Job Opportunity: Directors

THIS OPPORTUNITY IS NOW CLOSED

8+ hours per month, flexible, home working

3-year tenure with the possibility to extend to 6 years

Voluntary - Unpaid

Suited to a veterinary or allied professional with a keen interest in sustainability and strategic leadership

About us

Vet Sustain is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) championing sustainability in the veterinary professions. We consist of a team of Directors, volunteers and working group members, promoting our Veterinary Sustainability Goals in line with the UN’s SDGs, through a number of initiatives and projects. These include building tools and training (such as our online food and farming course, our Sustainable Approach to Veterinary Clinical Practice on-line course due to launch in early 2024, Carbon Literacy course, and veterinary practice carbon calculator), communications and advocacy amongst our global network, and working alongside partners and commercial supporters. Please visit our website for more information: vetsustain.org.

The role

Vet Sustain is seeking up to three new Directors to join our existing Board, to provide strategic and operational guidance and leadership to our organisation, in support of our expanding project portfolio and to grow our impact across the UK veterinary professions. The successful candidates will be added to Companies House as Directors with limited liability and will observe our constitution and Code of Conduct. The role will be voluntary/unpaid, and will involve a minimum of two hours of remote working per week, including online meetings, preparing and reviewing documents, project management according to areas of expertise, and the provision of support and guidance to our small team. Our work is primarily online, but involves occasional in-person meetings and opportunities to represent our organisation at events.

The candidate

The successful candidates will be highly motivated, professional and diligent with a passion for sustainability and driving change. They will bring a skillset in areas relevant to sustainability (defined by the areas set out in the Veterinary Sustainability Goals) and/or strategic organisational leadership, with knowledge and insights into the veterinary professions. We are particularly interested in hearing from individuals with expertise in one or more of the following areas: social justice, animal welfare, wildlife conservation and medicine, equine practice, veterinary nursing, or marketing and community engagement.

Candidates would benefit from the support and combined knowledge of the Vet Sustain Board and wider Vet Sustain team members. Interested individuals may also have the opportunity to take the Chair position on our Board for a period during their tenure.

Vet Sustain recognises the positive value of diversity, challenges discrimination, and promotes equality. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

Duties will include:

• Maintaining a broad oversight of Vet Sustain’s sustainability projects, including our growing suite of online distance learning courses and veterinary practice carbon calculator, providing guidance and strategic leadership to our team where necessary (essential);

• Occasional stakeholder engagement with relevant UK and international institutions, organisations and companies, to build Vet Sustain’s network and establish new partnerships and commercial opportunities where relevant (essential);

• To attend Vet Sustain’s monthly online directors meetings (1.5 hours duration, usually held in the evening) (essential);

• Participation in the routine administration and governance of our organisation, including reviewing meeting agendas, minutes and outputs (essential);

• Opportunities to initiate and lead particular workstreams alongside our team according to personal interests and expertise, and report on these to Vet Sustain’s Director group (optional);

• Opportunities to represent Vet Sustain at events, meetings, workshops and training courses, primarily online (optional);

• Other tasks as agreed with the Director group (optional).

Attributes, skills and qualifications:

• The candidate will be a passionate advocate for sustainability and the role that veterinary professionals can play in the sustainability agenda (essential);

• The candidate will be a veterinary or allied professional with relevant skills and a demonstrable understanding of and experience in working alongside the veterinary sector (essential);

• Skills and expertise may include strategic organisational leadership or any areas relevant to sustainability (essential); with particular expertise in one or more of the following areas: social justice, animal welfare, wildlife conservation and medicine, equine practice, veterinary nursing, or marketing & community engagement (desirable);

• They will have an appreciation of the complexities within many sustainability topics, with experience in navigating contentious scenarios and a professional approach to helping groups to reach a consensus and devise practical solutions (essential).

Benefits of joining us

• We are a friendly, inclusive and collaborative group with a wide collective network from across the veterinary professions and beyond. Joining us as a director will bring opportunities to broaden your own network of contacts and like-minded individuals.

• Vet Sustain is a great place to hone your professional skills, develop your understanding of the not-for-profit sector, and experience the rewards of building solutions to the sustainability challenges that veterinary professionals are ideally equipped to address.

Apply now

If you are interested, please send your CV and a cover letter or email stating why you are interested in this position, to [email protected] before Friday 27th October.

Thank you so much for your interest!