Title: Chief Executive of The Physiological Society
Responsibility: Reports to The President of The Physiological Society
Purpose
- Help shape and deliver the strategic vision of the Society, within the governance framework of the Trustees and the charity laws
- Provide leadership for the Society’s staff
- Ensure that the Society fulfils its aims
- Operate within the budgetary framework of an agreed business plan
- Liaise with the senior officers of the Society
- Communicate effectively the strategy and policy of the Society, both internally and externally
- Interact effectively with other learned societies and with the Society of Biology
Key accountabilities
Leadership
- Be a visionary leader who can motivate staff to perform to the best of their ability in pursuit of the Society’s vision, aims and objectives
- Maintain a climate which attracts and retains motivated staff
- Establish and maintain the trust and support of staff and Society officers
Strategy
- Ensure that the Society’s business plan is reviewed regularly and adhered to, and that progress against it is monitored
- In consultation with the Executive Committee, annually review and update the business plan
- In conjunction with the Executive Committee, develop and formulate the Society’s strategy and review it on a regular basis
- Review all the Society’s activities and structures to ensure that the appropriate structures are in place to develop best value to the Society
- Develop and deliver a public relations strategy in which the discipline of Physiology, and the Society’s activities, are communicated to others, including the general public
Communication
- Establish contact with members and other interested parties in order to develop and implement priorities for the Society
- Review the current lines of communication with members in order to develop more effective input into strategy
- Act as the principal link between the staff and the senior officers, in particular with the President of The Society
- Ensure that good communication and co-operation exists between staff and officers and other members, taking action where appropriate
- Keep abreast of developing trends in policy matters through discussion with members and officers, and other interested parties, including other societies, research charities, research councils and the Society of Biology
- Monitor the development of the Society of Biology, and ensure that it provides an effective way of complementing and enhancing the Society’s strategy
- Communicate the Society's policy and position in all affairs involving the Society of Biology
General management
- Manage staff in the London and Cambridge offices
- Appoint staff as necessary in liaison with the President
- Carry out annual performance and career development reviews
- Ensure that staff are best deployed to achieve the Society’s objectives
- Ensure that adequate and regular reports and advice are provided to the Executive Committee to enable the Trustees to carry out their responsibilities under the Charities Acts and under Company Law
- Ensure that Trustees comply with Charity law and best practice with regard to Trustees’ job descriptions, including induction, training and other requirements
- Maintain effective succession planning for the Executive Committee and Council
- Ensure that nominations for Trustees, members the Executive Committee, Vice President and President are maintained in accordance with the Society’s established turnover of academic officers and statutory documents
- Ensure that returns and reports are submitted to Companies House and the Charity Commission in accordance with laid down schedules
- Ensure that appointments and retirements of Trustees are reported to the appropriate authorities in a timely manner
- Ensure, through the Society's Honorary Treasurer, that the Society’s Annual Report complies with regulations of the relevant SORP, and also provides a useful and meaningful account of the Society’s activities and future plans
- Ensure that Society’s risks, as already identified, are managed effectively, and that consideration of these and additional risks are reviewed by the trustees and is embedded into the Society’s governance
- Together with the Society's Honorary Treasurer ensure that the Society operates robust and appropriate financial control
- Ensure that the Society’s budgeted income and expenditure are consistent with the Business Plan, and that a balanced budget is achieved within an agreed timescale
- Develop the Society’s outside sources of funding, through discussions with grant giving bodies and others, including charitable trusts, pharmaceutical companies and government organisations such as the EU
- Review the Society's long-term office premises needs, with a view to maximising the efficient use of space
- Ensure that an efficient working relationship is maintained between the Society's London administrative office and the publications office in Cambridge, encouraging staff to interact closely
- Represent the Society's interests on Management/Editorial Boards of the Journal of Physiology and Experimental Physiology and liaise with Blackwell, the publisher of the Society's journals
