Clubs and Societies (or C&S) are one of the best parts of the university experience. It’s a great way to meet like-minded people to help you make your way through university. Since almost all C&S are run by students and for students, there’s a lot of leadership opportunities available. Each club is different but generally, there are similarities in a committee structure.
If you’re thinking of starting your own club, choosing new committee members or joining a committee hopefully this post will give you a better idea of what each of the leadership roles might look like. The experience is unique to each club and depending on the goals of the club, the roles will change.
I’ve also listed what I think are good traits/skills to have in each role- though these are not necessary. The beauty of diversity is that the same job can be done well by very different people!
President
The president is ultimately responsible what goes on in the club. Different people have different leadership styles but the president does not have complete dictatorship over what goes on. The president is there to represent the whole club and make sure that decisions are made with integrity. A good president doesn’t run the club by just telling everyone what to do but hears everyone’s opinions and needs and integrates them. They’ll be running the meetings and other official things. The president, with the rest of the committee, helps to set the tone for the rest of the club. If the president is positive and welcoming, the club will probably be too! The great thing about presidents is that they come in all shapes and sizes, so don’t be discouraged by not fitting the archetype.
Good skills to have: Confidence, leadership, goal-setting
Vice President
As you can see, being the president can be a hard job and so the vice president does their best to support them. There is no specific role or jobs for the vice president to do except to support the president in their running of the club. This means you really get to invent your role! In the club I was in, one of the vice presidents was also responsible for running O-week and the other for week 1 and 2 activities. The role of the vice president is also to be a part of the committee. They’re there to lend their voice and skills to the club and help to balance the team dynamic. As another major representative of the club, it’s also important that you keep up good relationships with the rest of the members in the same way that the president would.
Good skills to have: supportive, thoughtful, problem-solving
Treasurer
The treasurer is in charge of handling all the clubs finances. They are responsible for managing the money that goes in and out of the club as well as keep a record of all these things. In a club, you may receive grants (money) from the university to help you run events and activities. You’ll have to keep receipts and record where this money is going and keep an eye on the money coming in! Your members might be paying for merchandise, events and balls and all this has to be accounted for by the treasurer. Having a systematic approach can make treasury easier for yourself and future treasurers.
Good skills to have: experience (in money-handling), systematic-ness, reliability
Secretary
The secretary is a role that can actually be quite challenging- but rewarding. They are responsible for a lot of the administrative tasks involved in running a club. Most C&S will be affiliated with the student union and so communication with the union and the office is important and done mostly by the secretary. The secretary is there generally to make sure that the club is following the university rules and regulations. You’ll obviously be in charge of a lot of the administration side of things: booking rooms, taking minutes, liaising with the university staff and making sure you’re not doing anything illegal!
Good skills to have: organisation (very important), communication, persistence
Other Roles:
These are ‘less essential’ roles in a committee but they definitely shouldn’t be overlooked! Adding these to a team can make a huge difference to your club.
Social Media/Communications
This was my role on committee so it’s very dear to my heart. In today’s culture, it’s becoming increasingly important to manage your social media and communications well. You’ll be looking after internal (within the club) and external (the rest of the world) communications. Internally, you’ll be making sure the people in the club to connect to each other and make sure important announcements get out. Externally, you’re thinking of how you present the club to the university and the world by making sure you have positive interactions with them through all your avenues. Making flyers, cover photos, designs and Facebook groups/events are also up your alley!
Good skills to have: problem solving, creative thinking, communication
Activities/Events
The activities officer is (surprisingly) in charge of organising events. What you’ll be doing is focusing on thinking of events to run and then actually running them. This role overlaps with a lot of the other roles as you’ll be making events on Facebook, advertising, organising and interacting with the people in your club. The benefits of having a dedicated activities officer include taking a lot of the load off of the other members of the team. Organising an event is hard work and takes up a lot of time and so for a bigger club, it might not be viable for the president, vice president etc. to put together a really great event. The activities officer is a fun and exciting role since you’ll get a big say in things like balls, parties and fundraisers!
Good skills to have: creativity, organisation, thinking outside the box!
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That’s all I have for today! Of course, these are just the typical roles that you’ll find commonly in university clubs and societies. It’s a better idea to think about what your club needs and base your roles off that, rather than what roles other clubs have. Some committees will have dedicated merchandise reps, sports coordinators and a variety of other things! There is no set rule for committee makeup.
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