Frequently Asked Questions

You can apply to join our governance structure by submitting an application to one of our current vacancies. Applications are then considered via an appointments process (where a panel is formed to determine the most suitable candidates) or by means of an election (where members vote on their preferred candidates).

Read more about our available vacancies.

Read more about our election and appointments processes.

Your application will be assessed in one of four ways depending on the vacancy you apply for:

1. Elected Members are elected by the membership of the Society in a ballot which takes place in May and June every year. The application form includes a personal statement, which we anonymise and distribute to all members who are eligible to vote for consideration.
2. The co-Chairs of the Early Career Forum Executive Committee are elected by the membership of the Early Career Forum in a ballot which takes place in May and June every year. The application form includes a personal statement, which we anonymise and distribute to all members who are eligible to vote for consideration.
3. The co-Chairs of strategic Committees, the Division Chairs, and the Officers of Council (President, Treasurer and General Secretary) are appointed by Council. Each year, the General Secretary convenes an Appointments Panel which considers applications to these positions and makes a recommendation to Council of the most suitable candidates.
4. The co-Chairs and Representatives on the Members Panel are appointed by the Members Panel. The General Secretary convenes an Appointments Panel in coalition with the Members Panel co-Chairs to select the most suitable candidates.

Read more about our governance recruitment processes.

Absolutely! We are looking for people who represent the full diversity of our membership. Whilst you might not have experience of sitting on one of our Committees, Divisions or Panels, there may be other skills you can bring that make you ideal for the role.

As an early career member, you are welcome and encouraged to apply to any position. However, if you are looking to build confidence and gain insight across multiple areas of governance early in your career, the best place to start could be the Early Career Forum Executive Committee. As well as developing professional development resources for early career microbiologists, members of this Committee sit as representatives on the Society’s other Committees, Divisions and Panels to ensure that the Society’s offerings are relevant and attractive to early career members across the board.

Read more about the Early Career Forum.

Yes, absolutely! We need people from a variety of different career stages to sit on our Council. As our Board of Trustees, Council must represent our members - it cannot do this without representation from across the breadth of our community.

Yes, we accept applications in alternative formats such as video or voice recordings. Contact us via [email protected] to let us know your requirements and we will do our best to support you.

We want to give everyone an equal opportunity to join our governance structure, whether you are new to our community or have been involved before. By anonymising candidates in our elections, we hope to ensure that people are elected based only on the skills and competencies that they can bring to the role.

Read more about our governance recruitment processes. 

Members of the Appointments Panel are required to complete conflict of interest declarations when they first receive applications. If they know you or work with you, they will declare this to the Panel and remove themselves from the Panel’s deliberations as necessary.

Read more about our governance recruitment processes.

We are in the process of gathering this information so the results are not available yet. However, information about equality, diversity and inclusion at the Society more widely is available via our equality, diversity and inclusion webpages.

You can read about the various bodies which make up our governance structure via our how the Society works pages.

No, anyone can apply to participate in our governance whether you are based in the UK or elsewhere in the world.

Most of the roles on our governance structure involve attending at least one in person meeting a year in London, UK. We cover expenses for travel and accommodation up to a certain limit to enable members to attend governance meetings in person. This limit is set higher for members based outside of the UK to account for the higher cost of international travel.

No, anyone can apply to participate in our governance, including new members and microbiologists who are not currently members.

Please note that, if your application is successful, you must be a member for the entire period of your term of office. This means that, if you are not yet a member when you apply, you will need to become a member before taking on your role.