Committee Roles
We have four core roles in a society committee; President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Equality and Diversity Officer. Our high-risk societies also have a compulsory Health and Safety Officer.
As our societies are student-led, there are some who choose to add additional roles to their committee to help carry out specialist responsibilities and support their society to facilitate different events and activities. Examples of these additional roles include; Social Media Officers, Social Secretaries; and Vice Presidents.
So what is a committee member?
A committee member is, at its root, a volunteer. They are someone who is passionate about the society and wishes to volunteer their time to support the logistical running of the society.
A committee member is someone who dedicates their time to ensure their society follows proper processes for activity so the members can participate safely.
A committee member is not:
- In charge or holding a position of management over the rest of the committee or your membership. Committee members are elected to support the society, not rule over it.
- The ultimate authority within a society. Committee members cannot remove others from the committee or the wider society. This is solely the responsibility of the Students' Union.
- A committee is not a hierarchy. Each member plays a role in the wider functioning whole.
Shared responsibilities in a committee
All committee members have some shared responsibilities that support the wider running of the society and its activities. These include:
- Signing and following their society constitution
- Completing relevant training and paperwork
- Ensuring your society runs smoothly
- Listening to your members
- Ensuring the financial sustainability of the society
- Ensuring the future sustainability of the society by making members aware of elections and giving a good handover
Role specific responsibilities
Each role has its own specialist responsibilities, and the people in these roles will either be working to their strengths or working to develop skills while on the committee. The specialist responsibilities for the core roles are the same across all societies. For a basic overview of our roles and the benefits of holding one, check out our committee roles and responsibilities overview.
Roles and responsibilities overview
Want more information about a specific role? Check out their profiles:
For the specialist responsibilities of an additional role in your society, please refer to the society constitution where these responsibilities are detailed.
How to be a President
How to be a Secretary
How to be a Treasurer
How to be a Equality and Diversity Officer
How to be a Health and Safety Officer
Society constitution
Each society has a constitution that details what the aim of the society is and how they intend to achieve their aims. These targets could be anything from a recruitment goal, to a raising and giving effort for a charity you care about. We've created a template that the committee must complete and sign each year. If you have any questions about the constitution, contact activitiesadmin@shu.ac.uk.
Society Constitution
Your commitment to us
As committee members, we expect you to make a commitment to your membership and to us that you will follow proper processes, complete relevant paperwork, and meet your deadlines. We expect you to support one another with kindness, respect, and understanding, and that you prioritise the positive experience of your members. We also expect you to champion zero-tolerance of bullying and harassment of any kind.
Our commitment to you
We commit to supporting you with all formal society processes, providing instruction and guidance to completing paperwork. We will support you as a committee and as individuals through development opportunities and guidance, and we will support you in championing zero-tolerance of bullying or harassment of any kind.