Every club and society is unique in your needs and your requirements for committee roles may vary group to group.
Committee roles and what to expect
It is compulsory for all student groups to have a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Health & Safety Officer and a Communities Officer. Besides these roles, it is up to your group to decide which other roles can be incorporated into your committee so that it best supports the day-to-day operations and needs of your group (e.g. Events Officer, Publicity Officer, First Year Representative etc.).
Role descriptions
Please see the document below for a detailed description of each compulsory role and other roles that we recommend you incorporate into your committee.
Download descriptions
Committee training
Being a student group committee member is great way to equip yourself with personal development skills, make life-long friendships and to enhance your employability.
To ensure you get the most out of your time as a committee member, we offer training and resources that will help you to understand what is expected from your role and to support you in developing skills such as leadership, communication, finance, teamworking, event planning and management, admin, marketing and many more.
By undertaking this training, you will also understand the best practices you should undertake as part of your role and how to verbalise the skills you have gained from your experience as a committee member.
Courses and guidance
Below are the committee training courses that we offer. Each course is tailored for specific committee roles, but they can still be applicable to all committee members. By undertaking the courses that are relevant to your role and any additional courses that sparks your interest, you will gain the confidence to successfully lead your club/society in your role.
Please also refer to these courses if you are not sure about anything throughout the academic year! In the case that you cannot find the guidance you are looking for, please visit us at the UEASU Office in Union House where a member of the Activities Team can support you in person. Alternatively, you can also email union.opportunities@uea.ac.uk with any queries.
| Type of training |
Training content |
Who's it for? |
Access |
| Finance 101 |
- Expense 365 (or alternative app)
- Refunds and timeframes
- Purchasing, invoices, and credit card payments
- Fundraising, credit card readers (booking, accounts and returns), JustGiving and Charity law
- Grants and how to apply
- Fuel claims / petrol
- UEA(SU) sponsorships guide and UEA+Sport sponsorships guide (Approval, agreements, invoicing, and value of sponsorship)
|
Presidents, Vice Presidents, Treasurers
|
View on Canva |
| Membership Management |
- Membership Price Setting and Payment
- Importance of Memberships – Purpose, Values, Fairness, Safety
- Minimum Membership Requirements
- Membership Types (Associate, U18, Half-Year, etc.)
- Refunds (also see Finance 101 Training)
- Code of Conduct – Membership removal
- Membership deadlines
- Elections – How to run an internal election
- Lockers & Storage
|
Presidents, Vice Presidents, Treasurers
|
View on Canva |
| Event & Activity Planning |
- Event and Trip Payments
- Event / Activity Approval and Timeframes
- Room Bookings (UEA vs. SU spaces, risk management, what to do if you can't access a building)
- LCR / Waterfront / Dorothy’s bookings
- Guest Speakers and Speaker Management
- Risk Management for Events, including Guest Speakers, Trips, and Socials
- Booking Transport, Fuel Claims, and Provider Recommendations
- Safe Event Management (including alcohol consumption, spiking, and responsible event planning)
- Socials / types of socials
- Alcohol / drug safety
|
Health & Safety Officers, Event Officers, Presidents, Vice Presidents
|
View on Canva |
| Conflict Resolution & Code of Conduct |
- Conflict Resolution – Resolving problems vs. removing problems
- Complaints – How to manage them, SU Code of Conduct, UEA Sport, University complaints / discipline procedures
- Reporting Issues in SU Spaces (i.e., handling complaints, working with the Safe Zone)
- Member and Committee Member Removal
- Accountability – Individual and Committee Responsibilities
- Mediation and Reporting of Issues
- Managing group chats
- How to run a Committee Meeting
|
All Committee Members
|
View on Canva |
| Welfare, Safeguarding & Risk Management |
- Safeguarding Training – Reporting, Student Leader Responsibilities, Signposting
- Mental Health Awareness
- Welfare/Community Officer Responsibilities
- Risk Assessments (for events and activities)
- Accident, Incident, and Near Miss Reporting
- U18's and Safeguarding
- Report and Support, University Wellbeing Services, Safezone
- National support resources
- Breaking the stigma (including male MH)
- Alcohol / drug safety
- Under 18’s policy and safeguarding
|
Presidents, Vice Presidents, Health & Safety Officers, Community Officers
|
View on Canva |
| Equity, Diversity & Inclusion / Widening Participation Awareness |
- EDI Principles and Understanding Equity
- Focus on Gender, Race, Disability, International, PG / Mature Students / protected characteristics
- The Importance of Inclusive Language and Behaviour
- How to Create Inclusive Events and Socials
- Non-alcoholic socials section
|
Presidents, Vice Presidents, Publicity Officers, Community Officers
|
View on Canva |
| Website & Social Media Management |
- Admin Tools (how to use them)
- Admin Rights (how different roles interact with website permissions)
- Updating Website Pages: Adding committee info, events, and contact details
- Creating Events
- Creating Products (for memberships or events)
- Sending Messages / Messaging Admin
- Generating Members List / Other Reports
- Social Media Etiquette and Content Creation (Canva, inclusive language, appropriate content)
- Tagging the SU, Promoting Campaigns, and Using Socials Effectively
- Account Management (autoreplies, checking DMs regularly, handling complaints)
- Keeping to sponsorship agreements (i.e. socials tags)
|
Publicity Officers, Event Officers, Presidents, Vice Presidents
|
View on Canva |
How to run your own internal elections
Each year your SU runs mass committee elections during March and May for clubs and societies to elect new committee members for the following year.
Outside of these two election rounds, there may be scenarios where you may decide mid-year that your club or society wants to elect a new committee member. This could be the case if:
- One of your existing committee members drops out of university or resigns from their position
- One or more committee positions remains vacant after the March and May rounds
- You decide to create a new committee position that would benefit your club or society
In any of these cases, you are permitted to run your own internal elections. For more details and rules on running a legitimate internal election, download our guidance document.
Download guidance
Committee handovers
A handover refers to when the outgoing committee passes on crucial information to the new incoming committee. This can include email addresses, social media accounts, passwords, contract information for sponsors and existing external contracts, locker/storage information, room booking information, tips and advice and more.
To ensure a smooth transition between the two committees, the SU requires all societies to complete a handover document. This is only for societies as UEA Sport arranges handover with clubs.
Societies handovers
This document should be completed by the outgoing committee during May/June after the May round of elections takes place.
In addition to this, we also recommend that you organise a Handover Meeting where members of the outgoing committee and incoming committee meet to share knowledge and discuss the upcoming academic year for your club/society.
Handovers guidance