Research Group committee vacancies
Discover our current vacancies on Research Group committees and find out how to apply.
View our current vacancies on Research Group committees. We expect to have a fuller list in summer 2025 ahead of the Research Group AGMs, which will take place in late August-early September 2025.
If you have any questions please contact us via email at rhed@rgs.org
Development Geographies Research Group (DevGRG)
DevGRG is looking for new committee members – we would love to have you on board! Joining the committee is a fantastic way to meet new colleagues, expand your research network and build a CV around research group activities.
The committee meets twice a year, plus at the AGM in early September. We work together in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, with the aim of supporting early career researchers and the wider development geographies community.
As part of the committee, you get to shape these disciplinary conversations, which is an exciting opportunity. For instance, in 2024 we have held a two-day workshop on decolonising development geographies, and the conversations held at the workshop are now in the process of being submitted as a journal article. Likewise, we’ve engaged with the Chair’s theme of this year’s Annual Conference during an online roundtable in February and will continue these conversations at the Society's AC2025.
The below roles have very delineated remits and as such don’t come with any large time commitments. If you would like to chat to the group’s chair about any of these roles, please don’t hesitate to email Kat Richter on k.richter@bristol.ac.uk
We are looking to fill the following vacancies:
- Secretary – supports the Chair, with particular responsibility for organising and minuting the group’s AGM and other meetings. This role has the opportunity to expand if you’re interested in doing more than that, e.g. to include membership management or writing a newsletter.
- Communications Coordinator – manages communications on behalf of the Research Group, across the group’s website, our automated list-server and social media.
- Conference Coordinator – coordinates the group’s activities at annual conference, including sponsorship of sessions and Research Group Guest registration applications.
- Event Coordinator – organises events for the group. This role can also support Conference coordination.
We look forward to hearing from you. If you’re interested, drop Kat Richter an email by 28 July on k.richter@bristol.ac.uk
Deadline for expressions of interest: Monday 28 July.
Energy Geographies Research Group (EnGRG)
This year we have several EnGRG Committee roles opening up and look forward to submissions of interest to join this fantastic Research Group Committee.
The roles
- Chair – leads the Research Group, helping to set its agenda and supporting other committee members in their roles. They may also be asked to respond to consultations by the Society on behalf of the group.
- Treasurer – keeps the accounts for the group, ensures payments are made on behalf of the group, and compiles and submits the group’s annual financial reporting, supports the chair in leading the group.
- PGR representatives – promotes postgraduate interests and needs to the wider Research Group and maintains connection with wider postgraduate community through the Postgraduate Forum and with Postgraduate representatives on other Research Groups.
- ECR representatives – promotes interests and needs of early career researchers to the wider Research Group
- Ordinary Committee Members – support the work of the Research Group and provides feedback and input on the Research Group’s activities at Committee meetings.
Nomination process
Nominations should be sent by e-mail to Catherine Butler (EnGRG Chair) at c.butler@exeter.ac.uk and Helena Hastie (EnGRG Secretary) via H.Hastie@exeter.ac.uk by Thursday 31 July.
Emails should specify which committee position the nomination is for and 50-100 words outlining why the nominee would be suitable to take up this specific role. Please make sure that if you are nominating someone else, they have given permission to be nominated and include them in the email.
Brief role descriptors are provided above but happy to talk informally about what’s involved if you are interested. This is a vibrant, welcoming, collaborative group, which represents a great opportunity for broadening your networks and expanding your experience, as well as contributing to the expansion and capacity building for energy geographies in the UK and around the world for those more established academics.
The majority of committee roles should be taken by Fellows (including Associate Fellows) of the Society. To facilitate this and widen access a small number of executive role bursaries are available.
Deadline for applications: Thursday 31 July.
Food Geographies Research Group (FGRG)
We have several committee roles due for election at this year’s AGM and would love to hear from you if you are interested in joining our friendly committee.
Please note that these are voluntary roles. Although each role has a specific responsibility, all members of the committee are involved in meetings and shaping the activities and direction of the group.
The committee roles due for election are:
Treasurer (three years)
The Treasurer works closely with the Chair and the Secretary to plan the group’s activities and provide support and guidance to other members of the research group. The Treasurer is responsible for keeping track of the Research Group’s finances.
The research group’s accounts are managed centrally by the Society, but it is the role of the Treasurer to report on the FGRG accounts at the Annual General Meeting, to ensure activities are planned within budget, and that payments are made.
If you are interested in the role of Treasurer, but worried about dealing with finances, please don’t be put off! The Society makes this really easy for us! To apply for the role of Treasurer, you must be a Fellow of the Society.
