Additional information can be found in the UTSC Bylaws. Nominations for the elected positions will open during the February or May meeting.
Officer and Chair positions are excellent opportunities for leadership positions in Staff Council, and they can lead to new doors being opened. But they take a fair amount of time commitment and easy access to email. If needed, please talk with your supervisor before taking on additional duties.
Elected Officer positions:
- Chair
- Vice Chair
- Recording Secretary
- Parliamentarian
Appointed Standing Committee Chair positions:
- Communications Chair
- Issues and Research Committee Chair
- Nominations and Elections Chair
- Resources Committee Chair
Chair (elected Officer position)
Monthly time commitment: 15-20 hours in slow months, 40+ hours in busy months (May, June, July, August)
Work as a complementary team with the Vice Chair. Divide duties up according to your relative strengths and weaknesses. For example, if the Chair is better at political stuff and the Vice Chair is better at organizing, let the Vice Chair organize the meetings and let the Chair do the talking at meetings.
Responsibilities include:
- Act as liaison to the Office of the President
- Serve as primary media relations person
- Assist filling campus-wide committee positions
- Appoint (with the assistance of other officers) chairs for the standing committee positions (Communications, Issues, Resources, Elections)
- Regularly communicate with Representatives
- Occasionally communicate with campus at-large (~11,000 staff members)
- Act as principle steering official of the Council, lead general meetings and ExComm meetings
- Meet regularly with executive leadership at the university (President, CFO, AVP of HR, etc.) and ensure they are aware of issues effecting staff
- Speak publicly on behalf of staff in awards ceremonies, UT remembers, and other events as needed
- Coordinate annual retreat for representatives
- Other duties as required
Qualities desired:
- Minimum of 1 year as a Representative
- Strong desire for advocacy on behalf of staff
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Professional demeanor
- Leadership and facilitation skills
- Ready access to email
- Strong computer skills
- Knowledge of university's inner workings, awareness of departments/groups on campus and their leadership
Vice Chair (elected Officer position)
Monthly time commitment: 10-15 hours in slow months, 40+ hours in busy months (May, July, August)
Assist and fill in for the UTSC Chair as needed. Divide duties up according to your relative strengths and weaknesses. For example, if the Chair is better at political stuff and the Vice Chair is better at organizing, let the Vice Chair organize the meetings and let the Chair do the talking at meetings.
Responsibilities include:
- Serve as overseer of all subcommittees in Staff Council, including getting regular updates from them and ensuring chairs are doing what they're supposed to be doing (meeting regularly, fulfilling their assigned tasks for the benefit of UTSC, etc.)
- Call special meetings with subcommittees as needed to get them back on track
- Create distribution lists for subcommittee members
- Create annual survey for reps or campus that helps UTSC gather data for project ideas
- Provide regular updates during the general meetings (public speaking)
- Serve as representative of UTSC officers during executive level meetings
- Assist and fill in for the UTSC Chair as needed
Qualities desired:
- Minimum of 1 year as a Representative
- Strong desire for advocacy on behalf of staff
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Professional demeanor
- Leadership and facilitation skills
- Ready access to email
- Basic computer skills
- Knowledge of university's inner workings preferred
Recording Secretary (elected Officer position)
Monthly time commitment: 10 hours, +2 hours in February, March, August, and September
Responsibilities include:
- Arrive early and take minutes for general sessions and Executive Committee meetings
- Send minutes to Executive Committee for review within 1 week of meeting
- Distribute minutes from general session to Representatives within 2 weeks of meeting
- Post minutes on website
- Record attendance for general and Executive Committee meetings
- Generate reports of unexcused absences and work with Nominations and Elections Chair for follow-up
- Maintain records related to the position
- Attend monthly meetings with UT Austin President, Associate VP of HR, and other high level officials
- Serve as interim Chair/Vice Chair if a vacancy occurs mid-term
Qualities desired:
- Minimum of 1 year as a Representative
- Accuracy and impartiality while taking minutes
- Timely turnaround of minutes
- Ready access to email
- Basic computer skills
- Professional demeanor
