Lay Member

Welcome to the College community

Since being granted our Royal Charter in 1599, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has been improving health and healthcare for people around the world. 
 Today, we are a professional membership body providing education, assessment and development to more than 15,000 Fellows and Members at all stages of their careers. We are a UK organisation with a global membership.
 Our estate in the heart of Glasgow city centre includes modern conferencing and events facilities, a rich and extensive heritage collection with museum status, a library and our multi-award winning events offering, 1599 at the Royal College.
 Our purpose is built around delivering: 

• Excellent education and outstanding member experience
• New standards through assessment and gold standard qualifications
• Transformative impact on the health and wellbeing of the wider world

Our vision: To build an influential global community that enables our Members to develop the skills, knowledge and influence to improve healthcare standards worldwide.
Our mission: We want to enable our Members to achieve their full potential as healthcare professionals and give them an influential voice in the world.
Our values: The College is not a building or a tradition, but a global community. In all that we do, we’re committed to putting our people first: Fellows and Members, those undertaking our education and assessment, colleagues and partners.  

For us, how we work is as important as what we do, and we aim to live by our values. They embody the essence of the College motto, conjurat amice, meaning ‘together in friendship’. It’s an approach that is as relevant today as it was 425 years ago. 

• Community Working together to support one another to succeed; listening to and engaging with partners and people, locally, nationally and globally, to achieve our core purpose.
• Integrity Valuing and learning from our heritage and commitment to excellence; never compromising on our core purpose, our standards and the quality of delivery.
• Innovation Proactively challenging current thinking with a forward-looking agile approach that meets the changing needs of our members and all those who interact with us.
• Inspiration Leading by example through open dialogue, teamwork and engagement to maximise our potential and affect change.
• Inclusivity Demonstrating care, kindness, civility, generosity and mutual respect through the way we welcome, work and interact with people.

The role 

The Lay Member provides independent oversight and a patient-centred perspective to the governance, quality assurance and continuous improvement of the Dental Specialty Fellow Examinations and MFDS examinations.
The role exists to:
•    ensure that public and patient interests are considered in examination policy and decision-making;
•    support confidence in the fairness, transparency and integrity of dental postgraduate assessment; and
•    act as a constructive critical friend to the Committee, Chair and the Dental Examinations Executive.
Key Responsibilities
The Lay Member will:
•    Attend and contribute to meetings of the Dental Specialty Fellowship Examinations /MFDS Executive Committees (and sub-groups as appropriate).
•    Provide an independent lay perspective on matters relating to:
o    examination governance and quality assurance
o    candidate experience and fairness
o    equality, diversity and inclusion
o    reasonable adjustments and mitigating circumstances
o    complaints and appeals processes (where appropriate).
•    Scrutinise papers and supporting information in advance of meetings and contribute thoughtfully to discussion and decision-making.
•    Support the Committee in ensuring that examination processes align with:
o    best practice in postgraduate assessment
o    regulatory expectations
o    public and patient confidence.
•    Participate in short-life working groups or review activity as required (e.g. policy development, QA reviews, or candidate feedback themes).
•    Engage in induction, training and periodic review of the role.
The Lay Member does not participate in:
•    question writing or marking
•    examiner appointment decisions
•    operational delivery of examinations.
Time Commitment
•    Typically 2–4 meetings per year, plus preparation time.
•    Occasional additional meetings or papers for specific reviews or working groups.
Meetings are normally held virtually, with occasional in-person meetings where appropriate.

Who we're looking for

Person Specification
Essential
•    Demonstrable independence from dental or medical training, examining or regulatory roles.
•    Experience representing, advocating for, or working with patients, service users or the public in a formal or governance context.
•    Ability to act as a constructive critical friend, including confidence to question and challenge senior professionals appropriately.
•    Strong communication skills and the ability to contribute effectively in committee settings.
•    Ability to read, understand and interrogate complex written information.
•    Sound judgement, discretion and integrity.
•    Commitment to principles of fairness, transparency and equality in assessment.
 

Desirable
•    Experience of governance, quality assurance or oversight roles.
•    Familiarity with healthcare education, professional regulation or public sector bodies.
•    Understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion in assessment or recruitment contexts.
Induction and Support
The successful candidate will receive:
•    a structured induction to Dental Specialty Fellowship Examinations/MFDS governance and examination processes;
•    ongoing support from the Dental Examinations Executive; and
•    access to relevant training and briefing materials.
 

Equal Opportunities
The Colleges are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from individuals of all backgrounds. No prior clinical or dental experience is required.

 

More information about our College can be found on our social media channels 
 

How to apply
 

To apply, please send:

• your updated CV
• the completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring form (available on our website) If you have any queries, please contact recruitment@rcpsg.ac.uk 
   

The closing date for these positions is Friday 31 July 2026

If you have any queries, please contact recruitment@rcpsg.ac.uk 

Any personal data collected from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us in accordance with our recruitment processes. If unsuccessful in your application, your information will be held by us on our database for a period of 6 months before deletion. If you would like your information removed sooner, please contact recruitment@rcpsg.ac.uk 
 

Please see the application form below.