Committee Roles
Contents
Introduction
Here you can find a short overview to the three main committee roles: Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. It aims to provide some context and understanding to each role and help clubs understand committees better, to enable you in providing an excellent experience for your members.
Responsibilities are not exclusive and may vary amongst clubs and roles.
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Chair
The Chair of a club oversees all its activity and direction. Throughout the academic year this person will need to provide support, guidance, and direction to the other committee members and the wider membership of the club. You will also be the main person of contact for the members and the club.
It’s important that the Chair ensures that all committee members know they are equal and valued members of the committee. This role can be quite challenging but is incredibly rewarding. The post holder will need a special set of skills to help the group thrive. A strong understanding of the Club is a must, or in the case of a new club a clear direction of what the Society should be working towards will be needed.
Personal Skills
Communication: You will need to have a good regular communication with your committee members, your members and the Students’ Union.
Commitment: No one expects you to know everything on day one however, you will need to be able to commit a reasonable amount of time over the year as the chair of your Club.
Motivating: A good leader will be able to motivate others within the group to take part in activities and engage members regularly.
Fair: It will be important to be consistent, fair, approachable and friendly.
Organisation: To keep a club going it will require being organised as there are deadlines to be met and timeframes for things including bookings, elections and funding.
Delegation: You are not alone in your group, no doubt you will have many fantastic and eager people around you to contribute to your group’s success, make sure you are getting the most from their support and helping them develop too. Do not be afraid to distribute task fairly and evenly amongst your committee.
Leadership
Decision Making
Organisation
Communication
People Management
Key Responsibilities
Calling Meetings – It is important to arrange meetings to keep your members up to date. The secretary would be expected to assist with the agenda and take minutes of the meeting.
Chairing Meetings – Ensure everything is covered and no-one dominates.
Delegating Tasks – you shouldn’t do everything yourself.
Understanding the Broader Picture – always keep the aims of the Club in mind.
Being a Spokesperson or Figurehead – represent your Club whenever you can and have the best interests of your club at heart.
Maintaining Committee Enthusiasm – if you’re not passionate, no-one else will be. At times you will have motivate your club.
Administration - Ensuring all relevant paperwork is completed by the relevant committee members on time, to a good standard and submitted to the Union.
Future Proofing – You will be responsible for ensuring that end of your tenure there is someone to take over and complete handovers and any relevant documents to help your successor in the post.
Key Times of the Year
Over the Summer
- Handover from the previous committee
- Arrange a meeting to speak to the previous treasurer
- Add club inbox
- Financial planning for the year ahead
- Know how much is in your Club’s Account
- Learn financial processes
- Support your club to make any purchases needed for the start of the year
- Get all coaches set up for the academic ready for your sessions to start
September & October
- Attend Fresher Fair
- Help Recruit New Members
- Ensure all committee members have completed any Training needed and refresh yourself using the online training
- Coordinator a Welcome Social
- Full committee meeting – setting out aims and objectives of the year ahead
- Attend committee workshops or ensure a representative is there
January & Feburary
- Book a stall for Re-Freshers Fair
- Attend Re-Freshers Fair
- Committee meeting to discuss Semester 1 and plan for Semester 2 and the Summer
- Plan Committee Handover
March
- Promote Committee elections for the upcoming year (no committee = no club ☹)- speak to anyone interested in being the next chair
- Club Annual General Meeting (AGM)- this can happen anytime between March- May. It’s a chance to get your full society together and to run through what you have achieved in the year, get feedback from your members, and give them a financial report. Some clubs also use this meeting as an award ceremony for their club and introduce their incoming committee.
May
- Award season! Blues & the Activities Awards
- Start handover process
- Complete Handover to the next committee and request your budget for next year
Contact Point
You will be the main contact point for the club from Student’s Union.
We recommend you always use the club inbox, we use this for most of our communication from Officer updates to BUCS. That way the communication can be looked back on throughout the years and change in committee to avoid losing important information.
Key Contacts
| Name |
Responsibilities |
Contact Details |
| Sport Team |
The sports team will be your first point of call for most of your enquiries and they will support with your regular activities, club related questions, queries about the website, issues within your club, or if you want to meet to discuss your club. Support with planning an event or trip. |
subathsport@bath.ac.uk |
| Sport Officer |
The sport officer is the voice of the students and should be your contact for any changes you wish to for the sport offer, as well as budget queries. |
susport@bath.ac.uk |
| Finance Team |
Help with accounts and payments |
sufinance@bath.ac.uk |
| Team Bath Bookings |
Deal with all club bookings for STV and Founders Hall |
Bookings and facilities hire - Team Bath |
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Treasurer
Being a Treasurer isn’t just about handling money, it means knowing how your finances stand and planning accordingly. You will learn how to budget, how to write for funding applications, and present financial reports among other things all skills which can be highly desirable.
This Handbook as well as the Finance training you need to attend will help you understand what is required from the role and understand the systems, policies and processes in place at the Student Union.
Well Organised - You will need to keep a regular update on the Club’s finances and maintain a track of the club’s financial situation.
Numerical Competence - You will need to be able to read and understand your Club’s accounts, you will also need to be able to work within a budget and make sure projects are effective and realistic base on this.
Communication - You will need to be able to communicate the current finances with your group, your budget planning with the Students’ Union and once a year present the accounts to your membership at your AGM.