Postgraduate Representative (one year)
The purpose of this role is to encourage involvement and provide support for postgraduate researchers. In previous years, postgraduate representatives have organised sessions at the Society annual conference aimed specifically at PGRs and ECRs, and held online workshops and events such as abstract writing sessions and coffee mornings.
The new PGR representative would work alongside our existing PGR rep and organise activities together.
Conference Officer (three years)
The conference officer is responsible for working with the rest of the FGRG committee and the Society to support FGRG’s involvement in the Society Annual International Conference and to coordinate FGRG session sponsorship.
This role requires strong organisational skills and an ability and willingness to help to shape session proposals for sponsorship by the FGRG. This role would be shared with our existing conference officer, who would support the new committee member while they learn the role.
Digital Officer (three years)
The digital officer is responsible for the group’s communication channels, for example maintaining the FGRG website, keeping social media up to date and sharing activities/events.
This role would be shared with our existing digital officer, who would support the new committee member while they learn the role.
Wellbeing and Inclusion Officer (three years)
The wellbeing and inclusion officer is focused on ensuring that our research group is up to date with guidance and best practice both from the Society and more widely.
Our wellbeing and inclusion officers share learning and stimulate discussion, and have led workshops, online events and sessions at the Society. The new committee member would work alongside our existing wellbeing and inclusion officer and organise activities together.
Membership Officer (three years)
Please note the existing Membership Officer will be standing for re-election for a second term. Others are still welcome to apply!
The membership officer is responsible for keeping the research group up to date on membership numbers and activities. They welcome new members and ensure that the list of members is up to date.
How to apply
Committee roles are open to members and Fellows of the Society, or those who are willing/planning to join the Society. If you are interested, before 2.00pm on Friday 22 August.
Elections will take place during the AGM on Wednesday 27 August. If more than one person puts themselves forward for each role, anonymous voting will take place in person at the AGM.
Deadline for applications: Friday 22 August, 2.00pm.
Gender and Feminist Geographies Research Group (GFGRG)
We’re pleased to announce that this year’s Gender and Feminist Geographies Research Group AGM will take place online on Wednesday 18 September 2025, from 2:00pm to 3:30pm (UK time). A Zoom link and agenda will be circulated closer to the time.
As ever, the AGM is an opportunity to hear about the group’s work over the past year, help shape future directions, and get involved in the committee. Several positions will be open for election this autumn, and we warmly invite nominations or expressions of interest in advance or on the day:
- Chair – Cordelia Freeman has been informally nominated and is currently shadowing the role.
- Secretary
- Conference Co-ordinator
- Website Co-ordinator – Chloe Fox-Robertson has been informally nominated.
- PGR Reps – we welcome additional representatives.
- Ordinary Committee Members
Deadline for applications: Wednesday 18 September.
Geographies of Children, Youth and Families Research Group (GCYFRG)
GCYFRG are advertising two vacancies ahead of their AGM on Thursday 4 September.
Early Career Officer (three-year post)
- Have early career interests within the wider research group.
- Lead initiatives related to the support and development of early career scholars in our field.
- Support with wider research group initiatives such as dissertation marking.
- Attend committee meetings, typically two per semester.
Postgraduate Officer (one-year post)
- Promote postgraduate interests and the needs of the wider Research Group.
- Lead the Researcher in the Spotlight initiative.
- Maintain connection with the wider postgraduate community through the Postgraduate Forum and potential blog posts.
- Advocate for the wider postgraduate community.
- Support with wider research group initiatives (such as marking an undergraduate dissertation as part of our annual prize).
- Attend committee meetings, typically two per semester.
As a research group we are keen to reflect the diversity of our community and we encourage anyone researching in the sub-discipline to apply for any of the roles.
Please email our Chair, Dr Helena Pimlott-Wilson at h.pimlott-wilson@lboro.ac.uk and Secretary, Sophie Milnes at s.a.milnes@lboro.ac.uk if you would like more information.
Please submit your application by Friday 22 August, 12.00pm noon BST via email to Helena AND Sophie.
You will need to ask two others to Propose and Second your application. Please ask them to email Sophie Milnes at s.a.milnes@lboro.ac.uk by the deadline above.
Deadline for applications: Friday 22 August.
Geography and Education Research Group (GeogEd)
Several roles on the are up for re-election. Thank you to all the committee members for their hard work over the last few years. Brief descriptions of these roles are provided below. The committee currently meets three to four times per year online, with work ongoing throughout the academic year.
We welcome applications for these positions from members of GeogEd.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Alan Marvell at amarvell@glos.ac.uk or Naomi Holmes at naomi.holmes@york.ac.uk
Roles
- Treasurer – keeps the accounts for the group, ensures payments are made on behalf of the group, and compiles and submits the group’s annual financial reporting. Must be a current Society Fellow.
