RCM Board Election 2021

RCM Board members are elected by the RCM’s membership and are expected to:

• attend an induction and periodic updates on their role and responsibilities and other governance related training as required;
• attend and contribute to the induction of newly appointed RCM Board members;
• attend meetings of the RCM Board;
• attend meetings of committees to which they have been appointed by the RCM Board or the Trust Board;
• attend general RCM members’ meetings;
• attend the RCM’s annual conference;
• hear appeals by RCM staff members arising from grievances and disciplinary proceedings.

For more information on the role and responsibilities of the RCM Board click here.

Each year, board members should expect to attend:

• at least six RCM Board meetings;
• six committee meetings; and
• at least four days of strategy or development work.

Meetings may be held face to face or virtually and may include travel time and an overnight stay. A significant amount of meeting preparation is required.  This includes reading papers and liaising with fellow board members, RCM staff and other stakeholders.      

If you have an employer, you should discuss your intention to stand for election to ensure that they understand the commitment and are supportive. You may be able to negotiate some time off work for RCM duties, however, some or all your RCM duties will be carried out in your own time.

Various opportunities open to RCM Board members include:

• membership of professional advisory forums;
• membership of partner organisation committees and groups;
• attendance at events such as the RCM Annual Event and awards ceremonies;
• lectures, presentations and various workshops and events for RCM members and activists.

These activities provide personal development but are not part of a board member’s core role and responsibilities.

RCM Board members receive no remuneration. Out of pocket expenses are paid in accordance with this policy.

To be eligible to stand for election you must be full members of the RCM or Maternity Support Worker members who on the date of commencement of the office for which they are standing for election will have been full members or Maternity Support Worker members of the RCM for at least three years.

You must also satisfy the other eligibility criteria in 6.1.13 of rule 6.1 of the RCM rules.

Inclusive organisations are more successful at meeting the needs of their members. With this in mind, we welcome applications from a range of backgrounds, particularly black and minority ethnic (BAME), lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and those with different lengths of service.

A member elected in 2021 who has not previously served on the Board will be appointed for four years.  They may stand for election for a further period after that.

A member elected in 2021 who is already a board member and approaching the end of their initial period of office will be appointed for two years.

All members elected in 2021 will take up office as an RCM Board Member on
1 September 2021 with a lead in period starting on xx July 2021.

A member who has served as an RCM Board Member for a combined period of six years, must take a break of at least three years before standing for re-election.

The following documents provide more detail on role and responsibilities of the RCM Board and its members.

Royal College of midwives Governance Code [link]

The RCM governance code:

• establishes principles for governance of the RCM;
• helps the board and board members understand what to do and how they should do it; and
• provides a basis for monitoring and evaluating board and board member performance.

Role profile for a member of the RCM board 

This is a generic description of the role and responsibilities of an RCM Board Member. It explains, amongst other things, that an elected board member can also be appointed as a Trustee of The Royal College of Midwives Trust charity.

Required competencies 

These set out the qualities, skills and experience you should possess to be an effective board member.

Code of Conduct for Members of the RCM Board [link]

This sets out the standard of conduct expected of RCM Board Members.

The RCM Board has drawn up an RCM Board Member role profile and core competencies. The core competencies are those required of all board members while the additional competencies are considered desirable.

If you wish to stand for election, you will be offered an assessment of your competence for the role. You are strongly advised to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about becoming an RCM Board Member and assess your readiness to perform role.

Candidates should prepare for the assessment interview as you would for a job interview. For example, please make sure you are well informed about the RCM.

If the assessment suggests that you would benefit from further development before standing as a candidate, you may be offered advice on how to strengthen your competencies for a future occasion. However, it is entirely your choice whether you stand as a candidate in 2021 or later.

Should you decide to stand as a candidate in 2021, the members of the RCM who vote in the election will receive a statement about you from the assessment panel. This is intended to help voters make an informed choice. The statement will include one of the following competence ratings which will be assigned to you by the assessment panel.

Competence rating A:

The candidate demonstrated to the assessment panel the required level of competence.

Competence rating B:

The candidate demonstrated to the assessment panel a level of competence requiring further development.

Competence rating C:

The candidate did not demonstrate to the assessment panel an acceptable level of competence.

You may choose to stand as a candidate without completing the assessment process. RCM members who vote in the election will be informed that the assessment panel was unable to provide a view of your competence.  The assessment process will be completed by 31 March 2021.

The first step is to complete the RCM’s self-nomination/eligibility declaration form. This is compulsory and you will not be accepted as a candidate for election unless you have completed, signed and submitted this form to elections@rcm.org.uk by xx April 2021.

To take advantage of the assessment process, please submit your cv to elections@rcm.org.uk by xx April 2021.

You may also prepare an election address for the RCM to distribute, together with the voting papers, to the persons entitled to vote in the election. Your election address may not exceed 300 words and must only include text (which may include links to other material if you wish). Your completed election address form must be sent to elections@rcm.org.uk  by 22 May 2019.

Those entitled to vote in the election will receive a ballot paper which includes the names of all candidates.  As in previous years, the single transferable vote system will be used in the 2021 election. The voter will be invited to rank the candidates in preferred order.  For example, the voter will write number ‘1’ next to the name of their preferred candidate; number ‘2’ next to their second choice and number ‘3’ next to their third choice.

In addition to the ballot paper, those entitled to vote in the election will receive:

• any election addresses submitted by candidates in accordance with the RCM rules;
• one of the following statements from the assessment panel in relation to each candidate who attended an assessment interview:

Either

(i)          This candidate completed the RCM’s assessment process for candidates for election to the RCM Board. The assessment panel is of the view that this candidate demonstrates the required level of competence. The assessment panel’s competence rating for this candidate is shown below.

Or

(ii)         This candidate completed the RCM’s assessment process for candidates for election to the RCM Board. The assessment panel is of the view that this candidate does not currently demonstrate the required level of competence. The assessment panel’s competence rating for this candidate is shown below.

Or

(iii)        This candidate chose not to complete the RCM’s assessment process for candidates for election to the RCM Board. Therefore, the assessment panel has no view of the candidate’s competence.

Or, in the case of a serving board member who is standing for another term:

(iv)        (a)      This candidate chose not to complete the RCM’s assessment process for candidates for election to the RCM Board. Therefore, the assessment panel has no view of the candidate’s competence.

              (b)      The candidate was assessed in [year] and at that time the assessment panel was of the view that s/he [insert words from previous assessment] and the assessment panel’s competence rating for this candidate at that time was [insert previous competency rating].

A serving board member standing for re-election may not wish to be assessed by the panel or disclose previous assessment scores to voters. In which case, the assessment panel will include only part (a) of statement (iv) in the voters’ information pack.

If statement (i) applies it will be accompanied by competence rating A as follows.

Competence rating A:  The candidate demonstrated to the assessment panel the required level of competence.

If statement (ii) applies it will be accompanied by competence rating B or C as follows.

Competence rating B:  The candidate demonstrated to the assessment panel a level of competence requiring further development.

Competence rating C:  The candidate did not demonstrate to the assessment panel an acceptable level of competence.

If statement (iii) applies there will be no competence rating