WISDOM AKOMANYI

SECRETARY

It is important to note that although the Secretary ensures that these responsibilities are met, much of the work may be delegated to paid staff or volunteers.

Given these responsibilities, the Secretary often acts as an information and reference point for the Chair and other committee members: clarifying past practice and decisions; confirming legal requirements; and retrieving relevant documentation.

Defining the role in your organisation 

What this means in practice depends on the style and size of the organisation:

Where there are no paid staff members...

...the Secretary themselves will carry out all these duties and may also take a greater role in the day-to-day administration of the organisation.  This can become a time-consuming role.  Some management committees have more than one person with formal responsibility for secretarial tasks (e.g. a Minutes Secretary, Correspondence Secretary and Membership Secretary).  Others delegate some of the administrative responsibilities to volunteers outside of the management committee to reduce the burden.

Where there are paid staff members...

 ...many activities can be delegated (e.g. record keeping, taking minutes, filing correspondence, communication of activities etc).  The Secretary then ensures that their responsibilities are met, but will have less involvement in actually carrying them out.

Each Management Committee will have its own way of doing things, and the way in which work is shared out can also depend on the skills, interests or amount of time that a person has to offer.  Always ensure that the role description for your Secretary matches the current dynamics of your organisation. (see links below or click here for more on developing role descriptions).

VICKY BRANDY QUAYSON

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

A director of communications is responsible for handling a company's public image, serving as a representative. Given the nature of the job, traveling, coordinating events, and making presentations should be expected.
Essential Information
Communications directors, often called public relations directors, oversee communications within a company or organization, and they also represent their employer to the public. The job typically requires a bachelor's degree in an area of business or communications as well as strong writing and public speaking skills. Work experience in communications or public relations is another common requirement.

ANTHONY CUDJOE

ORGANIZER

Group organizers -- whether in the workplace or the nonprofit sector -- describe the project and make assignments according to team members’ interests and expertise. A group organizer responsible for delegating work to team members in a work environment also should be familiar with employees’ performance to judge whether they will be an asset to the team or a liability other team members will have to carry.

Oversight

Throughout every stage of the project, group organizers monitor progress and provide ongoing direction and guidance. They are responsible for determining whether the team is achieving milestones on its way to reaching the overall goal. If the team is off-center, a group organizer restructures the team and, if necessary, reassigns specific tasks and duties. In this role, a group organizer fulfills a project management role to ensure the likelihood that the team will finish its project within budget, on time and produce excellent results for a finished project.