitment, appointment, reappointment, transfer, and rotation to the positions of Director and Deputy Director of the Department.

3. The Cadre and Civil Service Organization Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is responsible for assisting the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism in monitoring, inspecting, and guiding the implementation of this Circular.

During the implementation process, if there are emerging issues or difficulties, agencies, units, organizations, and individuals should report them to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (through the Cadre and Civil Service Organization Department) for consolidation and reporting to the Minister for consideration and decision./.