1. Composition of the PKES Committee
The Committee will have a minimum of three and a maximum of twelve members in total. These will comprise:
Between three and twelve elected members, which will include:
A Chair
A Secretary
A Treasurer
Alongside elected members, and subject to the maximum of twelve members in total, the Committee can also include no more than four co-opted members.
Elected Committee members must be UK residents with an affiliation at a UK higher education institution.
2. Terms and Service Limit
All Committee members must be elected directly by the PKES membership at least once every six years.
No individual may serve on the Committee for more than twelve years in total after initial election onto the Committee. This rule comes into effect in 2025/26. For Committee members already serving at the time of the 2025/26 election, the twelve year limit starts from the 2025/2026 election.
The Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer are appointed by the Committee by simple majority vote.
Where possible, these officer roles will be held by individuals who have served on the Committee for at least 3 years.
3. Diversity Quota
PKES is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within its leadership. The following minimum representation targets apply to the Committee (including both elected and co-opted members:
At least 40% of Committee members shall self-identify as women or non-binary.
At least 10% of Committee members shall self-identify as being from racially and/or ethnically minoritised backgrounds.
Self-identification is voluntary and confidential, and shall be performed via optional self-reporting in the nomination process (see below).
Implementation:
These quotas shall not prevent Committee seats from being filled if there are insufficient accepted candidates with the specified characteristics.
If diversity quotas are unmet or at risk of being unmet:
The Committee shall undertake efforts to meet them via the appointment of co-opted members.
In the case of an election, the highest-voted candidate from a group which is underrepresented on the Committee will be awarded a seat in precedence to a lowest-ranked elected candidate that is not from an underrepresented group.
4. Election Procedure
Elections will take place every three years. Prior to each election, the Committee will determine the number of elected Committee seats to be filled. All co-opted Committee members must stand at the next available election. For all elections after the 2025/26 election, any Committee member who has served for six years or more must stand for election. Notification of open Committee positions and calls for nomination will be sent by email to PKES members.
Candidate Nominations:
To be eligible for nomination for election, PKES members must be UK resident, affiliated with a UK higher education institution and have maintained PKES membership and subscription fee payment for at least one year.
Any eligible PKES member may nominate themselves by submitting a short biography and statement of interest (of up to 300 words) by email to the Secretary.
Candidates are encouraged to supply self-identification information relevant for the diversity quota stated above at the time of nomination
The nomination window shall remain open for 30 days.
Nomination Approval:
Each nomination must be seconded by the existing Committee through a simple majority vote.
Nomination statements of all candidates will be made public on the PKES website ahead of the elections
Ballot:
An election ballot will be issued to all PKES members by suitable electronic means.
All members who are up to date on subscription payments are eligible to vote.
Members may cast any number of votes up to a maximum equal to the number of seats available. Members may not cast more than one vote per candidate.
The ballot will remain open for 30 days.
The candidates with the highest number of votes will be declared elected, up to the number of available seats, except in cases where the diversity quota takes precedence (as detailed above).
In the event of a tie for the final seat, the winner shall be decided by the Committee.
5. Co-opted Members
The Committee may appoint up to four co-opted members.
Co-opted members must run in the next scheduled election if they wish to continue serving
If a co-opted member is not elected, they cannot be reappointed as a co-opted member in the following term.