Lay Council Member

We are seeking to appoint a new Lay Council member. The post holder for this role is also likely to be asked to chair the Council’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. The Council is the HCPC’s governing body, responsible for setting strategic direction, making key decisions and holding the Executive to account.

As a Council member and Committee Chair, you will contribute to strategic decision-making, provide constructive challenge, and ensure good governance and effective risk management. This is your opportunity to play a significant role in an organisation with national reach, deep societal impact and a clear statutory mission, and to help shape the current and future regulation of the sector.

Your will need to demonstrate that they have met the following core competencies applicable to all Council members:

• Capacity and skill to understand the priorities of HCPC stakeholders
• Ability to contribute to strategic direction and deliver organisational change
• Ability to explore accountability of self and others
• Demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
• Ability to listen and communicate effectively
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team

To address an identified skills need within the Council, candidates will also need to demonstrate additional campaign-specific essential competencies of recent and relevant financial experience and an accountancy qualification from one of the following accounting bodies:

• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
• Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI)

Remuneration

£14,000 per annum together with travel and subsistence expenses. An additional payment of £3,000 per annum is also paid to our Committee Chairs, as required.

Time commitment

Approximately 30 days each year, which includes preparation for meetings.

Further information on this role is detailed in the candidate information pack (click to download).

Advert closing date: 10.00am on Monday 28 September 2026

Shortlisting complete by: 21 October 2026

Interviews to be held: 13 November 2026

Appointment start date[1]: January 2027

Application Process

• Please download a copy of the candidate information pack and refer to the guidance notes in Appendix 1 of the pack when completing the forms.
• Please download, complete and submit the application form demonstrating how you meet the competencies for the role. (click to download)
• Please download, complete and submit the conflicts of interest and other material information form. (click to download)
• Candidates will be notified promptly of the outcome at each stage.
• We are unable to provide feedback at application stage.
• If you have any questions regarding the role or the application process, please email appointments@hcpc-uk.org

Please note that CVs will not be accepted or considered by the selection panel.

Important Information

The role is open to lay candidates only. The following information should help potential applicants determine their eligibility for the role. However, if you are unsure about your eligibility, please contact us before applying. Please note that HCPC registrants are not eligible to apply.

Lay member

• You must not be registered with the HCPC.
• You must not have previously been registered with the HCPC.
• You must not be eligible for registration with the HCPC.

If you do not meet the above criteria you will not be eligible to apply for a lay member role. A full list of ‘predecessor registers’ is provided in the candidate pack. If you have previously been registered in one of these registers, or were eligible to be registered, you will not be able to apply for a lay member position.

Council members must reside in the United Kingdom (UK) and have the right to work in the UK

Disqualification from appointment

Appointments to many public bodies are governed by regulations which include details of circumstances in which an individual may be disqualified from holding office.

The criteria for disqualification from appointment as a member of the Health and Care Professions Council are set out in the Health and Care Professions Council (Constitution) Order 2009. Those criteria include:

• Anyone who has been convicted in the United Kingdom and received a prison sentence or suspended sentence of three months or more in the last five years.
• Anyone who has been declared bankrupt or has made a composition or arrangement with their creditors.
• Anybody who has been dismissed, other than by reason of redundancy, from any paid employment with a public body.
• Anyone who has had an earlier term of appointment as the chair or member of a public body terminated in certain circumstances.
• Anyone who is suspended from, has been removed from or subject to conditions on registration of any professional body.
• Anyone who is under a disqualification order under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.
• Anyone who has previously been removed from trusteeship of a charity by the court or the Charity Commission.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

The HCPC is committed to the principle of public appointments on merit with independent assessments, openness and transparency of process and to providing equal opportunities for all, irrespective of race, age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sexual orientation and gender reassignment.

We strongly encourage applications from all sections of the community and from people with diverse experience and backgrounds. More information about what equality, diversity and inclusion means to the HCPC, including our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy can be found on our website here

[1] The decision of the selection panel is to recommend appointment only. Appointments, including start dates and terms of office, are made by the Privy Council