RHS Elections

Role of the RHS President

The RHS President provides leadership to the RHS Council, champions the purpose of the RHS and serves as its senior ambassador, helping to strengthen its profile, influence and public trust.

The RHS Council approves strategy and oversees its delivery, performance, risk and long-term sustainability, while the RHS Director General and Leadership Team are responsible for implementation and day-to-day management.

Stewardship of the RHS Purpose and Strategy

The RHS President helps ensure that the RHS remains true to its charitable purpose while delivering its long-term ambitions. Responsibilities include:

• Leading the RHS Council in shaping and approving the strategic direction of the RHS
• Overseeing strategy delivery, performance, risk, financial sustainability and the stewardship of resources
• Ensuring the RHS Council receives the information and assurance needed to assess progress and inform decision-making
• Supporting oversight of major opportunities, risks and investments

Leadership of RHS Council and Governance

The RHS President leads the RHS Council in fulfilling its governance responsibilities and fostering a culture of openness, respect and constructive challenge. Responsibilities include:

• Building and maintaining an effective RHS Council, including evaluation, development and succession planning
• Upholding high standards of governance, ethics and accountability
• Ensuring compliance with the RHS Royal Charter and Bye-Laws and regulatory requirements
• Fostering productive relationships between the RHS Council and the Leadership Team
• Ensuring the RHS Council remains focused on long-term priorities and organisational sustainability

Partnership with the RHS Director General

The RHS President develops a strong and constructive relationship with the RHS Director General, based on trust, mutual respect and a shared commitment to the success of the RHS. Responsibilities include:

• Providing support, advice and constructive challenge
• Leading the RHS Director General’s appraisal and succession planning
• Fostering effective relationships between the RHS Council and the Leadership Team

Ambassador and Champion for the RHS

The RHS President is the senior representative of the RHS, using their profile, influence and networks to advance its mission, reputation and long-term success. In partnership with the RHS Director General, the President helps deliver the RHS ambitions. Responsibilities include:

• Championing the RHS, its mission and values
• Building relationships with key stakeholders, partners, donors and supporters
• Supporting advocacy, philanthropy and strategic partnerships that advance the RHS ambitions
• Representing the RHS at significant events and public occasions
• Protecting and enhancing the reputation of the RHS

Professional experience

Must have:

• Interest and passion for horticulture
• Driving innovation, transformation and organisational evolution

Nice to have:

• Strong track record in commercial environments
• Membership and charitable organisations
• Proven capability navigating financial pressures, investment trade-offs and growth
• Diversified revenue models
• Fundraising/sponsorship environments

Board leadership 

Must have:

• Chair ready (committee Chair experience as a proxy)
• Experience operating at senior Board level

Nice to have:

• Demonstrable experience as Chair of a Board
• Experience in Board and ExCo development and successions

Other considerations

Must have:

• Experience of diverse stakeholder groups
• Understanding balance between commercial performance and charitable purpose
• Ability to guide long-term strategic thinking and prioritisation
• Credibility, presence and network in the UK
• Commitment to make this role a clear priority
• Ambassadorial presence and willingness to engage in external engagement
• Capacity to carry out responsibilities beyond the Board room

Candidates wishing to stand for election without the support of the RHS Council should complete the nomination form and provide the required supporter information using the forms below.

• Nomination form RHS President (92kB Word doc)
• Supporter form RHS President (64kB Word doc)

Please send all nominations to the Secretary by post to RHS, 80 Vincent Square, London SW1P 2PE or email [email protected].

Role of the RHS Treasurer

The RHS Treasurer advises the RHS President and RHS Council on the financial and commercial affairs of the RHS including those of the trading subsidiaries.

Accountability

The RHS Treasurer is accountable to the RHS Council and the members of the RHS and, as a Trustee, more generally to the Charity Commission and the public at large.

