Diploma in Board Directorship

A director that has attained the award of Diploma in Board Directorship, is equipped to make a valuable contribution to any board based upon increased knowledge and confidence.

Professionalism 
It offers a clear course structure and development path, leading ultimately to Chartered Directorship.

Validation 
It validates that an individual has the core knowledge and awareness that is necessary to function effectively as a director. The regulators are increasingly requiring board directors to demonstrate they have undertaken professional development.

Competence
Through attaining the designation, you signal to the market place that you are ready to serve as a director. Companies appointing directors onto subsidiary or joint venture boards are increasingly recognising the value that board directors can provide to their organisations and want to ensure their appointees have the right knowledge and skills.

Commitment
Certification enables directors to demonstrate their commitment to professional development and to benchmark their own knowledge and skills against clearly established standards of good governance practice.

Assurance 
Being a Certified Director provides you with the confidence as an aspiring or a less experienced director, as well as providing the market place with assurance of your ability and competence.

Recognition 
The professional designation raises your profile as an aspirant or less experienced director and sets you apart amongst your peers. We will publish the list of Certified Directors on our website. You are entitled to use the designation Dip.Dir. (GCCBDI) after your name. 

Relevance
Provides GCC-relevant content and details of local regulations and incorporates regional aspects in course content as well as using global case studies.

The Diploma consists of 3 modules:

• Module 1: Board Leadership
• Module 2: The Dynamic Board
• Module 3: An elective module from a choice of 3 open workshops

There are three assessments for those participants pursuing a Diploma Award. In order to be awarded the Diploma, participants must attend all 3 modules and pass the three assessments.

The Diploma Assessment comprises 3 elements:

1. A Board Simulation exercise. This is part of Module 2 and will evaluate appropriate behaviours, knowledge and skills in a simulated board meeting
2. An individual presentation based on a case study which will evaluate the relevancy and application of learning acquired from the Diploma
3. A Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) Examination which will evaluate the participants learning of Module 1 and Module 2 of the Diploma  

Course Delivery

Course delivery will be a mix of:

1. Virtual live online workshops; and
2. Face-to-face traditional in-person workshops

Each module consists of 2 full days of live training and discussion. The 2 mandatory modules and the elective modules are run on a cyclical basis. You can take the modules in any order and if you miss a module, you can wait for it to come round again in the cycle. You can start the cycle at any time.

All our workshops are run using our online learning platform LEARN GCC BDI and the virtual live online workshops are run using Zoom. Our face-to-face traditional in-person workshops are run in Riyadh at the Financial Academy.

The Financial Academy is the Awarding Body for all our Certification Programmes and exams will either be held online or at the Financial Academy examination centres.

Schedule of workshops 

Eligibility & course pre-requisites

Prior to joining the Diploma programme, participants are required to have:

• Been awarded the GCC BDI Certificate in Board Directorship
• Currently hold or recently (within the preceding 3 years) have held either a director seat or a senior management position within an organisation
• Have basic English literacy as the programme is delivered in English

Participants with MBAs and or other professional qualifications will be required to attend all modules.

No exemptions will be awarded.

Who can apply?

The Diploma in Board Directorship is a programme designed for GCC BDI Certified Directors to meet their continuing professional development needs. Only these who have completed the GCC BDI Director Certification programme and who have been awarded the Certificate in Board Directorship may apply.

Workshop Fees

Participants wishing to pre-purchase all four workshops are entitled to a 25% discount.

Assessment Fees

• Examination Fee: USD 300

Resit Fees
Where participants are required to resit, the following fees will be applied:

• Examination Resit Fee: USD 300
• Reflective Presentation Resit Fee: USD 350 (effective for participants enrolling after 1 March 2022)

All prices exclude VAT or any other applicable taxes

GCC BDI Membership

All participants in GCC BDI workshops are eligible for free membership as an Associate member of GCC BDI. Membership benefits include: entitlement to the designation as a member of a professional institute of board directors, copies of our publications, continuing professional development (CPD) points for attending presentations and workshops, and invitations to certain GCC BDI events. For more information on GCC BDI membership, please see our website.

Why GCC BDI?

• GCC BDI is a not for profit company whose mission is to make a positive impact on the economies and societies of the region by promoting professional directorship and raising the level of board effectiveness.
• We have a long and successful and proven track record of delivering top quality programmes and working with the top companies in the GCC over the last 15 years.
• We work with a large talented pool of top international, regional and local experts in their field, mainly practitioners. Our expertise extends well beyond pure academic references and is based on tried and tested methodologies and programmes.
• GCC BDI now has the largest and most influential network of directors in the region. Our members are our greatest ambassadors.
• We believe that director development is critical to board effectiveness. GCC BDI’s unique combination of skills and experience, local knowledge and understanding, and strong corporate governance and regulatory knowledge, combined with practical director expertise is what enables us to deliver exceptionally high quality programmes.