Board Positions
In general, the board takes every decision as a team and being on the board comes with general tasks and responsibilities that are equal for every board member. Additionally, each position comes with unique tasks and responsibilities that are handled solely by one board member.
Chair
The Chair is the face of the board and thus of the association as a whole. If SES is presented in a public setting, the Chair is responsible for the talking, welcoming members and external partners, and introducing the association to faculty staff. The Chair leads the Board Meetings, General Assemblies, and Think Tanks. For these events the Chair writes the agendas, working together with the Secretary who writes the minutes. The Chair also keeps the long-term goals, as well as the standing regulations of the association in mind. Within the board and during board meetings, the Chair takes up the role of the mediator, trying to keep all perspectives into consideration when deciding on an issue.
If you want to reach out to the Chair, feel free to send an email to chair@ses-uva.nl
Secretary
The Secretary is the administrative force behind the association because he is the one who is in charge of the official email accounts board@ses-uva.nl and info@ses-uva.nl. This means that you are the first point of contact for the members, the University, other study associations, and alongside the external, for partners as well.
As such, you will always be in close contact with not just your chair, but also the rest of the board since they all rely on you to be able to carry out their work as effectively as possible.
Additionally, as the Secretary you are in charge of the website and its maintenance, which can be a very time consuming job just by itself.
During Board Meetings, General Assemblies, and Think Tanks, it is your job to take the minutes as accurately as possible in order to keep the Transparency of the association as clear as possible.
As Secretary, you are also the Vice-Chair of the association and are expected to take over in case the chair is unable to do so.
You have to be available around the clock and very flexible when it comes to your work schedule and time management.
If you want to reach out to the Secretary, feel free to send an email to secretary@ses-uva.nl
Treasurer
The treasurer takes care of the association’s financial well-being. This means that they create an annual budget for the association at the beginning of the year, and then keep track of and approve the expenses and revenues throughout the year. The treasurer needs to be very diligent and concise in their work, since they have to record every transaction and make sure that committee- and event-specific budgets are financially sound. Simultaneously they also need to make sure that they have a general oversight of the association’s financial capacity at any given moment. In a nutshell, the treasurer’s responsibility is centred around bookkeeping – which boils down to having an eye for detail, being excel-savvy, and being consistent in their work.
At the General Assemblies, the treasurer presents the financial realisation to its members, where deviations from the budget, potential difficulties, and positive developments are explained to the members.
If you want to reach out to the Treasurer, feel free to send an email to treasurer@ses-uva.nl
Commissioner of Internal Affairs
The Commissioner of Internal Affairs' main task is to be the point of contact within the association. From including new members as much as possible to keeping up with older members.
Besides this, the internal is also available for any concerns about SES that comes from our members.
The more concrete task of the Commissioner of Internal Affairs is tacking care of all social media channels of the association. This includes Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. The Internal is supported by the Media Committee to help with designing posts and taking pictures and videos at events.
Additionally, the Internal also deals with the SES Weekly Newsletter.
If you want to reach out to the Internal, feel free to send an email to interalaffairs@ses-uva.nl
Commissioner of External Affairs
The Commissioner of External Affairs is mainly tasked with being in contact with the Association's external partners. Whereas the Internal is the main contact point from within the association, the external is the main contact point from outside the association.
Thus, the external has to be constantly on the lookout for new potential partnerships and collaborations with other associations.
Additionally, the external has to uphold the existing external relations that are already established, such as staying in contact with our borrel location or compiling the necessary booklist for Athenaeum Bookhandel for the semestral booksale, among others.
Rest assured though, the external does not have to do it all alone. The Acquisition Committee is there to help them reach out to potential new sponsors or collaborators for the association.
If you want to reach out to the External, feel free to send an email to externalaffairs@ses-uva.nl