College members from all specialties and backgrounds have a vital role to play in shaping our work and the membership services we provide. Your diverse experiences help us build a strong, representative community of ophthalmology professionals.
By taking part as a volunteer you can make a difference to your fellow members, the wider ophthalmic workforce and to your patients. You can also develop your own skills and experience and meet new people.
All College roles are supported by teams of experienced and specialist staff. Together, we deliver our activities in an inclusive and mutually respectful environment, demonstrating the values and behaviours that underpin our work.
Current opportunities are shown below. If you would like to apply for a volunteer role, please complete this online application form.
Please note that the College is currently undergoing a governance review, which may result in some changes to the opportunities listed. We will keep this page updated accordingly and communicate any changes.
Current opportunities
The Trustee Board determines the by-laws, which govern the internal affairs of the College and how we operate as a charity while ensuring our finances are managed effectively. It is chaired by the President.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
Trustee Vice President Volunteer
Trustee Honorary Treasurer Volunteer
Trustee Lay Trustee Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The committee promotes academic education and research in ophthalmology for the benefit of patients and to raise the profile of academic ophthalmology in the UK.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
ARI Committee Member Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The Curriculum Subcommittee is accountable to the Training Committee on all matters related to the OST curriculum, programme of assessment and ePortfolio.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
Curriculum Subcommittee Consultant Member Volunteer
Curriculum Subcommittee Trainee Member Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The Global Subcommittee fosters global collaboration in ophthalmology by sharing insights from international organisations, supporting the integration and professional growth of overseas and refugee ophthalmologists within the College, and expanding access to exams and educational resources for international members.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
Global Subcommittee member volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The IMG subcommittee supports the continued monitoring and development of medial graduates/ophthalmologists coming to the UK and helps ensure the College continues to meet the General Medical Council’s Standards for the dual sponsorship scheme (DSS). Subcommittee members assess DSS applications on a regular basis.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
IMG Subcommittee Member Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The subcommittee’s work includes development of national datasets for use in electronic medical records and clinical audits, liaising with international and national stakeholders to support and input into best practice standards or guidance on informatics, clinical audit and effectiveness in ophthalmology to improve services for patients.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
Informatics and Audit Subcommittee Chair Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
INSPIRE is the College’s online learning platform which aims to provide structured learning pathways and coordinated educational programmes to support life-long clinical learning and professional development.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
INSPIRE Editor Clinical Decision Making Volunteer
INSPIRE Editor Emergency Eye Care Volunteer
INSPIRE Trainee Co-editor Vitreoretinal Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The Lay Advisory Group (LAG) supports the advancement of the science and practice of ophthalmology by representing lay opinion at the College.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
LAG Chair Volunteer
LAG Member Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The Medicines, Devices and Safety Lead will join the College’s Quality and Standards committee to support the provision of safe ophthalmic care. This role will be responsible for the College’s responses to medicine, device, and patient safety issues that arise.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
Quality and Standards Medicines Devices and Safety Lead Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The Membership Working Group works jointly with the College staff team on improving the accessibility, processes and value of membership.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
Membership WG International Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The purpose of the working group is to promote a structured, evidence-based approach towards sustainable, low-carbon eye care within the College and within UK ophthalmic practice more widely, to disseminate practical, impactful guidance to our members and healthcare settings.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
Net Zero WG Member Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The Paediatric Subcommittee provides advice and support to the College and members on all matters related to paediatric ophthalmology, and promotes safe high quality paediatric ophthalmology services in the UK.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
Paediatric Chair Volunteer
Paediatric Member Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The College evaluates individual applications from doctors seeking entry onto the specialist register via the Portfolio pathway route. Volunteer assessors ensure that all applications are reviewed in accordance with relevant legislation, the current process and advice.
Current volunteer role vacancies:
Portfolio Pathway Assessor Volunteer
Applications close at 5pm on 2 December.
The College is seeking Fellows, Members or Affiliate Members to join the Surgical Skills Faculty.
Applicants must either hold a UK substantive consultant post, be a SAS Doctor or be an ophthalmic trainee at ST6 or ST7 level.
Faculty Members who are appointed for the advanced courses shall, in addition, indicate their areas of subspecialty interest and expertise. Members may be invited to help and advise with regard to writing course material and designing course programmes.
To apply download and complete the SAS and Consultant application form, or the Trainee application form. Return your completed form to [email protected].
Advisory Appointment Committees, or AACs, are recruitment panels used when hiring consultants and specialty doctors in Trusts across the UK. The College works with trusts and other NHS bodies to approve job descriptions and send a volunteer College adviser to provide College guidance on the suitability of the applicants for appointment. Here you can find information about becoming an AAC representative and what trusts need to provide to the College for recruitment.
