The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is seeking expert lay people to sit on four of its Trustee Board Committees to contribute their expertise to support the College.

We are specifically looking for people with senior experience and expertise in:

• people management
• estates management
• risk
• ensuring diversity in non-executive recruitment

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) was founded in 1505 by Royal Charter granted by King James IV. From the discoveries of Simpson and Lister to modern-day pioneers of medicine and dentistry who are developing simulation, VR, and robotics, we have been driving innovation in medicine for five centuries – making it better for patients across the globe.

As a charitable membership organisation, with over 34,000 members worldwide, we pride ourselves in providing high-quality education, training, and professional standards assessment to for our family of members.

We are headquartered in Edinburgh in our home at Surgeons’ Hall, the world-famous category A listed building designed by William Henry Playfair in 1832. Our main Campus hosts a dedicated skills laboratory, the Surgeons' Hall Museums, the College Library and Archives, as well as function and meeting facilities.

The College employs around 200 staff who are mostly based in Edinburgh, although we also have offices in Birmingham and Kuala Lumpur.  We also have a commercial arm, Surgeons Quarter Ltd, which, amongst other things, runs the Ten Hill Place hotel.

You can find out more about the College here.

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. 

What will I receive in return?

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.