Call for SIG Convenor

The Religions, Values and Education Special Interest Group is seeking a new convenor.  The new convenor would join Prof Sally Elton-Chalcraft and Esther Cummins in shaping the direction of the SIG for the next year and beyond.  The Convenor’s term would be from January 2023-September 2026.

We are seeking to diversify our Convenor team.  We are particularly keen to welcome a convenor from Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland, or a convenor who is a person of colour.  If you are interested in applying, the information below will support you in understanding the voluntary role to submit an informed expression of interest.

Our SIG’s current focus is ensuring that more members have an opportunity to partake in SIG events, sharing their research through the different BERA platforms.  We are planning on increasing the number of networking and collaborative opportunities during the year, which will in turn lead to more SIG events and outputs.  Our new convenor would be expected to support growth in the SIG with regards to numbers but also in the way it engages with BERA’s strategic objectives. 

Convenors may be Early Career Researchers, Practitioners, established Researchers, Professors, or hold another appropriate role.  The new convenor will be an active researcher in the field of Religions, Values, and Education; however, we recognise that this field is broad with intersections and links with other research areas.  An overview of the SIG’s aims and previous events can be found on our SIG page.

Mentoring and support in the role will be available as needed.  If you would like to ask further questions about the role, please contact Esther Cummins or Prof Sally Elton-Chalcraft for an informal chat. 

As a SIG convenor you receive a number of benefits, support from the BERA office and are invited to attend convenor meetings in London, with all other SIG convenors.

SIG Convenors are volunteers whose main role is to co-ordinate, oversee and develop the mission and activities of each particular SIG. The SIG is there to represent the views of their members, not of individual convenors.

SIG Convenors should expect to work within all the guidelines and advice provided by the BERA Office. These are in place to ensure good practice and that all legal, financial and insurance matters are taken care of and that any risks to individuals or organisations are minimised. In particular with regard to planning events, activities or any expenditure, SIGs should all follow BERA’s appropriate guidelines and procedures.

By agreeing to assume a position of SIG convenor, individuals are committing to fulfilling the responsibilities and obligations that go with that role. SIG Convenors are expected to exercise their own judgment to meet the requirements listed in BERA guidance and to seek further advice from the BERA Office if in any doubt on any of these matters. If any procedures are not followed then BERA reserves the right to take whatever action may be necessary to protect BERA’s legal, financial and reputational position.

The annual responsibilities for SIG Convenors can be found in this document.

If you would like to be considered (below are the details of the role, remits and appointment of a convenor):

Key aspects of the Convenors’ role include:

• Preparing text for a regular (ideally once per term) newsletter to SIG members.
• Hosting at least one annual SIG forum meeting for all members (organised via the BERA office)
• Encouraging submissions of individual papers and symposia for BERA conference.
• Reviewing abstracts or acting as a third reviewer.
• Grouping together abstracts for the conference.
• Succession planning.

Other responsibilities detailed in the handbook are:

• SIG events
• SIG Forum Meetings
• BERA Conference
• Communications
• Social media
• Financial and administrative support
• Annual Review and oversight
• Networking and opportunities

If multiple expressions of interest are received an election may be run.

This role is intended to serve a 3 year term, finishing 30 September 2026.

If you are interested in becoming a convenor, please submit an expression of interest by clicking “Apply Now” above to the left.

The closing date is midnight on 30^th November 2022.

As part of our wider commitment to greater equality and diversity at all levels of the organisation, we continue to seek increased representation from members with a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. In acknowledging the structural inequalities and unjust power imbalances that affect our members, we wish to be proactive in addressing this within our own structures.