Policy Committee Member

Volunteer Role: Policy Committee Member 
Organisation: British Ecological Society 
Term: 3 years 
Closing Date: 23 April 2026, 09:00 BST 
Location: Remote, anywhere in the world 

Are you interested in helping to tackle the nature and climate crisis?  By joining the BES’s Policy Committee, you can help shape our policy work and make a major contribution to the Society’s goal of putting ecology at the heart of decision-making. In return, you are given unique opportunities to influence the development of the BES policy work, to further your own professional goals, and to advance the interests of the wider ecological community. 

We are looking for 2 members to join our voluntary Policy Committee in spring 2026, who can help us:  

• stay informed, proactive and solution-focused in our policy work, to allow us to be authoritative with evidence whilst pushing key agendas forward nationally and internationally.
• build relationships with key policymakers and parliamentarians across the UK and devolved nations and clearly present what we can offer them in terms of facilitation and audience.
• provide a UK-wide forum with a strong voice for representatives of the BES national policy groups, anticipating government priorities and guiding long-term, big picture policy projects.
• build our international policy profile over the coming years by working through organisations including CBD and IPBES to address policy problems in an international context.

To find out more about the Committee, what's involved, and what you'll get out of joining, read About the Policy Committee and our Committee Member Volunteer Pack below. 

Requirements

Key areas of desired expertise will reflect our policy priority areas: Nature Finance, Nature Based Solutions, and Nature-Positive Infrastructure (encompassing land use and planning). To achieve a balance of knowledge and skills in our groups, we are especially looking for people who have experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Experience of working at the interface of ecological science and policy, including those working in NGOs, industry/business, and in governmental bodies across the UK.
• Experience of working through relevant international fora (e.g. IPBES, IUCN)

We also hope that you will have an understanding of the work of the BES and be able and keen to represent the BES and our vision and aims.   

We value the diversity and wide range of perspectives that people from different backgrounds bring to their work and to ecology, and we are committed to ensuring all our committees and working groups represent the diversity of our membership. For the Policy Committee we are especially interested in hearing from people from under-represented and marginalised groups. 

Ready to Get Involved? 

To learn more about the role and what it’s like to be part of a BES committee download About the Policy Committee and our Committee Member Volunteer Pack:

• About the Policy Committee

• Committee Member Volunteer Pack

How to apply 

Please submit the following via our recruitment portal:

• Covering letter (max. 1 page) answering:
1. Why do you wish to join the BES Policy Committee?
2. What would you hope to achieve during your 3-year term?
• Most recent CV (max. 2 pages)
• Equality and Diversity form (This optional information helps us monitor and improve the diversity of our recruitment. It won’t affect your application or be used in shortlisting.)

If you have any questions about this role, would like more information, or need a different format in which to apply, such as email, please contact volunteers@britishecologicalsociety.org.