Vote for SRF Officer 2020
Vote for the next Chair of the Awards & Grants Committee. All voting members will have received an email (from noreply@eballot.com) with details of the candidates standing for the new Chair of the Arts & Grants Coummittee. This email also includes your unique voting link, please email srf@conference collective.co.uk if you have any questions.
The call for additional ordinary council members will be circulated in the autumn. In January 2021 three of the current Officers, Dr Richard Lea, Dr Bob Robinson and Dr Adam Watkins will complete their tenure as committee chairs. Three Officer positions, each for a period of four years, fall vacant from January 2021. We aim to fill these positions before the next council meeting in November to allow a structured handover. Members of the Society are cordially invited to stand for election for one of the following Officer roles, taking up full responsibility at the AGM planned for Friday 8 January 2021 at the ACC Liverpool during the Fertility 21 meeting.
- Programme Committee Chair
- Grants and Awards Committee Chair
- Membership and Public Engagement Committee Chair
Period of Office
Officers hold office for a period of four years. Under the current constitution they may not be beneficiaries of the Society and are ineligible to receive grants, travel support and other such benefits available to members.
Attendance at meetings Officers are expected to attend Council Meetings. The foreseeable meetings are due to be held:
2020: Thursday 12 & Friday 13 November 2020
2021: Wednesday 6 January (to coincide with Fertility 2021), May & November dates TBC
Spring and Autumn Council Meetings are held at a hotel in an accessible UK location, currently this is at Manchester Airport and the format is Thursday afternoon and Friday up to 5pm. A working dinner is held on Thursday evening, overnight accommodation is provided and travel expenses reimbursed. The SRF AGM is scheduled to take place at the annual Fertility conference.
The SRF Committees convene the afternoon prior to the Council meetings (outside of those coinciding with conferences) but in the same location. Therefore, you can expect to be away on SRF Council business for up to 2 working days (including travel time) at least twice a year, plus attendance at the Fertility meeting. In addition to these responsibilities, Officers aim to meet by telephone or video call in between each face to face meetings, to discuss ongoing activities.
Officers are expected to be available throughout the year to assist in ad-hoc decision making and have a key role in running and leading the Society, supported by the Secretariat.
Role as Charity Trustee As an Officer and member of Council, you are taking on the responsibility as a Charity Trustee, whose responsibilities cover the following: You and your co-trustees must make sure that the charity is carrying out the purposes for which it is set up, and no other purpose. This means you should:
- ensure you understand the charity’s purposes as set out in its governing document
- plan what your charity will do, and what you want it to achieve
- be able to explain how all of the charity’s activities are intended to further or support its purposes
- understand how the charity benefits the public by carrying out its purposes
To assist with your understanding of the Society, please refer to the Articles of Association and Byelaws which can be found under the “Who We Are” tab on the SRF Website srf-reproduction.org. Further details about the duties of a Charity Trustee can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-essential-trustee-what-you-need-to-know-cc3/the-essential-trustee-what-you-need-to-know-what-you-need-to-do#trustees-duties-at-a-glance Eligibility
- SRF Members (fully paid as of Monday 29 June 2020) may stand for election.
- To be an Officer previous council experience is essential and work within the appropriate committee is desirable but not a requirement .
- Members who have previously served on Council as an Officer may stand if one year has elapsed since the end of their previous years of service.
- Members of Council who are ending their period as an Ordinary Member in January 2021 may stand, providing they have not been on the Council for more than two consecutive terms.
- Nominations must be supported by at least two paid (as of 29 June 2020) members of the Society. (For reference, a list of current Members can be found in the Members Area of the SRF website under “Notice of Elections”).
- Applications for more than one Officer position are discouraged. However the SRF chair will be happy to discuss the possibility of multiple applications with any member.
Procedure Members or ordinary council members wishing to stand for election as an officer must complete a Nomination to Council form on the SRF website and submit it to the SRF Secretariat to arrive no later than 09.00 hrs UK time on Monday 22 June 2020. The online form includes a space for you to provide a short statement giving details of your relevant experience and what your goals and aspirations are for your time as an Officer on council. The Chair of the SRF will review each application to ensure eligibility.
Nominees must obtain the support of at least two SRF Members and are responsible for organising supporting statements on headed paper to be submitted to the Secretariat for Monday 22 June 2020 09.00am.
Timeline Monday 22 June 2020 – Deadline for Nominations: NB – should the number of nominations received by 09.00am Monday 22 June 2020 exceed the number of vacancies, then, as stated in the Articles of Association Article 33 (e), the Secretary shall issue voting instructions to each Statutory Member of the Society. In the case that only one application is received, the successful candidate will be notified
26 June 2020: if more than one application is received, all Statutory Members will be sent a unique link to vote online to elect the next Officer roles.
3 July 2020: voting closes.
7 July 2020: successful candidate notified. Professor Colin Duncan Chairperson, Society for Reproduction and Fertility