Fair - It is important to keep in mind that any expenditure from the membership and budget accounts needs to benefit all members in the Club and not just a certain group of members.
Trustworthy - You will be handling the finances for your Club, including but not limited to membership money, donations, grants, and funding.
Eye for Detail - You will be looking after the finances and it is important to report figures accurately and honestly.
Budget Management
Organisational
Fund/Bid Writing
Communication
Presenting
- Learning and understanding the Students’ Union finance system.
- Apply for any funding from the Union as necessary and keep an eye out for any funding opportunities from the University or external funders.
- Ensure membership fees are paid help reimburse members where needed.
- Keep track of all income/expenditure in a timely manner.
- Keep the committee and members informed of the Club’s financial situation.
- Organise fundraising or sponsorship for your group.
Over the Summer
- Handover from the previous committee
- Add club inbox
- Arrange a meeting to speak to the previous treasurer
- Financial planning for the year ahead
- Know how much is in your Club’s Account
- Learn financial processes
- Support your club to make any purchases needed for the start of the year
September & October
- Complete or refresh yourself on finance Training
- Attend full committee meeting
- Attend committee finance workshop
January & Feburary
- Full committee meeting
- Start planning Handover
March
- Promote Committee elections- speak to anyone interested in applying for the role next year
- Prepare Financial Report for the AGM - You will need to show the financial situation handed over from the previous committee, how much income you have had and where it came from, and a breakdown of your expenditure. This is to show that your members have had value for money or that you have.
- Attend Society Annual General Meeting (AGM) and present Financial Report
May
- Award season! Blues & the Activities Awards
- Complete Handover to the next committee and request your budget for next year
- Ensure any remaining budget/income gets used within the same academic year- club account should be £0 at end of year.
To fully understand the role, we recommend completing all finance training available and check the FAQs which will help provide guidance and support. If you have any queries speak to the Sport Exec Treasurers and Sport team
| Name |
Responsibilities |
Contact Details |
| Sport exec treasurers |
All club account payments need to be sent to the Exec treasurer inbox for approval. |
su-sportexec-treasurers@bath.ac.uk |
| Sport Team |
General enquiries, using central controlled budgets (ie. Coaching budget & BUCS Events) |
subathsport@bath.ac.uk |
| Sport Officer |
The sport officer is the voice of the students and should be your contact for any changes you wish to for the sport offer, as well as budget queries.
|
susport@bath.ac.uk |
| Finance Team |
Help with accounts, payments, VAT or App issues. |
sufinance@bath.ac.uk |
| Team Bath Bookings |
Deal with all club bookings for STV and Founders Hall |
Bookings and facilities hire - Team Bath |
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Sectretary
This role is essential in facilitating the smooth running of your Club. Emails need to be written, rooms and venues need to be booked and above all you need to communicate what’s going on to our members, so they stay interested and stay involved. This role provides a great opportunity to test your project management and administration skills.
Communication - Your membership needs informing of activities and events; as secretary you will be responsible for making those communications.
Organisation - Successful Clubs have excellent record keeping of shared files, applications, and email chains. Make sure you have a good system which works for your committee.
Time Management - Over the year there will be deadlines to be met for organising activities, trips and events. There will also be deadlines for funding opportunities.
Writing and Typing - Committee meetings and AGM’s will need to be, have written minutes, it will also help to have good writing skills to keep your groups page on the Students’ Union website and your social media channels updated.
Project Management
Event Planning
Organisation
Communication
Administration
- Keep the Student Union team updated on any committee changes.
- Arrange meetings and book suitable rooms or venues.
- Maintain up to date membership records, ensuring your members register for the group online through your website page.
- Be aware of key dates for your group throughout the year.
- Help keep on top of all social media outlets, answering enquires which come through the website, and answering emails.
- Keep minutes of meetings as necessary.
- Communicate regularly with your members: let them know what’s going on.
- Assist the Chair organise your groups AGM
- Know everything the Chair does and support them every step of the way.
Over the Summer
- Handover from the previous committee
- Arrange a meeting with the previous secretary
- Complete any training from the Student Leader Hub you need
- Familiarise yourself with club paperwork and SU processes and procedures
- Plan an Activities/Event Calendar for the year
- Plan for the year ahead - think about what paperwork will need to be completed for certain events you are planning to run
September & October
- Run a Welcome Event
- Recruit new members
- Attend full committee meeting
January & Feburary
- Plan a Welcome Event for new members
- Plan committee handover
March
- Promote Committee elections and your role to members
- Attend Club Annual General Meeting (AGM)
May
- Award season! Blues & the Activities Awards
- Assist with Handover document to the next committee - meet with the incoming Secretary and give them tips for what to do in their role
To book rooms and spaces for events please use the Booking Portal.
For more information surrounding events please refer to the Event Training.
| Name |
Responsibilities |
Contact Details |
| Sport Team |
General enquiries, using central controlled budgets (ie. Coaching budget & BUCS Events) |
subathsport@bath.ac.uk |
| Sport Officer |
The sport officer is the voice of the students and should be your contact for any changes you wish to for the sport offer, as well as budget queries. |
susport@bath.ac.uk |
| Team Bath Bookings Team |
Deal with all club bookings for STV and Founders Hall |
sufinance@bath.ac.uk |
| Arts Team |
Any facility booking for the Edge |
su-arts@bath.ac.uk |
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