The Role of the Executive

Being a member of the Executive means accepting a set of responsibilities, that applies both part time and full time positions.

The Student Union is governed by charitable law therefore the Executive Committee members essentially represents the Union as trustees.

The Charity Commission has previously defined a trustee as:

Those persons who are in charge of running a charity. In the governing document they can be called trustees, committee members, governors, or directors; or they may be referred to by some other title. It is important to remember that being a charity trustee involves holding, managing and applying charity money and property for the benefits of others. A charity trustee cannot benefit from his or her position as trustee.
(Taken from the Charity Commission Web site 2004).

UELSU's Constitution underlies what is expected from the Executive Committee in the following article:

5.2.5 All members of the Executive shall be collectively responsible for the general running of the Union, the implementation and development of policy and the upkeep of the Union's Constitution. Sabbatical officers will be bound by the terms of their contracts of employment and associated job descriptions.

As the above states the Executive make decisions collectively. It is important that you can work as part of a team.

A model code of conduct listing all the duties of a trustee is to be found at the back of The Essential Guide to UELSU Elections. It is advisable that you read this to gain a fuller understanding of your responsibilities if elected.

Sabbatical Officers need to sign a declaration (Contract) accepting these responsibilities prior to taking office. A sample contract is also to be found at the back of the Essential Guide which is available on this website on the Nomination page.

For further details on being a trustee it is worth looking going to the following link

Charity Commission (essential trustee - what you need to know)

As well as their Essential Trustee Guide they have other useful links on what it involves being a trustee. Don't worry about memorising all of this now but it is useful to know what is expected from you if you do get elected.