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Presidential Team Role Descriptions

The Presidential Team

Role descriptions 2025

The Vice President, the President, and the Immediate Past President are collectively referred to as the Presidential Team.  The Presidential Team works together to represent the Institute at external and internal engagements during the year.

As part of the Presidential Team for three years, you will have the opportunity to be part of the ambassadorial team of fellow professionals to showcase planning excellence and use your influence to promote the value of planning.

Term of office

  • Each presidential role has a term of office of one year. You will be elected to serve as Vice President in your first year, followed by a year as President and a final year as the Immediate Past President. Tenure is therefore a total of three years.

What support can you expect?

  • An induction meeting for the incoming Vice President and a presidential planning meeting prior to commencement of the Presidential Year.
  • The Presidential Team will be supported by the RTPI Chief Executive via fortnightly calls to discuss engagements, policy, and communication matters.
  • The support of a part-time RTPI officer who will update the Team diary, engagements grid and make any necessary travel and accommodation arrangements.
  • High-level RTPI policy and other briefings to assist in delivering your ambassadorial roles.
  • Expenses covered in line with the RTPI’s expenses policy.

What’s expected of you?

  • You will be an experienced and knowledgeable member of the profession, with a sound understanding of the key issues and debates faced by planners and the planning system.
  • You will be a strong and passionate advocate for planning excellence and the role of the Institute in securing this.
  • You will be available to attend, speak at and chair external and internal events including high profile events, seminars, awards, dinners, and conferences as required. These will be a mix of ‘in person’ and digital events and may require you to set aside time for preparation and travel.
  • You will work collaboratively with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees to support delivery of the RTPI’s Strategic Plan
  • You will observe the confidentiality of any documents or discussions during your tenure.
  • You will submit expense claims as soon as possible and no later than three months after the date incurred and respond in a timely manner to queries in relation to finalising diary and travel arrangements.

How to get involved

The Vice-President role is elected annually by Chartered Members of the Institute.

Invitations for self-nominations are sent to all chartered members in June for terms starting the following year.

Eligible members can put themselves forward for election as Vice President by completing an application form on the nominations website and a statement of willingness to accept and hold office if elected.

All applications must be supported by at least six other Chartered members.

Elections take place in August/September and are on the basis of a single transferable vote (voters rank the candidates in order of preference: 1 for their first preference, 2 for their second preference, and so forth).

Please see below for the specific roles and responsibilities of each member of the Presidential Team.

 

A) President Roles and Responsibilities

B) Vice President Roles and Responsibilities

C) Immediate Past President Roles and Responsibilities

 

President Roles and Responsibilities 

This is an exciting role and an opportunity to make a significant contribution to raising the profile of RTPI and the planning profession.

The President is the figurehead and public face of the RTPI, acting as an ambassador for its members and the planning profession. The President will travel within the UK and Ireland and on occasion internationally to build and maintain relationships with members and stakeholders. The President will wear the chain of office or travelling badge at events where appropriate.

The President is a Trustee of the Institute and as such is expected to abide by the Trustees Responsibilities, Behaviours and Competencies and the Code of Conduct for Trustees. The President will not be directly involved in RTPI operational matters or RTPI policy formation other than as a Trustee.

As President you will visit each of the UK devolved Nations, Ireland and the English regions and attend international events when necessary.

As President you will Chair the RTPI General Assembly.

As President you will be a member of the Board of Trustees and will report on your activities at each meeting. The Vice President and Immediate Past President will be invited as observers by the Chair of the Bord of Trustees to attend Board of Trustee meetings.

Expected time commitments and term of office:

  • The President serves for a term of one year, beginning on the day of the Inauguration in January.
  • The time commitment of the role will vary from President to President according to their availability and external commitments. Please get in touch with the Chief Executive and / or the Chair of BOT for an informal discussion on the matter.
  • The President must be satisfied that they have the time required to perform their role to the best of their ability, according to their priorities and time available. The President will agree detailed arrangements for attendance at events and meetings with the Chief Executive and the rest of the Presidential Team. Prospective candidates are advised to consider how to manage the time commitment that is required. As the ambassador for the planning profession, there will be many invitations to attend events and to meet with representatives of other organisations and institutes. The RTPI executive will help manage the President’s timetable, identifying those appointments where the greatest value can be gained from involvement / attendance.

