Expert Lay Member - Voluntary Positions
Expert Lay Member - Voluntary Positions
Company Description
About The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an independent membership organisation dedicated to the education, training and advancement of surgeons, dental surgeons, doctors, and various individuals throughout healthcare who are involved in the surgical care of patients. The College has a current membership approaching 32,000 and growing, with members spanning over 100 countries around the world.
From our founding in 1505, the College has been committed to the advancement of surgery and driving patient safety standards worldwide. In our 515-year history, there has never been a better time to join the College than now.
Working with us
At the College we aim to embrace views from across the organisation, sharing common goals and values for the betterment of healthcare through the advancement of surgical and dental professionals. We aim to develop teams that are reflective of the needs of our members and maximise the potential of every employee.
To reflect the varying needs across the organisation, we offer a range of policies and benefits for our workforce including a generous 42 days annual leave, flexible working practices, enhanced employer pensions contribution and various discounts throughout the College including the Ten Hill Place Hotel, 1505 Café and free entry to Surgeons’ Hall Museums.
If you’d like more information about this role, please contact recruitment@rcsed.ac.uk
Position
We are specifically looking for people with senior experience and expertise in:
- people management
- estates management
- risk
- ensuring diversity in non-executive recruitment
About Trustee Board Committees
The College’s governing board is made up of 12 trustees: the President, five Vice-Presidents, and two Member Trustees – all of whom are clinicians – and four ‘appointed’ lay trustees. You can find out more about the trustees here.
The Board has established a number of committees to assist in fulfilling its oversight and governance responsibilities. These committees have each decided to appoint a lay member with specific expertise relevant to their terms of reference, as follows:
- Remuneration, People and Workplace Culture Committee. Advises the Trustee Board on a wide range of staffing, remuneration, pensions and workplace culture activities. It is seeking a lay member with expertise and senior experience in relation to HR/people management, ideally in an organisation of similar size and complexity to the College.
- Strategy, Estates and Finance Committee.Advises the Trustee Board on financial matters, property and digital strategy. The College has a complex and varied property estate in Edinburgh. The Committee is seeking a lay member with expertise and senior experience in relation to estates management in an organisation with a mixed-use estate including listed buildings.
- Nominations and Appointments Committee. Makes recommendations to the Trustee Board on certain senior non-executive appointments within the College and oversees recruitment processes for non-executive appointments more generally. It is seeking a lay member with expertise and senior experience in achieving diversity in non-executive appointments.
- Audit and Risk Committee. Makes recommendations to the Trustee Board in relation to the annual report and accounts and the College’s approach to risk management. It is seeking a lay member with expertise and senior experience in developing and implementing risk management systems in similar contexts to the College’s.
Work of lay members
Trustee Board committees usually meet four times a year, during working hours. Meetings are usually hybrid, with some members attending in person in the College and some attending online. Some business is transacted by email.
We ask that Committee members:
- Analyse papers and make decisions based on sound reasoning and precedent
- Offer a professional opinion and adopt a short, medium and long-term perspective to ensure ongoing growth and long-term sustainability as well as helping resolve immediate problems
- Collaborate with and respect the talents, views, and opinions of their fellow committee members as experienced people with broad career portfolios
- Exercise sound judgement and provide reasons to support it
- Show a willingness to participate actively in discussion with highly developed interpersonal and communication skills
- Work collaboratively with the College’s executive team to establish and achieve shared goals.
Committee members are expected to abide by our values of Inclusivity, Integrity, Innovation, Respect and Professionalism.
The positions are voluntary, although reasonable expenses may be claimed in line with the RCSEd Travel Policy.
Length of Term
Appointments are for 3 years. Further re-appointment for a 1-year term may be possible, following re-application, in line with the terms of the committee’s remit.
Requirements
We are looking for candidates who are passionate about their area of expertise and want to make a difference to a historic institution with a mission dedicated to improving health outcomes across the globe.
We actively welcome candidates that can bring varied lived and professional experiences to broaden the interests and character of our committees and represent the diversity of our RCSEd community. Being an active part of our committee network is a very rewarding role. While the roles are voluntary, the benefits include opportunities to:
- Gain or expand your committee experience – you don’t need to have committee experience, but it would be an advantage.
- Make an active contribution to the work of RCSEd as a charity and to the strategic development of all aspects of our diverse organisation.
- Work alongside people from a wide range of experience and backgrounds and to enhance teamwork and communication skills.
- Enhance your understanding of the medical profession and medical training, in the UK and internationally.
Other information
Dates of interviews will be confirmed in due course. Candidates who have been shortlisted for interview will be contacted in the first instance by email.
The application is a tool for helping us to shortlist candidates for interview and as a basis for the interview itself. Any decision to shortlist you for interview will be based solely upon the information you supply on your application.
If you have any difficulty in completing the forms or require the forms in an alternative format, please contact the Recruitment Department by e-mail: recruitment@rcsed.ac.uk
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an equal opportunities employer. If you consider you have a disability (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) and have any specific requirements, or require assistance or reasonable adjustments (for example, information in larger font) to be made for you during the selection process, we will do our best to assist you. You are given the opportunity to express your needs by attaching a separate sheet to your application form or by contacting the HR Department on +44 (0) 131 527 1587 or by e-mail: recruitment@rcsed.ac.uk
The Equal Opportunities Monitoring form can be returned with your application. It will be retained within the HR Department and used solely for monitoring purposes; it will not be made available to the short-listing panel.
Thank you for your interest in the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. We look forward to receiving your completed application by 5pm on 20 February 2026. If you need any further information, do not hesitate to contact us.