RCOphth’s role in AACs
College involvement in AACs is important. Anyone hiring a consultant ophthalmologist for an NHS provider must organise an AAC recruitment interview, with a College representative on all panels for consultant appointments. Our Regional Representatives approve job descriptions to ensure job planning offers adequate SPAs and staffing in hospital ophthalmology departments can meet its training, administration and clinical experience needs. We rely on consultant ophthalmologists volunteering as AAC reps to provide a robust and thorough process for the recruitment of vital consultants in ophthalmology.
AAC Representatives
As an AAC adviser you will work alongside RCOphth regional representatives to provide quality assurance of appointed consultants by attending recruitment interviews. Your external perspective will ensure candidates are suitable to fulfil all elements of the role. This safeguards patients and the NHS provider.
You will:
- Ensure a candidate is fit to train the next generation of ophthalmologists
- Check that a candidate can offer safe and efficient patient care within the needs of the department
- Ensure a fair and impartial recruitment process that accurately reflects a candidate’s suitability for the role
We recruit for AAC representatives on an ongoing basis. We receive requests from trusts for an AAC representative every month at locations throughout the UK, so we’re looking for representatives from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We welcome applications from those with at least one year’s experience as a consultant ophthalmologist within the NHS. You do not need to have any prior experience as an AAC representative, you will be provided with guidance to support you in this role. However, you must have had tTrust approved equality and diversity training in the last 3 years.
Email p[email protected] to add your name to our list of AAC representatives, or request further information. We send weekly emails to our representatives with a full list of AACs that we’re seeking a volunteer for. We endeavour to provide as much notice as possible and you can volunteer for as many as you are able to do. Expenses can be claimed from the hiring trust.
Acting as an examiner for the College is an important role and carries with it responsibility for maintaining the high standards expected of candidates wishing to become Diplomates, Members or Fellows of the College. The panel of examiners consists of both medical practitioners who are Fellows, Members or Affiliate Members of the College and lay examiners drawn from the College’s Lay Advisory Group.
Examining for the College also offers the opportunity to network with colleagues from around the UK, keep your general ophthalmic knowledge up to date and gain CPD.
Further details on the roles and requirements of being an examiner are available in the Panel of Examiners – General Information Pack and relevant information packs below. If you’d like to discuss any of the roles further, please contact the Examinations Department ([email protected])
Panel of Examiners – General Information Pack
Examiner-General-Information-Pack
Consultant and post-CCT Grade Examiners – Information Pack
Application-Pack-for-Consultant-and-post-CCT-Grade-Examiners-April
SAS Grade Examiners – Information Pack
Application-Pack-for-SAS-Grade-Examiners-Final-Oct
Trainee Grade Examiners – Information Pack
Application-Pack-for-Trainee-Grade-Examiners
Certificate in Laser and Refractive Surgery (CertLRS) Examiners
Application-Pack-for-CertLRS-Examiner
Optometrist Examiners (for Refraction Certificate exams) – Information Pack
Examiner-Application-Pack-for-Optometrists-April-2020
Examiners Code of Conduct
Code-of-Conduct-FRCOphth-examiners
The College values the work carried out by its tutors and has a number of resources available to them. Please complete the College-Tutor-Nomination-Form if you are interested in the role.
College tutors (CTs) have overall responsibility as lead trainers for the postgraduate training in the unit and are the point of contact with the Royal College. They are an important component to the delivery of a successful training programme across the country and therefore the work they do is greatly appreciated by the College.
Please refer to the role description and person specification for further information.
Within the unit, CTs lead and work closely with a team of clinical supervisors (CS, responsible for day-to-day supervision of trainees) and educational supervisors (ES, responsible for the global supervision and support of trainees).
Beyond the unit, CTs will liaise with directors of medical education (DMEs) in the trust, training programme directors (TPDs) at the LETB/Deanery and regional education advisers (REAs) appointed by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. regional education advisers are listed in the Ophthalmic Directory .
These are useful local sources of help and support if required. Bigger units might wish to consider appointing an Associate-College-Tutor with whom duties may be shared.
Newly-appointed college tutors are expected to attend a College tutor training day within six months of appointment. These workshops also serve as refresher for College tutors on their second term.
College tutor training day
The aim of the day is to examine the main duties of a College tutor and discuss the delivery and assessment of training. It will also give the opportunity to ask questions about College work and meet other College tutors. To book a place, please complete and return the combined College-Tutor-Nomination-Form.
The training day is also suitable for Associate College Tutors who support CTs in their role.