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Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering Opportunities with BSAVA

The BSAVA could not function without its volunteer community. Volunteers help in all areas of the Association and we are always delighted to hear from potential candidates about areas that are of interest to them. We are currently looking to fill several positions. Full information on the vacancies and how to apply can be found below. If you would like to have an informal chat about any of the roles or talk to a current volunteer to find out how they feel about volunteering and what they feel they have gained from getting involved please contact the Volunteers Manager on volunteer@bsava.com.

Time commitment

Members of committees are asked to attend meetings, the number of meetings will depend on the relevant committee and post, to be an active participant between meetings on email discussions and to work on any assigned projects and tasks. Appointments are for one year, renewable annually for up to three years but progression through the volunteer structure is encouraged and any training requirements are met through the Volunteer Development Programme.

In exchange for your time

You will be able to take part in the Volunteer Development Programme, which will provide training that may be useful in your day job and will equip you to progress within the Association, should this interest you in the future. You may also be eligible for complimentary attendance at CPD, complimentary registration for BSAVA Congress and in addition attendance at all committee meetings can be claimed as CPD within your RCVS log. Volunteering also affords you the opportunity to network with like-minded peers, often resulting in a catch up with university friends or making new links within the profession.

More information

To find out about the different stages of volunteering please view the information below, the information is provided to allow you to gain some general understanding of the volunteer community of BSAVA and what opportunities there are to get involved and if you want to, progress with support from the Association and the volunteer development programme. If you want to find out more informally please email volunteer@bsava.com.

Trustee Roles

The governance structure of the BSAVA is led by our Board of Trustees, who are a group of individuals responsible for overseeing the activities and governance of the Association. Their primary roles include setting the organization’s mission and strategic direction, ensuring financial accountability and sustainability, hiring and evaluating the performance of the Chief Executive and representing the organization to a wider audience. Board members support the organization in fulfilling its mission and achieving its goals.

The Board of BSAVA consists of six veterinary members, one Non-Executive Director, who is not a vet but brings different skills and the Associations Chief Executive. Every year we recruit a Junior Vice President to join the Board to progress through the presidential ladder over a four-year period. Every three years the posts of Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer become available with a tenure of three years. Board members join and leave at the Associations AGM which is held annually in June.

For more information, please email volunteer@bsava.com. Trustee roles are usually advertised annually to the membership during the summer months and will be posted here on the website.

Trustee Roles – Starting in 2025

Please access the Trustee application form here for full details on how to apply.

Read the full Trustee Person Specification here.

Junior Vice President

To support the President and other Officers and to act as a Trustee/Director of the Association. It is necessary to have an awareness of the current issues that might affect the Association in the future or to have a desire to make yourself aware.

To liaise with other Officers and Board members
To attend and contribute to Board meetings
To attend working and other BSAVA committees or BSAVA working parties as decided by Board.
To attend external organization’s committee meetings and working parties as decided by Board and listed on Board Sharepoint
To represent the Association on outside committees as decided by Board (eg, BVA council, VPG etc)
To organize and / or contribute to consultation documents as decided by Board through communication with the Head of Scientific Policy.
To attend Past Presidents meetings as requested.

Read the full role profile here.

Honorary Treasurer

To act as Honorary Treasurer for the Association and carry out the duties of a Trustee on the BSAVA Board effectively.

NB In the following text, the word “year” refers to the Association’s financial year from 1^st January to 31^st December in any twelve-month period.

To oversee the activities of the financial function and ensure that the financial affairs of the Association are managed prudently and honestly, considering the legal obligations of the Association
Coordinate the financial activities/reporting of the Association working closely with the Head of Finance and Shared Services
To support the President and the other members of the Board Team
Communicate regularly with the Head of Finance and Shared Services
To liaise with other Officers and Board members
To attend and contribute to Board meetings
To attend working and other BSAVA committees or BSAVA working parties as decided by Board.
To attend external organization’s committee meetings and working parties as decided by Board and listed on Board Sharepoint
To represent the Association on outside committees as decided by Board (eg, BVA council, VPG etc)
To organize and / or contribute to consultation documents as decided by Board through communication with the Head of Scientific Policy.
To attend Past Presidents meetings as requested

Read the full role profile here.

Volunteers for Chair Roles

The governance structure of the Association includes working committees. Currently there are five working committees who work with departments based at Woodrow House and who are aligned to the products and services that the Association provides to its members and non-members of the Association and who are led by a volunteer Chair, who work closely with the Head of the aligned department, these are :

· Congress

· Education

· PetSavers Management

· Publications

· Scientific

It is usual for a Chair of a working committee to serve for one year in a Vice Chair role before moving into a three-year tenure as Chair. The roles are usually advertised when available in the Autumn prior to the Vice Chair post becoming available and are advertised to the membership during the summer/autumn months via this page, newsletters and social media. For more information, please email volunteer@bsava.com.

Committee Chair Roles – Starting in 2025

We are currently recruiting Chair’s of the following committees:

PetSavers Management Committee
PetSavers Grants Awarding Committee
Publications Committee
Scientific Committee

Chairs of working committees are supported by the Head of the relevant department within Woodrow House and a Board member who will sit on the committee, a minutes secretary from the relevant department at Woodrow House will be allocated to assist the chair with the organisation of meetings. The Chair will work with other members of staff within the relevant department. They will also have access to other members of staff who deliver shared services such as finance, marketing and IT.

Read the full Role Profile for all working committee Chairs.

Read the Person Specification for all working committee Chairs.

Full remits of the working committees are available to read here.

If you would like to apply for any of the roles above, please fill out the application form here, and together with your current CV, return it to the Volunteer Manager on c.haile@bsava.com. Receipt of your application will be sent via email. The Volunteer Development Committee will review all applications in January 2025 and their recommendations will be forwarded to the BSAVA Board for consideration by the end of that month.

Working, Standing and Regional Committee Volunteers

As well as working committees, the Association also has two standing committees and twelve regional committees. These committees are a mixture of volunteers and staff members who support and work together as one team. It is usual for people to join or leave these committees annually in April and we suggest a three-year tenure.

There are two standing committees, Audit and Risk (ARC) and Volunteer Development (VDC), who report into the Council of BSAVA, which is a committee of regional representatives, Past Presidents representatives, the Chairs of the two standing committees and four Board members. This committee receives and reviews report from the Advisory and Management Committee, which consists of the Chair of the working committees and the members of the staff Leadership Team. These two committees and council form part of the governance structure of the Association.

There are twelve regional committees of members who provide a valuable member benefit of local CPD. These committees are all local volunteers, and the individual committees work together to design and deliver CPD close where you are and to bring you news from your region via a quarterly newsletter. They also host virtual CPD for all members and non-members. Regions are supported by a team of one volunteer post, Chair of Regions and a small team of staff at Woodrow House. Collectively representatives from the twelve regions and the supporting roles meet twice a year to network, discuss the future direction of regional CPD and if appropriate receiving training. Most regions will have spaces and you can join a regional committee at any time throughout the year, should you be interested in getting involved or just finding out more about your region, please get in touch.

For information about any of these committees please email volunteer@bsava.com.

Microvolunteering Roles

Occasionally there are opportunities for some micro volunteering with a lesser time commitment than serving on a committee. These roles vary from joining a task and finish group set up for a specific purpose, being a course organiser or joining a list for book reviews. For information about micro volunteering opportunities please email volunteer@bsava.com .