Call for Members to Join the IFST External Affairs Committee
The charitable object for which IFST is established is the general advancement and application of food science and technology for the benefit, safety, and health of the public. As part of this objective, one of our priorities is to inform and support the work of key stakeholders, including Governmental departments, using our independent evidence-based scientific positions and our access to experienced professionals.
We rely on our External Affairs Committee to advise IFST on the priority areas for external engagement and the approaches to take to deliver optimal impact.
The External Affairs Advisory Group members work with the Institute executive team to prioritise specific areas where IFST could positively engage to best use its independent scientific evidence-base, and in identifying the relevant stakeholder with whom to engage. By focusing engagement through key messages and sound positions IFST can inform policy-makers and advise professional FS&T practitioners, inspiring excellence and trust in food.
To provide this advice we require an External Affairs Advisory Group with diverse experience and significant connectivity to ensure we capture the full extent of perspectives across food research, industry, policy, education, and professional competence standards.
We are currently seeking additional members to apply to join our External Affairs Advisory Group. The Group meet on a regular basis, with 3-4 committee meetings during the year and ad-hoc calls to progress individual topics, predominantly working through virtual conferencing. Committee members should be members of the IFST, and the roles are voluntary. Members will have the opportunity to work with colleagues in the Group and with the IFST executive team and IFST Board in a unique capacity to influence the Institute’s national and international engagement agenda and raise the status of both food science and technology and of the profession.
Successful candidates should be enthusiastic individuals with science communication / knowledge transfer skills, experience in communicating across different levels of organisations and/or with the public and networked externally in food policy related areas. Experience in speaking to the media would be an advantage. We would be particularly keen to include representatives in their early to mid-careers.
If you would be interested to apply for a position on this committee, please send a copy of your CV and a cover letter indicating relevant expertise, by Friday 29th September 2023, to S.French@ifst.org. Please also contact Stephen at this email address if you would like further details.