Recruitment of a Lay-Member of Council
Durham University is now seeking a lay member to join the University Council. The role of Council is to provide strategic insight and challenge to the Senior Team, and to ensure Durham University remains well governed and financially stable.
The incoming lay member will also be the Chair of the Finance Committee. The new lay-member and Chair of the Finance Committee will have the opportunity to join the Council as an observer before fully joining Council in August 2025.
Dear Candidate,
Thank you for your interest in Durham University.
As Chair of Council since October 2018, I have been in the privileged position to witness and support the extraordinary achievements of members of the University community. Our students and staff are hugely committed to the success of Durham University, and to growing our community and campus. The University Council continues to support the Vice-Chancellor and the University community to seize opportunity and achieve outstanding results.
We are now looking to appoint a new lay-member to the University Council. The Council is the ultimate governing body of the University and is the Board of Trustees. The role of Council is to provide strategic insight and challenge to the Senior Team, and to ensure Durham University remains well governed and financially sustainable. Our Council members are actively engaged in all the University’s governance committees and strategic working groups, working alongside staff, students, and alumni.
Council plays an essential role in the development and delivery of the University’s 2017 – 2027 strategy, refreshed in 2022. Bringing to bear executive and cross-sector experience, the Council provides insight and expertise to the Senior Team, supporting the University to meet the challenges of the coming decades, and ensuring the University’s corporate governance is appropriate, effective and enabling.
If you are a senior executive, with lived and professional experience, and belief in the power of higher education, we want to hear from you.
I look forward to your application.
Sincerely,
Joe Docherty
Chair of Council