Parliamentarian (elected Officer position)
Monthly time commitment: 5-10 hours
Responsibilities include:
- Attend general sessions and Executive Committee meetings and ensure they follow the Staff Council bylaws and Rosenberg’s Rules of Order
- Provide the Executive Committee and Chair with advice or explanations, as related to historical information, Staff Council precedent, bylaws, and/or Rosenberg’s Rules of Order
- Serve as timekeeper during meetings as needed
- Lead a committee to assist with making changes to bylaws
- Assist with orientation of new members, officers, and committee chairs
- Assist Issues chair and Communications chair as needed
- Assist choosing At-Large Representatives as vacancies occur
- Attend monthly meetings with UT Austin President, Associate VP of HR, and other high level officials
Qualities desired:
- Minimum of 1 year as a Representative
- Accuracy and impartiality while giving advice
- Ready access to email
- Organizational skills and attention to detail
- Professional demeanor
Issues and Research Committee Chair (appointed position)
Monthly time commitment: 10-20 hours
Responsibilities include:
- Attend general sessions and Executive Committee meetings
- Serve as primary contact for Issues email account, which takes in general questions relating to Staff Council and assists unrepresented districts, and work to solve the issue or question
- Respond to issues within 1 business day, even if you don’t have an answer or solution
- Escalate issues to Chair and/or Ex Comm, as needed
- Report to Ex Comm types of issues submitted each month
- Assist Chair in assigning issues to committees for research and recommendations, as needed
- Track issue proposals and their status
- Maintain records related to the position
Qualities desired:
- Ready access to email
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Openness and responsiveness to ideas and feedback
- Problem-solving ability and persistence
- Interpersonal skills
Resources Committee Chair (appointed position)
Monthly time commitment: 10 hours
Responsibilities include:
- Attend general sessions and Executive Committee meetings
- Coordinate with Nominations Chair and send welcome email to new members
- Lead at least 3 New Member Orientations
- Lead or coordinate Regroup training sessions, as needed
- Order badges for new Representatives, plaques for outgoing officers, and certificates for outgoing Representatives
- Inform members of tools they have to assist in their job as Representative, such as the wiki, website, Regroup, UT Box, and more
- Serve as the official source of UTSC historical information, including maintaining archival records
- Reserve rooms for general and Executive Committee meetings, ensuring webcasting is available
- Coordinate the holiday feast
- Send thank you notes to guest speakers
- Serve as assistant Recording Secretary, as needed
Qualities desired:
- Ready access to email
- Organizational skills and attention to detail
- Presentation/public speaking skills preferred
- Interpersonal skills
Nominations and Elections Chair (appointed position)
Monthly time commitment: 2-5 hours during slow months; 15+ during busy months (February, April, September)
Responsibilities include:
- Attend general sessions and Executive Committee meetings
- Communicate with districts about upcoming elections (regular, mid-term, and officer) and vacancies
- Understand the rules relating to eligibility, nominations, voting, and certification of elections
- Select panel of vote counters to assist during regular and mid-term elections
- Work with Recording Secretary to follow up on representative absences
- Update email Ex Comm webpage with names and emails of newly elected officers and committee chairs
- Maintain records related to the position
Qualities desired:
- Ready access to email
- Organizational skills and attention to detail
- Basic computer skills
Communications Chair (appointed position)
Monthly time commitment: 10 hours
Responsibilities include:
- Attend general sessions and Executive Committee meetings
- Create “executive summary” of general meetings within 1 week of meeting for Executive Committee review
- Assist Recording Secretary as needed with minutes
- Lead committee who is responsible for maintaining the UTSC website, wiki, and social media
- Monitor webcast tool and social media sites during general meetings for incoming questions
- Maintain records related to the position
- Assist Chair in drafting email that details previous meeting summary and tentative agenda for general meeting
- Assist Chair during general meetings with getting microphones to audience members with questions
Qualities desired:
- Ready access to email
- Above average computer skills
- Excellent written communication skills
- Website maintenance experience, social media experience a plus
