The Royal Historical Society seeks to appoint a Secretary for Professional Engagement to join the Society’s governing Council which currently comprises a total of 19 Officers and Councillors who are trustees of the RHS.
The Secretary for Professional Engagement will sit as an Officer on Council and attend Council meetings. S/he will take up the post at an agreed date in 2024.
The appointment is for a two-year term, with possibility of renewal up to four years, and is part of a review of the Society’s governance to focus on areas of key importance to the discipline at this time. Applicants must be Fellows of the Royal Historical Society. The closing date for applications, made via made via the Society’s online platform, is Friday 8 March 2024.
About the role
The role of Secretary for Professional Engagement is designed to develop the Society’s links with professional historians at all career stage. The Secretary will lead on the Society’s professional support of historians, primarily but not solely within UK higher education. The post holder will work closely with the President, Academic Director and CEO in order to provide strategic leadership for the Society in this sphere through the development of training events, networking opportunities, and other activities of their own design.
The RHS runs an active programme of activities for professional historians at all stages, from PhD research to later career. These include training workshops on topics relating to teaching, research, engagement with the media, academic administrative roles, as well as personal career development with a particular recent focus on the needs of historians at mid-career. The Secretary for Professional Engagement will contribute ideas for this programme, and so build on the Society’s offer to historians at all career stages and those who work outside Higher Education.
The Royal Historical Society is governed by Council, which determines all strategic policy, creates and oversees its committees, appoints the Presidents and Officers, manages the Society’s finances and its award of grants and prizes, determines the editors of its various publications, and directs relations with the Society’s members. The new Secretary is expected to play his/her part in these spheres of activity. He/she will also help the RHS realise its ambitions to make the Society a more inclusive organisation that reflects the diverse career trajectories facing new entrants to the profession in the UK today.
The Society is a membership organisation of more than 6000 historians, primarily working in UK higher education, but also drawn from related professional sectors in the UK, such as archives, museums, heritage and broadcasting. The Society also has a significant international membership. Members of the Society join in one of the following four categories: Fellowship; Associate Fellowship (established in 2021 to broaden participation from early career historians and those working in sectors other than Higher Education); Membership; and Postgraduate Membership.
Specifications for the role
Suitable candidates for this role will likely have had prior involvement in a similar historical organisation, especially in its strategic development, policy and committee work, or to have held a leadership, creative or organisation position in an academic department, possibly with a focus on the specific needs of historians at earlier stages of their training or career. Applicants must be Fellows of the Royal Historical Society.
The role requires a time-commitment of up to two days per month. Owing to the Society’s charitable status, the role is unremunerated. The Society is looking for someone who can offer creative ideas and connections, who will contribute to the design and running of training events, and speak to this subject on the RHS Council. The Society employs a small, highly skilled Office staff who will provide full administrative support to assist the role-holder in the execution of his/her duties. The operational work of planning and managing events is run through the RHS Office, working with the new Secretary for Professional Engagement who’ll bring academic and disciplinary focus to the design of our training programme.
The Society is looking for someone who is willing and able to:
- make a creative and positive contribution to the Society’s relationship with its members, across a range of career stages and including the Society’s membership categories of Fellowship, Associate Fellowship and Postgraduate Membership
- play an active role in designing and chairing training events and other meetings relating to professional development
- help the RHS develop future initiatives and to promote postgraduate, postdoctoral, and early career historians’ engagement with the Society
- enhance professional development opportunities across the wider RHS membership, including for later career Fellows and those working in related fields outside of higher education
- attend Council and relevant committees and participate in the associated workload
Application Process
Submission must be made via the Society’s applications platform.
Those interested in making an application will be asked to provide:
- a CV (no more than 3 pages)
- a letter / statement outlining their ability to perform the role and relevant experience
- a 500-word statement indicating their vision for the role
- the names of two referees. We will not contact referees without prior permission.
Informal enquiries about the role may be made to: Professor Emma Griffin (president@royalhistsoc.org)
Questions about the application process may be sent to: administration@royalhistsoc.org.
The deadline for applications is: 11:59 PM, Friday 8 March 2024.