Open BALR Committee positions

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The BALR is governed by a number of elected committee members whose voluntary role is to contribute to BALR strategic planning and activities which include the annual conference, workshops, and other administrative duties. At the upcoming 2025 Annual General Meeting a number of committee member positions will be available, including:

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• Chair (4 years)

• Treasurer (2 years + 2)

• Communications Secretary (2 years + 2)

• Publications Secretary (2 years + 2)

• Royal Society of Biology Representative (2 years + 2)

• Post-Doctoral Representative (2 years)

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offering you an exciting opportunity to contribute to the way in which the BALR supports its members and to promote and champion respiratory science in the UK, as well as providing fantastic networking with colleagues around the country.

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If you are interested in applying, we kindly ask you to provide a brief statement (max 1 side of A4) outlining your motivation for applying to the position, any relevant experience and priorities for the first 12 months in post, a headshot for sharing with the membership and a short CV (max 2 pages). Applicants/nominees must be BALR members and based at a Higher Education Intitution on Great Britain or Ireland to be considered.
 
Please send your statement of interest or nomination to admin@balr.co.uk.
 
If you have any queries, please contact BALR Chair, Dr Karl Staples (K.Staples@soton.ac.uk) for an informal chat.

BALR members will have an opportunity to vote for candidates before the AGM and committee positions will be appointed at the AGM (date TBC).

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Role Profiles

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Chairperson 

 You will provide leadership, management, and strategic vision for the BALR - working closely with the rest of the BALR committee (and delegating tasks as necessary) to deliver on the aims of the Association. This may include implementing new approaches to support respiratory research in the UK (e.g. our recently launched summer studentship scheme). You will also be expected to work closely with the British Thoracic Society, as a spokesperson for UK respiratory science, and sit on the BTS Scientific Committee and Council.  The Chairperson also acts as a Trustee of the BALR. 

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Treasurer 

As the BALR treasurer, you will be responsible for administering the BALR finances, making sure the BALR funds are appropriately distributed between the different BALR activities, organising payment of invoices for meetings and prizes, making sure there is no surplus or overspent and overseeing the annual financial return to the Charity Regulator (OSCR).

Communications secretary 

 You will manage the BALR website, emails, social media accounts (X, Bluesky, LinkedIn), and provide communication to the membership for grants, travel awards and other BALR events and activities. You will attend committee meetings and contribute to general running of the BALR.  

 

Publications Secretary
As the BALR Publications Secretary, you will have the opportunity to lead on putting together the BALR newsletter that is sent round to members with relevant information about upcoming meetings, meeting reports from our prize winners, and any invited/submitted opinion pieces or news items from our membership.

 

Royal Society of Biology Representative
The BALR is an official member society of the RSB. You will act as a liaison to the RSB, keeping the BALR committee updated on relevant RSB activities and leading on our contribution to RSB position statements where relevant. You will also work closely with the rest of the BALR committee to deliver on the aims of the Association.

Postdoctoral Representative
As a post-doc yourself, you will use your personal experience and links with your peers to help advise the wider BALR committee on the issues that are most relevant to Early Career Researchers – and how the BALR might support career development. There will also be opportunities to help with conference organisation, abstract and grant reviews, and other enabling activities – providing some great experience within the respiratory community.