Trustees – Board of Trustees

MSC expanding its reach and engagement

The Marine Stewardship Council’s vision is for the world’s oceans to be teeming with life, and seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations.  Through our internationally-recognised certification and ecolabeling program well-managed sustainable fisheries are recognised and rewarded in the market place, through the leadership of our partners.  Critically, other fisheries are incentivised to improve their performance to meet the growing demand for certified sustainable and traceable seafood choice.  Over 400 fisheries around the world, representing almost 16% of the annual global marine catch, are now engaged in the MSC program and over 1200 documented improvements to the way our oceans are being fished have been recorded.  MSC certified and labelled seafood products are now available in over 100 countries.

MSC contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Within the wider ocean landscape, MSC plays an important role in contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.  Set out in our Integrated Strategic Plan 2017-20, our strategic priorities are underpinned by ambitious goals aligned to SDG 14 – Life Below Water: we are aiming to engage 20% of the world’s fisheries in our program by 2020, and 30% by 2030.

Strong governance for our sustainable fisheries standard

Fundamental to MSC’s success and strategic evolution over the past 20 years has been our multi-stakeholder governance model, led by its Board of Trustees.  The Board sets MSC’s strategic direction, guiding and overseeing delivery of the organisation’s strategic priorities.  In doing so, it is supported by advice from the Technical Advisory Board, which is responsible for providing the Board with scientific and technical advice, and the Stakeholder Advisory Council, which through its multi-stakeholder membership provides stakeholder advice and perspectives to the Board. The Board’s own composition reflects the range of stakeholders engaged in MSC’s program, with seats reserved for industry, the market and conservation sectors, and marine (fisheries) scientists; several seats also remain non-designated, allowing the Board to bring other appropriate skills and experience to the Board table.

New openings in the MSC governance structure

Following recent retirements, we have an exciting opportunity for two people to join our Board of Trustees in the coming year.  We are seeking to appoint Board Members:

• Fisheries science: an individual who will bring specialist subject knowledge and substantial experience at senior level in a fisheries or marine science, fisheries management, sustainability and innovation discipline.
• Global South fisheries: an individual with direct, recent experience of working within or closely alongside fisheries from the Global South; such experience may have been gained in either an industry or conservation context, or in a management agency.  Experience of small-scale fisheries would be preferred.

We are looking for people with senior-level experience who can demonstrate high levels of integrity, objectivity and fairness and an ability to look forward and see the bigger picture.  The ability to work effectively in a team and to engage in a constructive and open manner is essential.  Good spoken and written English skills are also important.

We value diversity and promote this within our Board of Trustees.  It is vital that our Board Members are drawn from the widest possible talent pool, bringing with them different experiences, ideas and perspectives to inform our discussions and decisions.  We welcome and encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates, from all communities.  MSC’s Trustee positions are unremunerated, but reasonable and appropriate expenses will be paid.

To apply for these positions, please send a CV and a cover letter outlining how our skills and experience and knowledge would enable you to contribute to the MSC Board of Trustees in either of these seats.

Applications should be received by Monday 2 December 2019 at 0900 GMT.  You should send your application to MSCBoardrecruitment@msc.org, indicating in the email title the seat for which you are applying.  Any queries should be sent to the same email address.

Interviews will be held by Skype in December 2019 and January 2020.