Main responsibilities

The main responsibilities of the RHS Treasurer are:

• To oversee in a non-executive capacity the delivery of budgets, accounts and financial statements to the RHS Council
• In consultation with the RHS Director of Finance, to ensure that proper accounts and records are kept, that financial resources are spent and invested in line with good governance, legal and regulatory requirements and specifically in pursuance of RHS objectives
• To uphold the fiduciary duty invested in the position, undertaking such duties in a way that adds to public confidence and trust in the charity
• To ensure that the RHS functions within the legal and regulatory framework and in accordance with the RHS Charter and Bye-Laws

Main duties

The main duties of the RHS Treasurer are to:

• Oversee sound financial management of the RHS resources, ensuring expenditure is in line with objectives and that investment activities meet accepted standards and policies
• Ensure the development of appropriate financial policies for the RHS
• Monitor the work and activities of the RHS including approval of the annual accounts and undertaking an annual review of the RHS performance
• Develop the future direction of the RHS including participation in the preparation of strategic plans and policies as well as the annual work plan
• Promote the RHS and decisions of the RHS Council and act as an ambassador for the RHS
• Support the RHS Director of Finance and their staff in the achievement of their work
• Consider any other matters that affect the work, performance and standing of the RHS

Carrying out the role

The Treasurer is expected to:

• Meet regularly with the RHS Director of Finance, to give support and guidance, and to monitor their performance
• Attend meetings of the RHS Council, which are held typically six times each year and attend strategic away days held over two days
• Present budgets, accounts and financial statements to Council, at the RHS Annual General Meeting (AGM) and at other meetings as required
• Serve, at the request of the RHS Council, on Committees of the RHS and specifically to act as Chair of the Finance and Commercial Board, which currently meets four times per annum
• Represent the RHS from time to time at functions, external events and meetings
• Maintain absolute confidentiality of sensitive/confidential information received in the course of the trustee’s responsibilities to the charity
• Act in the best interest of the RHS at all times

Term of office

The RHS Treasurer is appointed for a term of one year, expiring at the end of the AGM in the year following their election. The term is renewable, by election, for up to five years. The RHS Treasurer shall hold office from the end of the AGM at which they are declared elected.

Role of the RHS Council

RHS Council is the governing body of the RHS with overall responsibility for the organisation including:

• The future direction of the charity
• Monitoring delivery and management of the RHS Strategy
• Management of RHS assets
• The performance of the RHS

RHS Council’s duty is to ensure that the RHS carries out its objectives as set out in its RHS Charter and Bye-Laws, namely:

“The encouragement and improvement of the science, art and practice of horticulture in all its branches”.

Delegation of powers 

RHS Council is supported in its work by the RHS Statutory Groups and delegates certain amounts of authority to these groups as detailed in their terms of reference.

Principal statutory groups are the RHS Finance and Commercial Board, Horticulture and Sustainability Board, Audit and Risk Committee and the Governance and People Committee. These groups all have delegated authority from the RHS Council to make decisions within their remit. RHS Guidance and Oversight Groups provide the RHS Council with advice on particular areas of activity such as education, science and gardens and the RHS Expert Groups provide deeper knowledge of cultivated plants and horticulture. 

All the groups described above may comprise of both members of the RHS Council and other members of the RHS. 

Neither the RHS Council nor the other decision-making statutory groups are involved in the day-to-day running of the RHS. This is delegated to RHS staff. However, the RHS Council retains the ultimate responsibility for the actions of staff.

Frequency of meetings

RHS Council typically meets six times a year. In addition, RHS Council Members are expected to attend a strategic away day once each year and the RHS Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is held in London or at one of the RHS Gardens. 

RHS Council Members will generally also serve on one or more of the RHS Boards or Committees described above, in addition to their position on the RHS Council.

Role of Members of RHS Council

The RHS Council currently comprises 17 Members who also serve as the Charitable Trustees of the RHS. This includes the RHS President and RHS Treasurer, both of whom serve as ex officio Members of the RHS Council. 

Members of the RHS Council are responsible for all aspects of RHS affairs and for ensuring that the RHS delivers public benefit. They also ensure that the RHS income and property are used only for the purposes set out in the RHS Charter and Bye-Laws and for no other purpose. Members of the RHS Council have a responsibility to act reasonably, proportionately and prudently in all matters relating to the RHS and to act in the best interests of the RHS at all times. The principle of collective responsibility applies.

