The ECFS election committee under the chairmanship of Dr Diana Bilton is calling for the nominations of person wishing to stand for the position of ECFS president. A job description of the post together with expected personal qualifications of the candidates are outlined below.

Job description - Main Duties

Job description - Other useful information

Personal Qualifications

Nomination Procedure

Timetable for Nomination and Election

(Details for Printing)

Job description - Main Duties
1. The President is the senior Officer within the Society. He or she therefore provides the leadership required to ensure that the Society fulfils the mission statement to achieve the best possible treatment and the highest quality of life for people with cystic fibrosis by the development and distribution of knowledge and research in the field. Furthermore the President will seek to ensure the society succeeds in the discharge of all of the activities it undertakes in the pursuit of its objectives.
2. He/she chairs the meetings of the Board and sets the agenda for these meetings. There are three Board meetings annually (one in conjunction with the annual conference of the ECFS, one strategy meeting held in conjunction with the American conference and one further winter board meeting over 2 days) In addition the President chairs the monthly teleconference meeting of the Executive Board.
3. In between meetings, the President and the Executive Coordinator are in regular contact, to deal with incoming correspondence and enquiries that cannot be dealt with by delegation of tasks according to the Society’s custom and practice.
4. The President acts as the main conduit for the Society’s external communications strategy, particularly in relation to pro-active “political” activity.
5. The President represents the Society at meetings with external organisations as required including other learned Societies,(such as the European Respiratory Society, the CF Foundation, CF patient organisations and political and governmental organisations .(EU) Most of the “official” correspondence from the Society will be signed by the President.
6. The President will have strategic responsibility for consensus conferences.
7. The President makes a verbal report to the membership annually via the Annual General Meeting, and in the ECFS newsletter four times a year. In addition the President produces a written President’s report for the full Board meetings.
8. Together with the Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary, the President bears responsibility for discussions regarding staffing matters and would be the arbitrator in the event of disciplinary or grievance procedures. The President currently provides “line management” for the ECFS office.
9. The President takes a lead role in setting the agenda of the scientific committee for future annual ECFS conferences. The President will be responsible for ensuring preview of future conference locations. In addition, the President plays an active role in the opening and closing ceremonies. The President should also attend the Basic Science conference.
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Job description - Other useful information

In addition to attending and chairing meetings, the work involved in undertaking this role is in the region of 6 to 8 hours per week, although this varies depending on the time of year and if there are any special pieces of work following board meetings.

Much of the work is done by email, letter and telephone and supported by the ECFS office. At the ECFS office, the Executive Coordinator is the liaison between the office and the Board. The Executive Coordinator’s role is to ensure the daily running of the society, to supervise the conferences’ and meetings’ logistics and administration as well as all other activities run by ECFS or where ECFS is involved

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Personal Qualifications
1. The nominee must be a senior figure with significant experience in Cystic Fibrosis with an international reputation (the requirement for 2 nominations, each from a different country is taken as part of the evidence of the ability to work internationally)
2. He or she must be acknowledged by researchers and clinicians in the European Society as an expert in their CF field, with a track record of publications.
3. He or she must be an active member of the ECFS who has already shown commitment to ECFS in terms of work for consensus documents, conferences, registry etc.
4. The nominee can be from either clinical or science background.
5. The nominee must have good organisational skills as evidenced by previous leadership of department, or national/international committee or consensus group work for the society.
6. The nominee must demonstrate their ability to manage their time, particularly with respect to management of their own department to ensure continuity of work for the ECFS (evidence of support from their current employer with regard to this is important).
7. The nominee must show willingness to work with many people from different disciplines and countries. Previous evidence of team working nationally and internationally will be important.
8. Good communication skills are important and the ability to communicate in English are essential.
9. The nominee must declare that there are no conflicts of interest with the aims of the ECFS.
  
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Nomination Procedure
1. Must be nominated by 2 members of the ECFS each from a different country. The two members nominating a candidate are asked to write a letter with a brief description of the candidate’s talents and reasons for the nomination and suitability for the post.
2. The nomination letters should be accompanied by the candidate’s CV and a letter of agreement that the candidate is willing to stand for election to the post.
3. As there is a substantial time commitment involved in the work of the President it would also help to have an acknowledgement in the form of a letter of support from the candidate’s institution.
  
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Timetable for Nomination and Election
1. Deadline for receipt of nominations at ECFS office – 21^st February 2008
2. Election Committee short-listing based on person specification and CV - by 13^th March 2008
3. Ballot of membership via postal vote will then take place with ballot papers being sent out with short-listed candidates CV’s by the first week of April 2008
4. Deadline for receipt of ballot papers – 11^th May 2008
5. The results of the ballot will be announced at the Annual General Meeting of the Society, 11 June, before the Opening of the ECFS Conference in Prague in June 2008.
  
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