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"Chairing the England Council has been a source of enormous enjoyment, and I would really encourage anyone with an interest in participation at the BGS to consider applying. The role involves becoming a Trustee of the BGS, attending Board meetings and being involved in interesting discussions around BGS policy. It also involves chairing the quarterly England Council meetings with stimulating conversations about regional issues and hearing about all the great work that colleagues are undertaking all around the country. Above all, becoming England Council Chair has also been an amazing way to meet brilliant colleagues from all around the UK and sharing experiences about our wonderful speciality." |
From the outgoing chair
The BGS is recruiting a new Chair for its England Council. The England Council is made up of representatives from the six England regions. It meets four times a year to provide support and peer learning for region meetings and other activities in the England regions and to discuss areas of common interest. The Chair of the England Council is a charity trustee, sitting on the BGS Board. This gives the opportunity to help shape the future of the Society at a strategic level.
This role provides an ideal opportunity for someone seeking perhaps their first BGS leadership role. The role is not unduly onerous and is suitable for someone keen to bring local/regional experience in England to bear on national policy and practice.
Overview of England Council
The overall purpose of the England Council is to provide support and collaboration between the England regions for BGS members delivering healthcare for older people.
Within the BGS, the Council acts as a forum to:
• Plan and deliver region meetings and webinars with the BGS Events team in line with the rolling CPD programme.
• Enable multidisciplinary representatives from the English regions to share information, resources, research and good practice with each other and their region members.
• Debate issues and influence decision-making at a regional level, in relation to the healthcare of older people.
• Represent the experience of members within the English regions to inform BGS strategy, policy-making and communications.
The England Council has a different remit to the Council committees in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as health policy is one of the government responsibilities that is devolved from Westminster to the nation governments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. A significant majority of the BGS’s 6000 UK members are based in England. BGS senior officers and committees, supported by designated BGS staff, undertake policy, communications, education and research for England and the UK, so the England Council has a narrower remit than the Councils and nation committees in the other three countries. It benefits from the input and exchange of perspectives about local/regional practice in England, feeding this frontline experience into the BGS to inform and reflect on national initiatives. With the growth of ICSs and ICBs, regional influence is increasingly important for the BGS in helping to improve care for older people.
Main duties of the England Council Chair:
- To chair England Council meetings (four per year, online via Teams);
- To provide quarterly contributions to the ‘All Regions E-Bulletin’;
- To contribute to England Council agendas, oversee work undertaken by Council members, and enable England region voices and experience to be shared with other parts of the BGS;
- To help facilitate good contacts between the various England regions, including the sharing of good practice in the running and content of region meetings and webinars, and the building of stronger local networks and communications;
- To provide an introduction (either live or recorded) at three region meetings per year;
- To take an active role as a charity trustee in BGS Trustee Board meetings, which provide oversight of the Society’s strategy, operations, and finances (the BGS Trustee Board meets four times a year, usually with two online and 2 in-person meetings a year).
- To update the England Council on key issues arising from Trustee Board meetings and to feed in views, experiences and examples from the England regions to inform BGS policy and guidance on clinical practice.
Term of office
The current Chair of England Council, Dr Richard Biram, will demit in February 2027 and we are now seeking to recruit a successor. The term of office is two years, which may be extended by one year in accordance with the terms of reference. The role is voluntary, with travel and accommodation expenses paid in accordance with the BGS’s policy.
Person specification
We are looking for someone who:
- Is a BGS member based in England from any profession involved in older people’s healthcare
- Has some experience of leadership, project management or chairing
- Is keen to promote the exchange of ideas and learning between different areas of England and to act as a bridge between local activity in older people’s care and emerging policy and practice developments at a national level
- Wants to gain experience within the BGS is a leadership and charity trustee role
It is not essential to have been involved in BGS regions before, nor to have been part of the England committee, though such experience would be desirable.
Staff support
The England Council Chair is supported by the Conferences and Region Development Manager, with administrative support provided by the Office and Business Manager.
How to apply
If you are interested in applying for the Chair role, please send a short CV and a statement of how you would approach the requirements of the role (up to 300 words) to Mark Stewart, BGS Business and Office Manager,M.Stewart@bgs.org.uk. If there is more than one nomination, the candidate will be appointed via interview. The closing date for self-nominations is Tuesday 10 November 2026 at 9.00 a.m., with online interviews to be held the following week.
