Stakeholder Advisory Council Members

MSC expanding its reach and engagement

The Marine Stewardship Council’s vision is for the world’s oceans to be teeming with life, and seafood supplies safeguarded for this and future generations.  Through our internationally recognised certification and ecolabeling program well-managed sustainable fisheries are recognised and rewarded in the marketplace, through the leadership of our partners.  Critically, other fisheries are incentivised to improve their performance to meet the growing demand for certified sustainable and traceable seafood choice.  Over 400 fisheries around the world, representing 19% of the annual global marine catch, are now engaged in the MSC program and over 1200 documented improvements to the way our oceans are being fished have been recorded.  MSC certified and labelled seafood products are now available in over 100 countries.

MSC contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Within the wider ocean landscape, MSC plays an important role in contributing to the delivery of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.  Set out in our Integrated Strategic Plan, our strategic priorities are underpinned by ambitious goals aligned to SDG 14 – Life Below Water: we are aiming to engage at least one-third of the world’s fisheries in our program by 2030.

Strong governance for our standards

Fundamental to MSC’s success and strategic evolution over the past 25 years has been our multi-stakeholder governance model, led by its Board of Trustees.  The Board sets MSC’s strategic direction, guiding and overseeing delivery of the organisation’s strategic priorities.   In doing so, it is supported by advice from the Executive, which in turn is advised by the Technical Advisory Board (TAB), responsible for providing scientific and technical advice, and the Stakeholder Advisory Council (STAC) which, through its multi-stakeholder membership, provides stakeholder advice and perspectives.

The Stakeholder Advisory Council was created in 2017, in order to deepen the engagement of MSC’s stakeholders with the organisation and its work, and to enable the Board and Executive to benefit from broad and diverse stakeholder views to inform its deliberations and decision making. 

The Stakeholder Advisory Council comprises designated seats from the seafood industry, conservation community and the market sector, as well as several non-designated seats.  Its membership reflects diverse experiences, geographies and interests in relation to the work of the MSC.  It holds at least two meetings a year (typically in-person), and its members also participate in issue-specific working groups throughout the year (usually virtual meetings). 

New openings on the MSC Stakeholder Advisory Council

As a result of several retirements, we are now seeking to appoint up to four new Members to the STAC:

• two members for designated seafood industry seats, which are reserved for individuals from organisations involved in the harvesting or processing of seafood from fisheries certified, or seeking to be certified, to the MSC’s Fisheries Standard.

For these seats, we are looking for individuals with substantial current or recent experience in wild-capture seafood harvesting, including direct experience and knowledge of seafood sustainability, and ideally, the application of the MSC’s Fisheries Standard.

• up to two members for our conservation seats, which are offered to individuals who are able to contribute expertise and experience relevant to MSC and its program from an environmental / eNGO perspective.  Ideally candidates will hold a relevant senior position in a non-profit NGO which is currently engaged with MSC and its work, and/or more generally, operating in the areas of sustainable fisheries and ocean sustainability and/or environmental certification.

All seats would be taken up immediately upon appointment.

Person specification

We value and promote diversity within our Stakeholder Advisory Council.  It is vital that we continue to draw our STAC members from the widest possible talent pool, bringing with them different experiences, ideas and perspectives to inform our discussions and decisions.  We therefore strongly encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates, from all demographic groups, communities and geographies, especially those currently under-represented on the STAC. 

In appointing to these vacancies, we are keen to continue to improve representation of developing regions’ interests within the STAC’s membership.  With that in mind, we welcome applications from candidates from South America.  In addition, in order to ensure diverse geographies on the STAC, we also wish to increase representation from Southern Europe and North America at this time.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate high levels of integrity, objectivity and fairness and an ability to look forward and see the bigger picture.  The ability to work effectively in a team and to engage in a constructive and open manner is essential.  Good spoken and written English skills are also important. 

Stakeholder Advisory Council members serve in a personal capacity, not as representatives of their organisations.  STAC members must be sympathetic to the aims and objectives of the MSC and must engage and participate actively in the work of the STAC throughout their term. 

Appointments to the STAC are normally for a term of three years.  STAC positions are unremunerated, but reasonable and appropriate expenses for travel to meetings will be paid, where required.

How to apply

To apply for these positions, please send a CV and a cover letter outlining how your skills and experience and knowledge would enable you to contribute to the Stakeholder Advisory Council.

Applications should be received by Monday 4 November 2024 at 0900 GMT.  You should send your application to STACrecruitment@msc.org, indicating clearly in the title of the email the sector seat for which you are applying.  Any queries should be sent to the same email address.

Interviews for shortlisted applicants will be held by MS Teams in November 2024.