Be one of our next Trustees

After six years of strong leadership from our outgoing Chair, we're looking for someone to take the helm of our Board of Trustees - an experienced leader who brings both the credibility to chair a dynamic charity and a genuine passion for what we're trying to achieve for our ocean.

This is a voluntary role, but it's far from a passive one. You'll work closely with our Chief Executive and a committed Board to ensure we're well governed, strategically focused and able to grow our impact.

The Marine Conservation Society is the UK's leading marine charity. We work for the future of our ocean by driving political and social change through people, science and evidence - protecting habitats and regenerating ecosystems in partnership with  communities, businesses and governments.

We have a clear strategy, a stable financial base and ambitious plans — from scaling up our Atlantic Coast Programme and pushing landmark policy on PFAS and water reform, to building a new Youth Advisory Panel and transforming how we engage digitally. Our community of over 14,000 beach clean volunteers generates the evidence that drives real legislative change.

We're in a strong position. And we're ready to go further. We'd love your to help us get there.

The Chair leads the Board and helps ensure it works effectively as the charity's governing body. Day-to-day operations stay with our executive team — your role is to provide strategic leadership, enable good decision-making, support and challenge our Chief Executive, and uphold strong governance and accountability.

You'll chair four Board meetings a year, work closely with the Chief Executive on priorities, and represent us with partners, funders and stakeholders where it matters.

This is an initial three-year term, renewable once. The role is unpaid, with reasonable expenses reimbursed.

You'll bring senior leadership experience and the judgement that comes with it. Ideally you'll have served as a Chair, trustee, non-executive director or governor before but if your governance background is outside the charity sector, a genuine willingness to build that knowledge quickly matters more than a CV that ticks every box.

We're particularly keen to find someone who has:

• Led through organisational change and knows how to build confidence through uncertainty
• Fluency with digital, data and emerging technology, including AI
• Active networks across the environmental, policy, corporate or philanthropic world
• The warmth and skill to build an inclusive boardroom culture and a strong, trusting relationship with our Chief Executive

Experience of charity governance, stakeholder engagement, advocacy, partnerships or fundraising would be a welcome addition.

We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and communities. The ocean doesn't belong to any one kind of person and neither should the leadership of the charity that fights for it.

You don't need to have grown up by the sea or spent your career in the environmental sector. You do need to care about what's at stake, and be ready to bring your best to a role that genuinely matters.

If you need any adjustments during the application process, please let us know and we'll do our best to support you.

GatenbySanderson has been appointed to support this appointment. To apply, submit a CV and a statement of suitability of no more than two pages via the application portal:

Apply now →

For a confidential conversation, contact our recruitment advisers at GatenbySanderson: Emily Nevins, Partner — emily.nevins@gatenbysanderson.com

Oliver Startup, Senior Researcher — oliver.startup@gatenbysanderson.com

Closing date: Monday 22 June 2026 Confirmation of progression: w/c 29 June 2026 Interviews: Early July 2026