Lay member to the Finance Sub-Committee of the Board of Trustees


About SAMS

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is a marine research organisation, founded in 1884, and one of the world’s oldest oceanographic institutions. Based on the west coast of Scotland, near Oban, SAMS is a registered charity and Company Limited by Guarantee.

The Scottish Association for Marine Science has a positive attitude towards diversity. We are committed to equality of opportunity and inclusivity amongst our staff, students, trustees and lay members.

 

The Role

The Finance Committee consists of two Board Trustees plus key SAMS senior executives. The Committee is seeking a new additional lay member who will have particular focus upon financial quality assurance and performance as well as participating in the wider committee remit. The lay member will not be required to join the Board, applying their expertise solely to the Finance Committee.

The Committee meets quarterly and works in a hybrid fashion.

These positions are unremunerated. Appointments will be for an initial three-year term that may be extended for up to a further three-years. The minimum time commitment, including preparation for and participation in formal committee meetings, is approximately 10 days per annum. The majority of meetings are held in Oban, although recent experience has shown that virtual meetings can also be very effective. Should travel expenses be incurred these will be reimbursed.

 

Our Ideal Candidate

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who has a strong finance background in the private sector, a chartered accountancy firm, or the public sector. The successful applicant will have sufficient expertise and experience to enable them to express informed views about financial management matters and have recent and relevant financial experience to enable them to competently engage with financial management and reporting in the organisation and associated audiences. The successful candidate will need to have an accountancy qualification and professional membership.

Candidates do not need to come from a science, research or educational background, their financial and governance experience is more important. SAMS welcomes applications from all.

If you have the enthusiasm, commitment, skills and experience we are looking for, then we very much look forward to hearing from you.

 

Interested?

The deadline for applications is 27th October 2023. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview virtually at the start of November, with the possibility of face-to-face interviews at the end of November. More information about SAMS, including governance and composition of the Board of Trustees can be found at: https://www.sams.ac.uk/about/#131679 

Application is by covering letter and a short CV to be sent to sams.secretary@sams.ac.uk