 

The President may be required to attend the following types of engagements during their year of office:

  • Presidential Inauguration and (12 months later) Valedictory Speech - London (late January, immediately after the first General Assembly of year).
  • The General Assembly meetings are Chaired by the President. There will be four meetings a year.
  • Meetings of the Board of Trustees, a minimum of -six meetings a year.
  • Parliamentary Receptions.
  • Awards for Planning Excellence.
  • Annual RTPI flagship conference.
  • The RTPI Research Awards.
  • UK Government Party Conference events
  • Young Planners Conference.
  • Nathaniel Lichfield Lecture.
  • One of the devolved Planner Live conferences (Wales, Scotland, Ireland or Northern Ireland Planning Conferences - these visits will be spread over the three years in a Presidential role).
  • Visits to each of the UK devolved nations, Ireland and the English regions to engage with Members and celebrate planning excellence.
  • Carefully prioritised international meetings and/or events which have the most impact and synergy with achieving the aims of the Strategic Plan.

As President, you must consult with the Institute’s Chief Executive prior to making any commitments on behalf of the RTPI.

  • The President will attend the Policy Practice and Research Committee (PPRC) to tie together PPRC and the General Assembly.
  • The President’s Report will be included at each Board of Trustees meeting to reflect on the President’s activities and advise the Board on any relevant insights gained from the discussions and meetings with members and external stakeholders.

There will be the opportunity to attend additional events subject to your availability.

This is a voluntary role. The duties outlined above reflect our shared hopes and expectations but do not create any contractual obligations.

 

RTPI Vice President Roles and Responsibilities

The Vice President will assist the President in representing the Institute and its members when appropriate and is ‘first in reserve’ should the President not be able to make engagements. The role will involve some travel in the UK and Ireland, which may on occasions necessitate an overnight stay. There may very occasionally be international travel if the Vice President is required to represent the President.

As Vice President you will attend Nations and Regions Panel meetings and will be the ‘first reserve’ for the President. 

Expected Time Commitments and term of office:

  • The Vice President serves for a term of one year, starting on the day when the President is inaugurated in January.
  • The Vice President then serves a term as President and a term as Immediate Past
  • The Vice President must expect to be satisfied that they will have the time required to perform their role to the best of their ability, according to their priorities and available time. The Vice President will agree detailed arrangements for attendance at events and meetings with the RTPI Chief Executive and the rest of the Presidential Team.  Prospective candidates are advised to consider how to manage the time commitment that is required.

What’s involved?

The Vice President may be required to attend the following types of engagements:

  • Presidential
  • The RTPI General Assembly (GA) meetings. These will be chaired by the President, but the Vice President will be expected to take on this role as Vice Chair if the President is unavailable. There will be 4 meetings a year.
  • Meetings of the Board of Trustees (BOT) as an observer, a minimum of 6 meetings a year.
  • The inductions for the elected Vice President, Trustees, General Assembly
  • Meetings of the Nations and Regions Panel 4 meetings per year.
  • Annual RTPI flagship conference.
  • One of the national Planner Live Conferences. (These visits will be spread over the three years in a Presidential role).
  • Awards for Planning Excellence.

In addition to these events the Vice President may choose to attend the following events subject to time commitments:

  • Awards for Planning Excellence.
  • Nathaniel Lichfield Lecture.
  • At least one meeting of each Standing Committee during the year.

Additional time commitment will vary depending on the availability of the President.

Eligibility

To be qualified as a candidate for role of Vice President you will be:

  • A Chartered Member who can demonstrate active participation in the affairs of the institute and must have held a Governance Role for at least a continuous period of one out of the last five years preceding their nomination.
  • The Vice-President is nominated by at least six Chartered Members. Further information about the nomination and election process can be found in the Governance section of the RTPI website.

This is a voluntary role. The duties outlined above reflect our shared hopes and expectations but do not create any contractual obligations.

 

Immediate Past President Roles and Responsibilities 

The Immediate Past President role

This role supports the President and Vice President in representing the Institute and its members. The Immediate Past President (IPP) is ‘second reserve’ should the President or Vice President be unable to make engagements.

Expected Time Commitments and term of office:

  • The Immediate Past President serves for a term of one year immediately following their time as President, starting on the day when the new President is inaugurated in January.
  • The IPP is expected to mentor the Vice President.
  • The time commitment will vary depending on the availability of the President and Vice-President. The Immediate Past President will agree detailed arrangements for attendance at events and meetings with the RTPI Chief Executive and with the rest of the Presidential Team.

The Immediate Past President may be required to attend the following types of engagements subject to availability:

  • Presidential
  • The RTPI General Assembly meetings. There will be four meetings a year
  • Meetings of the Board of Trustees, a minimum of 6 meetings a year, as an observer.
  • Awards for Planning Excellence.
  • Annual RTPI flagship conference
  • One of the national Planner Live Conferences. These visits will be spread over the three years in a Presidential role).

This is a voluntary role. The duties outlined above reflect our shared hopes and expectations but do not create any contractual obligations.