We are governed by our Royal Charter and Bylaws, which set out our powers and ‘operating rules’. We also have internal ‘rules’ covering how we operate on a day-to-day basis, which are our Governance Regulations, Membership Regulations and our Professional Conduct Regulations.
As a registered charity in England and Wales, we are also governed by the rules of the Charity Commission.
CIEEM Organisational Structure
Governing Board
We are led by a Governing Board, elected by the members and chaired by the President. Our four Vice Presidents, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Company Secretary are members of the Board, together with five elected members. The Board provides strategic leadership and direction whilst also ensuring good governance and effective control. The Board delegates some of its responsibilities to various committees, which also have an advisory role.
Major strategic decisions are taken by our members at the Annual General Meeting.
Fellows Forum
Our Fellows come from all professional sectors represented by our membership and are ambassadors for the profession and for us. The Fellows Forum meets annually to provide expert advice and guidance to the Board on matters that impact the profession or our strategic direction.
Advisory Forum
Our Advisory Forum meets biannually and is made up of elected members and representatives of our committees and member networks. Their role is to provide advice to the Governing Board on internal matters affecting our members, new projects and initiatives.
Meet the members of the Advisory Forum
Governing Board Sub-committees
The Governing Board has the following sub-committees:
- Audit, Risk and Investment Sub-committee
- Staff Remuneration Sub-Committee
- Strategic Policy Panel
- Action 2030 Working Group
Standing Committees
Standing Committees provide strategic advice and operational support to the Board and to the Secretariat. We have the following Standing Committees:
Membership Admissions Committee (MAC)
MAC members oversee implementation of the Membership Regulations, keeping membership eligibility criteria under review and undertaking assessment of membership applications for professional membership grades.
We regularly have vacancies to help with processing applications to Associate level membership and above. This is a rewarding and voluntary role, and you will receive training and an induction. If you are interested, please read the role descriptions below:
- Membership Admission Committee (MAC) Assessor Pool Member
- Membership Admissions Committee (MAC) Member
If you think you can spare some time to help welcome new members into CIEEM then please complete this application and send it to membership@cieem.net.
Training, Education and Career Development Committee (TECDC)
TECDC has oversight of our continuing professional development (CPD) activities, including the training programme, conferences, careers advice and links with universities and other higher education institutes.
Professional Standards Committee (PSC)
PSC provides professional advice and support to our members by overseeing the production of practice guidance, supporting projects and initiatives to raise standards and having oversight of the process, and participating in the assessment of, complaints against members.
For the latter, PSC works closely with members of the Professional Conduct Pool.
Meet the members of the Professional Conduct Pool.
Registration Authority (RA)
The Registration Authority oversees the management of the Register of Chartered Ecologists, advising the Board on eligibility criteria and assessment as well as undertaking quality assurance and providing guidance to prospective registrants. Meet the members of the Registration Authority.