Term of office 

Members of the RHS Council usually serve a term of five years, which may be renewed, by election, for a further term of five years.

Eligibility

To serve as a Member of the RHS Council, those seeking election must:

• Have been an individual RHS Member since 28 February 2024, (or in exceptional circumstances, as defined by RHS Council. RHS Council may waive this requirement in accordance with the RHS Bye-Laws and Regulations for election to RHS Council) and remain a member at 1 March 2027, the date of election and throughout their term of office;
• Be aged over 18 years on the date of the 2027 RHS Annual General Meeting (AGM);
• Not have already completed 10 years’ service as a Member of the RHS Council (unless at least five years have elapsed since the completion of the 10 years previous service and the RHS Council has agreed that it is in the interests of the RHS that the individual be made eligible to serve for one further term of up to five years maximum)

In addition, some people are disqualified by law from acting as Charity Trustees, including anyone described in Section 72(1) of the Charities Act 1993, as amended by the Charities Act 2006, Schedule 8, paragraph 156. Broadly, this covers:

• Anyone who has been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty or deception, unless the conviction is spent
• Anyone who is an undischarged bankrupt or is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or an interim order
• Anyone who has been removed from trusteeship of a charity by the court or the Charity Commission
• Anyone who has a disqualification order under the Company Directors’ Disqualification Act 1986

Candidates completing nomination papers for election are required to certify that they are not disqualified from office. In accordance with guidance from the Charity Commission, the RHS undertakes checks to ensure a candidate’s eligibility.

Liability

As a Trustee, the role of a Member of the RHS Council is an extremely important one and carries both responsibilities and liabilities. A Member of the RHS Council has a duty to act in good faith and in the best interests of the RHS. It is important therefore that Members of the RHS Council avoid conflicts with their personal or other professional interests. Where a potential conflict of interest exists, Members of the RHS Council are required to declare that interest and, in most cases, not take part in any decision on the matter concerned. In the interest of openness, a register of relevant interests is maintained. Restrictions also apply on Members of the RHS Council or connected parties who might wish to enter into a contract with the RHS or any of its trading companies for the supply of goods and services. For further information, contact the RHS Secretary. 

In exercising the role of Trustee, an individual can be held liable for:

• Breach of trust – for example, spending money inappropriately
• Breach of fiduciary and statutory duties – for example, using assets to procure benefits for the trustee
• Fraudulent trading – for example, incurring a debt knowing it cannot be repaid
• Failure to comply with statutory requirements – for example, health and safety, taxation law etc.

View a copy of the Charity Commission’s booklet The Essential Trustee: What you need to know, which provides further general information on serving as a Trustee.

Why become a Member of the RHS Council

As a Member of the RHS Council, you would have the opportunity to positively influence the RHS and help make a difference to the way that horticulture and gardening develop in the UK. In return for providing the RHS with your time and expertise, you would gain an opportunity to develop your personal/professional skills as well as a chance to obtain a sense of achievement and satisfaction from making a contribution to the work of the charity.

Reimbursement of expenses

Serving as a Member of the RHS Council is a voluntary activity that is not remunerated. As a charity, the RHS cannot by law pay Members of the RHS Council a salary or provide any benefit in kind. However, the RHS does operate an expenses scheme that will reimburse the reasonable cost of undertaking Trustee duties. 

If you’re interested in applying for the role of RHS Treasurer or as a Member of RHS Council, please complete the nomination form and provide the required supporter information using the forms below.

Nomination forms for RHS Treasurer:

• Nomination form RHS Treasurer (94kB Word doc)
• Supporter form RHS Treasurer (64B Word doc)

Nomination forms for RHS Council:

• Nomination form RHS Council (92kB Word doc)
• Supporter form RHS Council (64kB Word doc)

Please send all nominations to the Secretary by post to RHS, 80 Vincent Square, London SW1P 2PE or email [email protected].