Election season is nearly upon us and nominations have opened for Full-Time Officer elections so I thought I’d give a bit more information about what my role actually consists of and hopefully it will encourage some of you to run!

 As with each officer, I’m a trustee of the Students’ Union, responsible for strategically leading the Students’ Union. We also all represent students to the University by sitting on a variety of committees; the Societies and Services Officer sits on:

·         Full-Time Officers/University Senior Management

·         PSMT – FTOs and University heads of Services

·         Student Affairs Committee

·         University Senate

·         Health and Safety Management Board

·         Swansea Employability Academy Management Board

·         Customer Service Excellence  group

·         Arrivals Committee

·         Costcutter Management Board

It may seem like a lot but it’s a great platform to give student input into a lot of the decisions that the University is making!

All trustees sit on a variety of internal committees including: trustees board, Personnel committee, finance and resources committee, audit committee and remuneration committee. My role in the Students’ Union is basically split into three parts: societies, Union treasurer and services.  

Societies

·         Responsible for the financial monitoring of societies spending

·         Ensure all societies have a democratically elected committee and a constitution

·         Resolve any conflicts in the committee or society

·         Encourage growth in society presence and membership

·         Sort out sponsorship deals for societies

Treasurer

As director of the Students’ Union’s trading subsidiary, I’m the officer responsible for finance in the Students’ Union. All financial payments made by every part of the Students’ Union are authorised by the Societies and Services officer; this happens almost daily with payments to be made and cheques to be signed. There is a monthly payment run to be done and of course, one not to forget, payroll. As treasurer, you are also the chair of the Finance and Resources committee and Healthy and Safety Committee in the Union.

Services

The third part of the role is all to do with giving a student voice on the services the Students’ Union runs; these are:

·         JC’s

·         Divas

·         Sin City

·         Advice and Support Centre

·         Nursery

·         Events

·         Travel Shop

·         Costcutter

·         Spar

·         The Wonky Sheep

·         Fulton Outfitters

It’s important to have a good relationship with each department’s manager and to relay information from students to them about the service they are providing and the keep them value for money.

All in all it is a highly varied role with each day being completely different to the last and such a rewarding experience to give something back to the University and to its students. If you want to know any more information, don’t hesitate to email me (societiesandservices@swansea-union.co.uk) or pop in and see me!