We invite nominations for one Vice President position on the Executive Board of the Europlanet Society and Europlanet Association.
Executive Board Nominations
The elections for the Executive Board of the Europlanet Society will be conducted during the Europlanet General Assembly, which will be organised as a hybrid event on Tuesday 10 September 2024, from 12:00 to 13:30 CEST, during the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2024 in Berlin, Germany, and online.
According to the constitution of the Europlanet Society and statutes of the Europlanet Association, the Executive Board consists of the five officers of the Society (the President, two Vice-Presidents, the Secretary and the Treasurer) and six other members. The members of the Board shall normally hold office for a period of four years.
The President, Treasurer, Secretary, one Vice President and six Board Members were elected less than four years ago. As such, the elections in 2024 will only concern the open Vice-President officer position, which is vacant as Angelo Pio Rossi is stepping down after the completion of his term.
Any two or more members of the Europlanet Society may nominate candidates for the election to the Executive Board (self-nomination is possible and encouraged). The nominations will be sent to the Nomination Committee at least 28 days before the General Assembly, who will compile the election ballot.
Role and Responsibilities of the Executive Board members
The Executive Board is the governing body of the Europlanet Society. As such, the Executive Board Members are responsible for directing and controlling the affairs and property of the Europlanet Society, including EPSC. The Executive Board is supported by the Europlanet Society Executive Office, which conducts the day-to-day activities, overall administration and financial management of the Europlanet Society and EPSC. The Executive Office carries out its responsibilities under the overall direction of the Executive Board.
Executive Board Members will be responsible for oversight of the following remits, providing an added liaison point at Board level for the relevant Europlanet Society committees, working groups and other activities.
- Communication
- Outreach and Education
- Early Career
- Diversity
- Inclusion and Widening Participation
- Industry Relations
- Amateur Collaboration
- Global Collaboration
- Policy Engagement
- External Funding Opportunities
- Research Infrastructure Development
- EPSC, Scientific Workshop and Conferences
The Executive Board nominees should identify one or more remits that they would wish to take on should they be elected.
Executive Board Members should be prepared to represent Europlanet on a public platform and to external organisations.
Executive Board Members that do not attend meetings held within a period of thirteen months without giving adequate reason to the Board will be considered to have resigned.
Specific Duties of Vice-Presidents
The two Vice-Presidents will provide support to the President and one of them will chair the meetings of the Executive Board in the absence of the President. On specific occasions, the President may invite the Vice-Presidents to represent the Society at external events.
Responsibilities of the Executive Board Officers in the Europlanet Association
The Executive Board Officers (President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer) will also sit on the administrative body of the Europlanet Association (AISBL), the Europlanet legal entity established in 2023 in Belgium, and as such will be legal representatives of the Europlanet Association and be responsible for taking decisions on its behalf.
Appointments of the Executive Board Officers are filed and published in accordance with the provisions of the Belgian Code on Companies and Associations. The Executive Board Officers do not incur any personal obligations relating to the commitments of the association. They shall be responsible only for the performance of their mandate, including misconduct committed within the framework of their powers and tasks.
In the case of a job-share of any of the Officers, only one representative for each officer position will be appointed as legal representative within the Europlanet Association.
Workload for the Executive Board members
Executive Board members will meet virtually with the Executive Office on a monthly basis to review the activities of the Europlanet Society, its finances and to provide directions on future actions. Executive Board members are expected to follow-up on Europlanet activities relevant to their remit, and report on these activities during the Executive Board meetings.
From time to time, Executive Board members will be asked to review funding requests submitted by Europlanet committees and members, as well as bi-annual reports from the Europlanet Society committees.
Executive Board members are expected to attend the General Assembly (normally timed to coincide with the EPSC meeting) and one other ordinary meeting during the year to report on activities of the Europlanet Society to its membership.
Finally, Executive Board members should act as ambassadors of the Europlanet Society, wherever possible, to promote its activities and actively look for collaboration and funding opportunities for the Europlanet Society.
Conflict of Interest
Executive Board members should declare any potential conflict of interest that could prevent them from acting in the best interest of the Europlanet Society, notably with respect to European and international organisations and funding agencies (e.g. the European Commission, ESA, NASA) and sister organisations.
Election Timeline
Deadline for applications: 9 August 2024
Appointment of the Nomination Committee by the Executive Board: Friday, 2 August 2024
Nominations and manifesto transmitted to the Nomination Committee: Tuesday, 13 August 2024
Opening of the elections: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Closing of the elections and results at the General Assembly: Tuesday, 10 September 2024