Nominations committee

Terms of reference

To lead the process for the appointment of members of the governance and council committees and sub-committees and make recommendations to Council
To review the balance and effectiveness of the committees, identify the skills and experience needed to ensure they achieve their objectives and the gaps that need filling to complement the qualities of the council members on the committees.
To feed into the council development programme the training and development needs of council members based on annual skills audits completed by each of the committees.

Membership

The nominations committee will be made up of a minimum of two council members and one external adviser.

The chair of the nominations committee will be one of the two council members and the external advisor will be the deputy chair.

Chairs of the committees will be invited to attend the meeting of the nominations committee when the committee meets the members shortlisted to join their committee.

Ways of working

The committee will work closely with the chairs of the committees to understand the skills and experience needed to ensure the committees achieve their objectives.

In making its recommendations to Council the committee will be aiming to ensure that the membership of each committee reflects the breadth of the RCN’s work in the areas covered by the committee and has the best possible balance of skills and experience needed to help the committee achieve its responsibilities by identifying those members whose skills and experience best complement the qualities and background of the council members on the committees.

Appointment process for non-council members

Council has agreed to widen the membership of the nursing development, public policy, and membership, representation and diversity committees to include non-council members from November 2007. The aim is to ensure that the membership of each committee reflects the breadth of the RCN’s work in the areas covered by the committee. The change will also enable council members to focus on their core governance role by prioritising membership of the governance committees.

The governance support committee agreed to set up a nominations committee to lead the process for the appointment of the governance and council committees and to make recommendations to Council. It will also be overseeing the appointment of the new forums governance group which will be reporting to the nursing development committee in future and any other sub-committees of the Council.

Timetable

September/October
Council committee vacancies and external adviser vacancies on governance committees advertised
26 September
Meeting of the nomination committee to review composition of committees, identify skills required and agree appointment criteria
3 October
Council executive team to approve recommendations of nominations committee re composition and criteria
18 October
Chairs of council committees elected
Council Members asked to indicate which governance and council committee(s) they would like to serve on
19 October
Deadline for receiving CVs and personal statements from other members
w/c 22 October
Nominations committee to review candidates for committees
2 November
Nominations committee meet to agree recommendations re membership of the governance and council committees. This will involve interviewing short-listed candidates
First week of November
Recommendations to Council for membership of council committees
21/22 November
First cycle of council committee meetings

Process

Committee members will be appointed by Council on the recommendation of a nominations committee set up for this purpose.

The aim is to make sure that each committee as a whole reflects the breadth of the RCN’s work in the areas covered by it and has the best possible range of the skills and experience needed to meet its responsibilities.

In making its recommendations the committee will be looking to identify those members whose knowledge and background best complement the skills and experience of the council members on the committees to ensure that each of the committees are best placed to achieve its objectives to:

provide advice and expertise to Council and staff on matters relating to the areas of work covered by the committee
advise on the development of internal policy in line with national priorities and external factors
ensure that all relevant specialist interests are properly considered and that an integrated approach is adopted to ways of working
advise on the strategic priorities of the RCN and to ensure that proper account is taken of the areas of work covered by the committee both internally and externally
advise on the development of the RCN’s positions on major external policy issues relevant to the areas of its work to ensure its knowledge and experience are used to best effect in influencing public policy development
act as champions for the areas covered by the committee in dealing with Council, country and regional committees and other entities whilst recognising the breadth of the RCN’s responsibilities; and
to act an external advocate by ensuring the RCN’s work in the areas covered by the committee is actively promoted to develop its reputation and influence.

At its meeting on 18 October council members will indicate in order of preference which of the main governance committees they wish to serve on and which if any of the other council committees or sub-committees they would like to be considered for membership of.

The nominations committee will be responsible for allocating council members in accordance with their preferences as far as possible.

It will then identify the gaps in skills and experience that need filling to complement the qualities of the council members on the committees and those candidates who might best provide them.

Short-listed candidates will meet with the nominations committee. This meeting will be designed to ascertain whether the candidates have the personal qualities needed.

The committee will put its recommendations on the membership of each committee to Council for approval.

See the committee's pages in the left hand menu for each committee's terms of reference.

Nomination form

Members wishing to serve on one of the council committees should complete the nomination form below, indicating which committee they wish to serve on and completing a statement in support of their nomination of not more than 250 words.

Nomination form (Doc 67KB)

Completed forms together with a CV with career details should be sent to Jane Clarke, Director of Governance Support at RCN, 20 Cavendish Square, London W1G ORN