Your guide to RCPsych elections
What are elected roles?
We have lots of roles that are filled by volunteers, usually members of the College. These roles can be appointed, co-opted, or elected.
- Appointed roles are advertised on our Posts for members page and usually entail submitting an application and then being interviewed.
- Co-opted roles exist so that members with specific skills can be appointed to a role without needing to apply, for a short term and to help with a particular project or area of work.
- Elected roles give members an opportunity to select the people that represent them in certain roles. This allows members to have their say in how the College is run and the work that we do.
Which roles are elected?
The following list shows which central roles across the College are elected roles:
Our three Devolved Nations support members in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each Devolved Nation has a Devolved Council that has the following elected roles:
- Chair
- Vice-Chair
- Financial Officer
- Education and Training Committee Representative
- Four Devolved Council Members
The term of office for all of these posts is four years. You can read the job descriptions for these roles to find out what's involved.
Devolved Faculties also have elected positions that are elected locally.
To find out which particular roles are vacant in this year's election cycle, please visit the Devolved Nation and Division elections webpage.
Our eight Divisionssupport members in 萝莉视频. Each Division has an executive committee that has the following elected roles:
- Chair
- Vice-Chair
- Financial Officer
- Education and Training Committee Representative
- Four Executive Committee Members
The term of office for all of these posts is four years. You can read the job descriptions for these roles to find out what's involved.
To find out which particular roles are vacant in this year's election cycle, please visit the Division and Devolved Nation elections webpage.
Our six International Divisions support international members. Each International Division has an executive committee that has the following elected roles:
- Chair
- Vice-Chair
- Financial Officer
The term of office for all of these posts is four years. You can read the job descriptions for these roles (Chair, Vice-Chair, and Financial Officer) to find out what's involved.
To find out which particular roles are vacant in this year's election cycle, please visit the International Division elections webpage.
Our 13 Faculties support members in various specialties. Each Faculty has an executive committee that has the following elected roles:
- Chair
- Vice-Chair
- Financial Officer
- 12 Executive Committee Members
The term of office for all of these posts is four years. You can read the job descriptions for these roles to find out what's involved.
To find out which particular roles are vacant in this year's election cycle, please visit the Faculty elections webpage.
Our 15 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) provide a forum for members to come together in a particular area of psychiatry outside the main specialties of the faculties. Each SIG has the following elected roles:
- Chair
- Financial Officer
The term of office for all of these posts is four years. You can read the job descriptions for these roles (Chair and Financial Officer) to find out what's involved.
To find out which particular roles are vacant in this year's election cycle, please visit the SIG elections webpage.
The Psychiatric Resident Doctors' Committee (PRDC) represents psychiatric resident doctors within the UK. The committee has the following elected roles:
- Six resident doctor representatives from London
- Six resident doctor representatives from Scotland (Two each from Dundee and Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow)
- Three resident doctor representatives from the other Devolved Nations and English Divisions (Wales, Northern Ireland, Eastern, North West, Northern and Yorkshire, South Eastern, South West, Trent, and West Midlands)
The term of office for all of these posts is two years. You can read the job description for these roles to find out what's involved.
To find out which particular roles are vacant in this year's election cycle, please visit the PRDC elections webpage.
The College's Council discusses the affairs of the organisation and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on many of the biggest decisions the College has to make.
Council consists of many members who are elected to other roles, e.g. the Officers, Division Chairs, Faculty Chairs.
However, there are also four elected member representatives on the Council who represent the whole membership. No more than two of these representatives can be Fellows.
The term of office for these posts is five years.
The next election for Elected Council Member will take place in 2025/6. To find out more about this election please visit the Council elections webpage.
The College's Board of Trustees decides on the biggest issues of the College.
The Board consists of several members who are elected to other roles, e.g. the Officers, Division Chair, Faculty Chair.
However, there is also an elected member representative on the Board of Trustees who represents the whole membership.
The term of office for this post is five years.
The next election for Board of Trustees Representative will take place in 2026/7.
We have four elected Honorary Officers who oversee various functions of the College and act in a leadership capacity as the most senior members of the College:
- President
- Registrar
- Dean
- Treasurer
The President's term of office is three years. The term of office for the other Officers is five years.
What's involved?
This will depend on the exact role you take up. We recommend you check the job description for the role you're interested in. You can find a link to this in the list above or on the relevant election webpage.
Most roles will involve attending a certain number of meetings per year, usually a mix of online and in-person meetings.
Why should I stand for election?
Holding a College role can be an excellent way to benefit you, your employer, the College, and the wider profession.
We have more detailed information about the various benefits of holding a role, but in summary, an elected role allows you to:
- Help shape the College's work
- Help you gain skills, experience and networking
- Represent your fellow members, either in your local area or specialty
- Advocate for the psychiatric profession
How do I stand for election?
Standing for election is a straightforward process. Here's a step by step guide:
- Have a look through our election webpages to see the different vacancies that are open.
- Check that you're eligible to stand for election to that role (information about eligibility will be available on each election webpage).
- Check the job description to see if you can fulfil all of the requirements.
- Talk to your employer to make sure you have adequate time for a College role.
- Each election candidate will be asked to submit an election address (statement) which sets out why you want the role.
- There's a strict word limit for these (500 words for Officers, Chairs and Vice-Chairs, 200 words for all other positions) and the online portal will show you how many words you've entered.
- There are no requirements for what to include but it's a good idea to tell the voters a bit about yourself and your background and what you can bring to the role.
- Remember, you're being elected to represent members so let them know what you're going to do for them in the role.
- If more people put themselves forward than the number of vacancies, a vote will be held and voters will use your statement to decide whether they want to vote for you - so make it count!
- You'll need to make sure you check your statement carefully as we won't correct any grammar or spelling errors for you.
- Further guidance for writing your address will be available on the online nomination portal.
When you're ready to submit your nomination, please go to the Civica nomination portal. You'll need to complete/upload the following:
- contact details
- the role you're standing for
- your current employment position and employer
- your election address
- your headshot photograph
- good standing information.
You can save your nomination at any point and return to it later. We strongly advise that you save regularly so you don't risk losing any information if the website times out.
Once you've submitted, you'll receive an email confirmation with all the details you've entered. Please check this carefully and let us know straight away if there's an error.
Once nominations close, we'll look at how many people have stood for each role.
- If there is a sufficient number of nominations for the role, the candidate(s) will be elected unopposed.
- If there are more nominations than vacancies, the election will go to ballot, which means a vote will be held.
We'll contact you soon after nominations close to let you know which of these applies to you.
If you're elected, you'll be sent induction materials to help you prepare for your role.
If a vote will be held, you'll get some further details and you'll receive a copy of our canvassing code to help you know what is and isn't allowed when you canvass for votes.
What support will I receive?
Any further questions
If you have any questions about elections that aren't answered on the website, please contact elections@rcpsych.ac.uk.