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You are in:  Home » Communication & Education » Notes from the President

Notes from the SCAR President, number 9 (March 2009 Special Edition)

Selection of SCAR's Next Executive Director

Colleagues,

Colin Summerhayes has informed the Executive Committee that he will not seek re-appointment at the end of his contract, March 2010.

A major recommendation of the 2000 SCAR review was hiring of a full-time Executive Director. Colin has been superb as the inaugural SCAR Executive Director and has set a high standard for those that follow. I will have more to say about Colin's contributions to SCAR as his retirement date approaches.

This necessitates the hiring of an Executive Director by March 2010. After discussions with the Executive Committee, it has been decided that we will follow a process similar to that used to select Colin in 2004. The process is designed to minimize cost as the expense of a search was not provided for in 2009-2010 budget allocations.

The essentials of the process include:

1. An advertisement (attached) will be placed in Nature ( March 26, 2009) and New Scientist (March 28, 2009).
2. A detailed position description will be posted to the SCAR web site (March 23, 2009)and potential applicants will be referred to it.
3. National Committees/Delegates are to circulate the advertisement and encourage qualified persons to apply (NCs will be contacted via a separate email). The advertisement will be circulated to IASC, ICSU, ATS, COMNAP, and other organizations.
4. The SCAR Executive Committee (Kennicutt, Huiskes, Meloni, Ravindra, Marensii, Rapley) will serve as the Selection Committee and the SCAR President will Chair the committee.
5. Most selection committee deliberations will be by electronic means. If personal interviews are required this will be done by conference call, by a small sub-set of the Selection Committee, by an appointed Committee representative in the applicant's country, or in conjunction with travel planned for other purposes.
6. Overlap of the terms of the current and next Executive Director will be dependent on the experience and knowledge of the appointee. A minimum overlap of one month is expected (with associated costs).
7. The Vice President for Finances will revise and update the appointment letter and associated documents to ensure they are in compliance with Registered Charity and UK employment law.
8. The time line will be:
   

   April 1, 2009	-	Publish advertisement, widely circulate to all SCAR email lists and NCs
   June 1, 2009	-	Application deadline (subject to extension depending on response)
   June 15, 2009	-	Finalists selected (3), referees contacted
   July 15, 2009	-	Finish interview of finalists/ review of qualifications package
   August, 2009	-	Report Recommendations to Ex Com (Punta Arenas)
   September 1, 2009	-	Make offer to finalist and negotiate terms
   January 1, 2009	-	Start Date (dependent on overlap)

9. The President will keep the Delegates updated on progress on a regular basis.

The Executive Director is a key SCAR administrative position and selection of a successor to Colin will be critical to SCAR's future. I request your assistance in ensuring that the position is widely advertised and that we have the best possible pool of candidates.

Chuck K.
President of SCAR

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