6 March 2008www.the-actuary.org.uk A new era starts on 1 March 2008, when the Profession8217s structure changes to re64258 ect the needs of its members, and to continue the delivery of the support and services each of you requires as you journey along your career path. For the past 18 months, volunteers and staff have been working together on seven work streams to deliver the Profession8217s strategy: to support actuaries throughout their careers. The catalysts for the strategy may have come partly from the Morris Review and the subsequent passing of responsibility for developing actuarial technical standards to the Board for Actuarial Standards, but I am sure you would agree with me that the Profession was also ready for change and a new direction.The new structure separates the functions of the Profession into two areas (professional community and professional administration) and creates a level of autonomy and empowerment to the groups and people actively engaged in developing the Profession. This article will give you some detail on a particular change related to the professional community area. Future articles in The Actuary will cover other areas of change.Member interest groupsWithin the professional community area we have created an environment where member interest groups can 64258 ourish. These groups are designed to operate autonomously, evolving 8216bottom up8217 from members wishing to make contact or to work with others who share a similar interest. Some of the current practice areas already have groups which will become member interest groups and we expect this list to grow. The regional societies are currently actively considering whether to become member interest groups.A member interest group is a group of members that has a focus or area of interest that links them. For example, it could be a particular and narrow aspect of practice; a cross-practice topic such as climate change; or a geographical link such as all working in a particular regional area. The interest group must be open to all members of the Profession to join: it is not a working group or committee with a closed membership set up by an executive committee to ful64257 l a speci64257 c purpose. The interest group does not report (in a governance sense) to any other body within the Profession, and it determines its own organisation.Each interest group will be expected to agree to some provisions and, in return, can expect a level of support from the Profession. The support available will be overseen by the member support executive committee 8212 to ensure there is an appropriate use of resources and to avoid any duplication of activity by different interest groups. Inevitably the support given by different interest groups will vary depending on the activity but is likely to include the use of meeting rooms in the Profession8217s premises, use (through the staff) of the Profession8217s databases, or a section on the Profession8217s website. Other discretionary support for interest groups could include access to the communications division for help in producing a report or publication, holding a discussion meeting facilitated by staff support, or setting up a discussion forum on the website.Groups are expected to provide their own intellectual capital and drive forward their own agendas, and it is important that they act in a manner to protect the Profession8217s reputation. The work and activity of any group is likely to be seen by the media and others outside the Profession as 8216representative8217 of the Profession. If you would like to join a current member interest group, please log in to the members8217 section of the website and update the 8216Your pro64257 le8217 section. For more information, please e-mail audrey.cosens@actuaries.org.uk.Staff structureThe staff structure has been reorganised to better support the new volunteer structure and ensure effective delivery of the new strategy. With effect from 1 March, the following heads of division will report to me as chief executive:9632 Communications: Freya Rodger9632 Core services: Pauline Hargraves9632 Event management: Sunita Dhawan9632 Learning: Trevor Watkins9632 Professional community support: Maria SingletonCommentCaroline InstanceIn support of actuariesCaroline Instance, chief executive of The Actuarial Profession, outlines the organisational changes to the Profession8217s structure9632 Professional regulation: Richard Maconachie9632 People matters: Val Timlin.Peter Dingwall will be retiring from full-time work and will work part-time as project manager, reporting to the chief executive. He will also support the international committee.Many staff have been through a re-appointment exercise as a number of new jobs have been created, some responsibilities have been changed and work has been re-allocated across divisions. The main changes have been the creation of event management as a division, the grouping together of IT, facilities and 64257 nance as the core services division, the communications division taking responsibility for the website and support to the public affairs advisory committee, and the learning division taking responsibility for libraries and information management. Support to the practice area executive committees, which replace the practice boards, is also overseen by the member support executive committee. The practice manager working with each practice area executive committee will be the initial point of contact for members and will provide a link into the other areas of staff support as appropriate. The practice area executive committees and practice managers are:9632 Enterprise risk management: Mark Symons9632 Finance and investment: Pat Rustem9632 General insurance: Peter Stirling9632 Health and care: Pauline Simpson9632 Life: Pauline Simpson 9632 Pensions: vacancy created by Maria Singleton8217s promotion.We have also set up a small number of focused staff teams to progress work for, and make recommendations to, the corresponding volunteer bodies. For example, the staff CPD and member-led research group will feed in to the member support executive committee and the staff professional regulation group will feed in to the professional regulation executive committee.The success of any organisation is dependent on its ability to adapt and evolve. I am con64257 dent that the changes we have put in place will build on the knowledge, experience and expertise of our staff and volunteers; and deliver the success we all want for our Profession.187 The success of any organisation is dependent on its ability to adapt and evolve 171006_Actuary_Prez_0308.indd 619/2/08 11:39:25
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