Recruitment process for a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Cochrane Collaboration

Dear all –

The recruitment process for a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Collaboration is in progress. This open letter summarises the steps that are being followed to ensure an open, international recruitment exercise is undertaken.

Under the direction of the Interim Executive Director, Paul Farenden, and the Co-Chairs of the Collaboration's Board of Trustees (the Steering Group), Jonathan Craig and Jeremy Grimshaw, RSA has been appointed to manage the recruitment process. RSA is the executive search consultancy which assisted in the recruitment of David Tovey, Editor in Chief of The Cochrane Library. Since the beginning of May 2012, RSA has been conducting searches, and handling responses and all other expressions of interest, in regard to advertisements placed online with The Economist and on www.thersagroup.com and www.cochrane.org. The closing date for applications was 22nd June 2012.

Due to the extensive interest from applicants from a wide range of sectors (including health services, charities and other not-for-profit organisations engaged in translational research, and the commercial sector), applications were reviewed and then triaged against key selection criteria:

• International experience
• Operational leadership (finance, HR, IT support)
• Experience of or aptitude for fundraising
• Prospect of helping the Collaboration further enhance its international footprint and scope
• Potential to lead a devolved organisation in the field of evidence-based health care
• Complementarity with the Editor in Chief of The Cochrane Library

Shortlisting was completed by Jonathan Craig, Jeremy Grimshaw and Paul Farenden. The shortlisted applicants have now been invited to interview in Frankfurt, 26-27 July 2012. As part of their interview, they will each present to the selection panel their strategic vision, appreciation of the challenges of the CEO role and how they would propose to address them. The selection panel reflects the Collaboration’s international membership:

• Jonathan Craig: Co-Chair of the Steering Group, Australia
• Nicky Cullum: Co-ordinating Editor, Cochrane Wounds Group, UK
• Marina Davoli: Co-ordinating Editor, Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group, Italy
• Kay Dickersin: Director, US Cochrane Center, USA
• Paul Farenden: Interim Executive Director and non-voting chair of the selection panel, UK
• Jeremy Grimshaw: Co-Chair of the Steering Group, Canada
• Zulma Ortiz: Author, Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group, Argentina
• David Tovey: Editor in Chief of The Cochrane Library, UK

Assuming a preferred candidate is nominated and accepts our offer to become the Collaboration’s new CEO, we aim to invite him/her to the Colloquium in Auckland, in October.

If you have any questions about the process, Paul Farenden would be happy to answer them.

With best wishes,
Jonathan Craig, Jeremy Grimshaw & Paul Farenden

For information, the job description and person specification for the post of CEO is now open access and available here [PDF].