Two elected members of the Governing Board come to the end of their first term of appointment this year and so elections will be held.

Key dates in the election process to note:

This is an opportunity to play an essential role in ensuring that Cochrane is a well governed and effective charity at an exciting and challenging time. The external environment we operate in is evolving and we know Cochrane needs to change in response.

A new global strategy for 2024-2027 will set out our ambitions and priorities over the next five years which include:

• Expanding and inspiring our community to collaborate, contribute and engage in creating a vibrant and productive environment to enhance evidenced-informed health care
• Providing an efficient, fair and effective editorial process delivering excellent evidence and a great experience for contributors
• Providing the highest quality evidence to more people and having greater impact by focusing on global and national priorities
• Increasing diversity, equity and inclusivity through review production and encouraging more contributors and evidence from across the globe
• Ensuring that Cochrane is a financially stable organisation that adds value to donors, contributors and consumers
• Growing our global collaborations and partnerships to advocate for and increase implementation of evidence - informed health care

Skills and expectations:

Cochrane is a global organization, members of the Governing Board are the charity’s Trustees and Directors of the charitable company. Trustees are legally responsible for the organization’s management and administration.

The Board is seeking members who can play a pivotal role in Cochrane’s future success. You should bring high levels of personal integrity to the role and demonstrate commitment to Cochrane’s vision and mission. As a Trustee you are not representing any particular group of people, it is your legal duty to act in the charity’s best interests and make decisions collectively with your co trustees.

You will be expected to adhere to the Board Charter and Trustees Code of Conduct and must complete a Trustee Eligibility Declaration required by the Charity Commission. More information about being a Trustee of a Charity registered in England and Wales is available from the Charity Commission.

For this election, the Board is especially seeking candidates who have skills and experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Leadership of global and/or complex organizations
• Making organizations more diverse and equitable
• Organizational change management
• Fundraising and business development
• Advocacy
• Public relations and communications
• Financial management and accounting
• Digital product development
• Publishing and Open Access

The Board is committed to improving the organizations’ approach to equity, diversity and inclusion. It recognises that having members with a broad mix of skills and knowledge as well as a range of perspectives and lived experiences will help the Board to be innovative, flexible, better able to adapt to a changing environment and address future challenges.

The full job description and expectations for members of the Board is included in the Governing Board Electoral & Appointment Procedure. More information about the operation of the Board, including minutes of past meetings, is available on the Governing Board pages of the Cochrane Community website.

Eligibility:

Candidates must be a Cochrane Member as of 15 November 2023 to be eligible to stand in this election. Membership is defined as having accepted the Terms & Conditions of Cochrane Membership. You can check your membership status here.

Time commitment:

Board members are appointed for a term of three years. The term of the newly elected (or re-elected) members of the Board will begin on the date that the election results are announced.

Board members are expected to attend four meetings per year, two of these meetings are held virtually and two are face to face. Face to face meetings are held in locations agreed by the Board. During 2024 the Board will meet face to face in Berlin on 11, 12 and 13 March and in Prague on 7, 8 and 9 September.

Members of the Board are expected to prepare for meetings in advance by reading and commenting on papers, they should contribute actively to Board business and keep up to date with current issues affecting the organization. Members usually join at least one of the Board Sub-Committees. Training and development sessions will require additional time.

Cochrane Members from any country or location are welcome to apply.

This is a voluntary, unpaid role, although expenses will be paid. For more information, please see the Board expenses policy.