- EDI Officer – responsible for managing and supporting the work done by the Research Group on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Represents the research group at the Society's EDI in Geography network.
- Dissertation Award Officer – coordinates the judging and awarding of prizes for dissertations in line with the Research Group’s policy.
- Early Career Rep – promotes interests and needs of early career researchers to the wider Research Group.
- Postgraduate Rep – promotes postgraduate interests and needs to the wider Research Group and maintains connection with wider postgraduate community through the Postgraduate Forum and with Postgraduate representatives on other Research Groups.
- Ordinary Member (two) – supports the work of the Research Group and provides feedback and input on the Research Group’s activities at Committee meetings.
Timeline and process
- Nominations: Monday 14 July-Monday 28 July
- Voting: Tuesday 29 July-Monday 18 August (online via a form)
- Results: announced during (online) AGM, 10.00am Tuesday 19 August
If you would like to put yourself forward for one of these roles fill in the . You will be asked for a supporting statement (150 words maximum).
The information you provide will be shared with the GeogEd membership as part of the GeogEd committee election process. If you would like to nominate yourself for more than one role please fill in a separate form for each role.
Deadline for applications: Monday 28 July.
Geographical Information Science Research Group (GIScRG)
We are currently looking to fill the following roles:
- Chair
- Membership Secretary
- Website and Social Media Secretary
- Ordinary Members (three)
As per our constitution, nominations for committee membership will be accepted up to the beginning of the AGM. They must be in writing and include the names of a proposer and a seconder, who are currently part of the committee.
Deadline for applications: Thursday 29 August.
Geographies of Leisure and Tourism Research Group (GLTRG)
GLTRG is looking to fill the following vacancy:
- Ordinary Committee Member – as an active member of the committee, this position is responsible for supporting the committee wherever possible and engaging with the work with Geographies of Leisure and tourism Research group is doing. The term is for three years.
Deadline for applications: Friday 29 August.
Historical Geographies Research Group (HGRG)
The HGRG are looking for a postgraduate representative to join the committee. Postgraduate representatives are responsible for promoting postgraduate interests and needs to the wider Research Group.
They maintain connection with wider postgraduate community through the Postgraduate Forum and with Postgraduate representatives on other Research Groups
Rural Geography Research Group (RGRG)
The RGRG has the following vacancies this year:
- Chair
- Treasurer
- Ordinary Member
- Postgraduate Representative
For details of our AGM, the roles available and how to submit an expression of interest are available visit the article. Our AGM will be held from 3.00pm-5.00pm BST on Monday 1 September, on Microsoft Teams.
To register, please fill in the .
Deadlines for applications: Monday 1 September.
Urban Geography Research Group (UGRG)
The UGRG is looking for new committee members starting from September 2025 for a three-year term, to be elected at the UGRG AGM:
- Secretary
- Dissertation Prize Coordinator
- Events and Conferences Coordinator
- Website and Communication Officer
- Ordinary Members
For more information about these roles, please refer to pages eight and nine of the Research Groups Handbook.
If you are interested in any of the above roles, please email UGRG Chair, David Adams at d.adams.4@bham.ac.uk and Secretary, Basak Tanulku at tanulkub@gmail.com by Friday 22 August with your CV and a brief vision statement (up to 200 words) in relation to the role you would like to take up.
Deadline for applications: Friday 22 August.
Social and Cultural Geography Research Group
The Roles
Social Media and Website Officer (two-year post)
The Social Media and Website Officer of SCGRG will:
Treasurer (three-year term)
The Treasurer is a member of the executive committee of the Research Group, alongside the Chair and Secretary. The main duties of the Treasurer are:
The Treasurer is expected to be a Fellow of the Society. Those who are interested in taking on a Research Group executive committee role (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer), but whose circumstances prevent them from taking up Society Fellowship, are invited to submit an expression of interest for an executive role bursary to support Fellowship.
There has been one internal expression of interest in this role.
The deadline for applications is 9.00am, Wednesday 3 September.
Dissertation Prize Officer (two-year term)
The research group receives nominations for best undergraduate dissertation in the UK each summer, awarding a prize of ÂŁ50 to the winner, and a one-year subscription to the journal Social and Cultural Geography to the winner and runner-up. The role of the dissertation prize officer is to:
Conference Officer (two-year term)
The conference officer:
How to apply
If you are interested in any of the roles above, please fill in the .
Our committee secretary will contact you with the Teams link in advance of the AGM, when nominations will take place, on Wednesday 3 September at 9.00am.
Deadline for Applications: Wednesday 3 September, 9.00am.