Council, Committees and President


The Society’s affairs are run by Council and its Committees. Council comprises of Officers and Members of Council elected at the Annual General Meeting. The President, elected for a two-year term, is supported by a Vice-President for Scotland and three other Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, General Secretary, five main Committee Chairs and Members of Council.

The Role of Council and its Members

The Society is governed by a Council of Trustees who meet three times a year to set the strategic direction of the Society and review the delivery of its programmes of work. Council members make an important contribution to the role of the Society and each year there are a number of vacancies for Council as Members complete their term of office.

Being a Member of Council can be a very rewarding experience and provides an opportunity for individuals to be directly involved with the workings of the Society.

The business of Council is guided by the Society’s Royal Charter, By-Laws and Standing Orders (these documents can be found here).

Council, chaired by the President and supported by the executive team, sets the strategic direction of the Society and reviews the delivery of its programmes of work. All members of Council are Trustees of the Society.

Council consists of the following members:

The President of the Society is a prestigious role, acting as a figure-head in promoting and representing the interests of the Society to key stakeholders.

They preside over all of the Society’s activities and strategic developments, and chair Council Meetings, the Awards Committee, and the Annual General Meeting.

The President will deliver at least one Presidential Address during their two-year term of office. The President shall normally serve as a Vice-President the year before and the year immediately after being President.

The Vice-Presidents of the Society play an important role in helping to shape the strategic direction of the organisation. 

They undertake duties requested by and agreed with the President or Council as the need arises.

At any one time, the Society has four Vice-Presidents: one is the incoming or outgoing President and one is the Vice-President for Scotland with a three-year term of office. The other two Vice-Presidents have a three-year term of office and may chair committees, such as the House Committee.

Vice-Presidents shall normally take ownership of at least one of the Society’s strategic initiatives on behalf of Council. This may involve participating in a project team established to deliver this initiative.

In addition to the specific roles defined here, Vice-Presidents are entitled to take up membership of whichever of the Society’s committees they may wish to become involved with.

The Treasurer plays a key role as one of the senior Officers of the Society in helping to shape and develop the future direction of the organisation during their five-year term of office.

The main duties of the Treasurer are outlined as follows:

  • Keep under review through the House Committee, for the purposes of audit, all financial and contractual commitments of the Society, which entails membership of the House Committee, the Strategic Planning Group and the Salary and Remuneration Committee;
  • Take responsibility for agreeing the Chief Executive’s financial delegations on behalf of Council and, as appropriate, authorise on behalf of Council any capital operational expenditure items that exceed the Chief Executive’s financial delegations;
  • On behalf of the House Committee, oversee the Headquarters work on the preparation of the Annual Accounts and take specific responsibility for overseeing the policies and practices related to the Society’s Investments that are implemented by the HQ team;
  • Be the principal cheque signatory for the Society.

In addition to the specific roles defined here, the Treasurer is entitled to take up membership of whichever of the Society’s committees they may wish to become involved with.

The General Secretary plays a key role as one of the senior Officers of the Society in helping to shape and develop the future direction of the organisation during their five-year term of office. 

The main duties of the General Secretary are outlined as follows:

  • To be the person responsible for all of the Society’s non-executive staff issues and be the point of appeal for staff on matters of grievance;
  • Chair of the Salary and Remuneration Committee;
  • Chair of the Membership Development Group;
  • Chair of the House Committee and oversee matters relating to the House Committee’s Terms of Reference not covered by the Treasurer;
  • Attend the Strategic Planning Group representing projects that would come from changes in policy or procedures made at the House Committee;
  • To be one of the cheque signatories for the Society.

In addition to the specific roles defined here, the Treasurer is entitled to take up membership of whichever of the Society’s committees they may wish to become involved with.

The Society has a number of main Committees overseeing the programmes of work, these include Professional Accreditation Board, Climate Science Communication Group, Education and Outreach Committee, Scientific Publishing Committee and Meetings Committee. 

The role of a Committee Chair is an important one in ensuring that the programme of work of that committee is dealt with appropriately and meets with the wider strategic aims of the Society.

All Committee Chairs keep the Terms of Reference for their committees under regular review and report to Council on a regular basis. The majority of Committee Chairs will sit on Council if appropriate.

Other Members of Council actively contributes to the affairs of the Society and help shape the direction of the organisation.

A Member serves a three-year term of office and no person who has previously been a Council Member for three successive years can hold office as a Member of Council unless at least one year has elapsed since that person’s last period of office.

Council members 2023/24

 

President

Vice-President

Vice-President

Vice-President

Vice-President for Scotland

Treasurer

General Secretary

David Griggs, PhD, FRMetS

Brian Golding, OBE, FRMetS, Met Office

Catherine Senior, Met Office

Robert A Varley, FRMetS, CMet, Consultant

Gregory Wolverson, FRMetS, CMet, Met Office

Paul Hardaker, FRMetS, CMet, FInstP, University of Reading

Derek Swannick, FRMetS, FCMI, MAPM, Ministry of Defence Civil Service

 

Committee Chairs

Accreditation Board

Science Engagement Committee     

Education Committee    

Scientific Publishing Committee

Meetings and Conferences Committee         

 

Rebecca Venton, FRMetS, CMet, Consultant

Peter Stott, PhD, FRMetS, Met Office

Karl Shepherdson, FRMetS, Met Office

Anna Ghelli, PhD, FRMetS, ECMWF

Edmund Henley, Met Office

 

Members of Council

 

 

Manali (Mona) Lukha, ITV

Indrani Roy, FRMetS, University College London

Nominations for Election to Council

The Nominations Committee review the vacancies that arise on Council and evaluate the balance of skills, knowledge, experience and diversity of Council. In the light of this evaluation, the Nominations Committee shall prepare a description of the role and capabilities required for each particular vacancy on Council and a list will be circulated to members detailing the names of Members of Council due to retire on 30 September of the following year.

The current list of vacancies and relevant role descriptions are circulated to members of the Society who are invited to send nominations to the General Secretary of suitable candidates to fill these vacancies.

The nomination should include a statement that details the nominee’s skills, experience and qualifications for the role and should be supported in writing from two members of the Society. Council will also include their own nominations to fill vacancies for Council.  

The Nominations Committee shall then assess the nominations against the required skills and expertise for each role and draw up a provisional list to be approved at the February meeting of Council and this list is circulated to members by mid-March. If only one candidate has been assessed by the Nominations Committee as duly qualified for a vacancy, the person nominated shall be deemed to be duly elected and there will be no ballot for election to Council.

If more than one candidate has been assessed by the Nominations Committee as duly qualified for a vacancy then the list will be circulated to members normally four weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting so that a ballot for election to Council can take place.

Election to Council in 2024

Nominations for Election to Council in 2024 are now closed. A list of those being nominated will be circulated in a Notice to Members in the March 2024 issue of Weather.

Members of Council retiring on 30 September 2024 are for the following positions: 

  • Vice-President: currently held by Catherine Senior
  • Chair of Scientific Publishing Committee: currently held by Anna Ghelli
  • Member: currently held by Indrani Roy

The role descriptions for these vacancies can be found in the resources list below. 

Any member of the Society who is over the age of 18 years may be nominated for election to Council and self-nominations are encouraged. Two members of the Society must support each nomination together with consent of the nominee to accept office if elected.

Resources

Election for Council Documents - Role Descriptions