What is a students’ union and who is the CEO?

In a recent appraisal I was challenged to try to reflect on how the role of Chief Executive works within a Students’ Union, to demystify it for the benefit of those who might have preconceptions about it. So, I have been thinking lots about how I try to explain an unusual role and one which I feel immensely privileged to have.

YUSU is an organisation with significant complexity. The union;

• Elects, recruits and trains hundreds of academic reps and the full time sabbatical officers and the part time liberation officers and networks. 
• Runs 6 licensed venues and large and smaller scale events.
• Provides student support, advice and sexual health supplies.
• Provides grants and support for over 200 student led societies, a range of student media, over 60 sports teams and a range of student led volunteer and RAG projects.
• Facilitates student led representation and campaigning activities all of which are designed and delivered by students using elections, referenda, officer campaigns and lobbying.

The union is also an organisation of significant size. The union

• Employs over 200 people (over 70% of these students).
• Has a turnover over £4m made up of grant funds and trading income. 
• Completes an annual external audit and publishes its annual accounts.
• Runs a number of licensed premises across campus.
• Is legally responsible for the programs of student led activities (sports, societies etc.) 
• Is regulated by the Charity Commission.

This complexity and size requires a team of staff working along with the sabbatical officers, part time officers, student staff, student group chairs, academic reps and student trustees to provide some continuity, experience and expertise. Having paid for and employed staff is of course not uncommon and is the same in corporate organisation's but also in trade unions, charities, or local authorities. So the idea that staff provide the voice of continuity to empower and administrate the aspirations and decisions of students is not unusual. A little like there are civil servants or trade union staff who are not elected but appointed to provide that continuity, the students’ union does the same. In theory that frees up elected students to choose the campaigning priorities and to articulate the interests of students to the University, the press, NUS etc. while much of the central administration is handled by staff and designed to complement the elected students and trustees interests.

So who is the CEO accountable to?

The trustee board (including 8 elected students who are or have been students from York supported by 3 external volunteer trustees) oversees the work of the CEO. My appraisal is done each year by the elected president and a lay trustee. Every 2 years there is a review where all trustees feedback on my performance to help the president explore my strengths and weaknesses. An overview of the appraisal and a summary of my objectives and work go to every board meeting. I also do that on a regular one to one basis with the President, exchanging information about what I'm working on, where we are ahead or behind of plans, what the changing risks, issues and opportunities are.

What is your relationship with the University? Are you in their pocket?

I'm not managed by or accountable to the University but I do try to help provide a continuity of relationship. The University is the union's primary funder and as a result I need to maintain a degree of confidence that we are using their money responsibly, that we are compliant with the law and the charity commission and other legislative frameworks. They also respect that the CEO doesn't control campaigns and so if they wanted to talk about a new approach to rent and housing, about strikes, fees, mental health campaigns etc. they would need to engage first and foremost, with and through elected students and students. While I can assist some of those conversations there is an understanding that those conversations are led by elected students rather than the CEO.

How were you appointed? 

A panel of elected officers and trustees interviewed and assessed me and made the final decision. The University held one seat on a panel of 6 people Chaired by the President. As part of the process I also spent time with a range of other elected and employed students chatting with them about what they thought the Union might need (I remember they talked about wanting more staff support for student activities and a new SU venue as there were only 2 at that time) and chatting with staff about what they saw as the unions strengths and weaknesses (their main point back then was that we only had 0.5 advice staff and we knew the amount of case work required much more - we now have 3). The appointment committee then made a recommendation to the full trustee board and the recommendation to appoint me also went back to the full ‘officer group’ of all sabbatical officers and part time officers. That was 10 years ago!

The CEO controls every thing don't they?

I don't see my job as making all the decisions, in fact I make very few! I don't pick or choose or vote in the officer elections, I don't set campaigns or policy ideas, I don't have secret mind controlling powers for part time officers, course reps, volunteer projects, societies chairs, sport captains or student media groups. I try to empower all of those students, staff and trustees to lead, to self organise, to become confident in and of their own right. I do that by providing information and data, running or sourcing training, identifying grant funds and connecting students with others who can support their goal. Far from controlling everything I try to see my job as connecting students, officers, staff and trustees with the ideas, funding, skills, networks, resources they need to run their own activities, support their own wellbeing, strengthen their own communities and run their own campaigns.

What is your relationship with the elected sabbatical officers and trustees?

I'm certainly not sabbatical officers or trustees line manager and yet I'm also not a peer. I try to offer them support, encouragement, help them access resources, data and networks that might build their campaigns and help them in their work. I try to empower and enable them and help them consider how they can make the impact of their work wider and deeper across the student body. I try to give them information (like briefing on our accounts, legislative changes, latest research etc.) and advice (like sharing my opinions, ideas and experience) but ultimately they know I'm there to try to carry out the decisions they make for the union while helping them to run their own campaigns.

What's your relationship with students?

Some of my best days at work are when I'm working directly with students. Whether that's at ‘give it a go’ Tamil Dance Soc (yes I did!), chatting with a College Chair about a pop up event on Campus East, advising students about poor treatment by a landlord, setting up an interview for student media with a Ukrainian student, standing on the door welcoming students to our comedy festival, completing the FM broadcast licence application with University Radio York, showing a disabled student around campus or helping a student find a job. But in terms of what my relationship is with them it's merely a point of respect. The same as a CEO of a private company, trade union, local authority does not have a direct relationship with all their citizens, customers or members. It's my job to try to help all students engage with the Union whether that's in a venue, at an election, with our advice centre, at a YUSU event, through a campaign or joining a sports team, society, volunteer group or liberation network. The reality is most students don't care who I am and what I do - they just want a decent drink, a fairly paid job, good quality advice on their academic appeal, better storage for their society or help with their campaign. In terms of my relationship with elected students that is more structured. I regularly join Officer Group, drop in to societies training, write briefings or meet with academic reps and I meet weekly with the sabbatical officers. 

How does your relationship with the President differ from the other sabbatical officers?

My role does spend more time with the President than any other roles. This is partly because they are the Chair of the trustee board and my line manager so I spend more time with them listening to their agenda and trying to find the best ways to support it. They need to have confidence that I am balancing a lot of competing interests and demands and balancing the needs of students, trustees, staff and funders. Secondly, unlike some of the other officers, the President doesn't have specific portfolio staff support. So the Sport president has a number of sports staff, the Activities officer has the same and they regularly meet with those staff to talk about how to support, develop, promote and grow sports and societies at York. The Academic Officer has similar staff support in the student voice team helping with electing and training academic reps and developing academic policy. The Well-being and Community officer has an Advice Centre Manager and a Community Manager who can help them understand and use case work trends, engage with university policy on student conduct. The President doesn't really have a direct range of staff support. They obviously work closely with a wide range of staff across the organisation (as all officers do) depending on their priorities and commitments but they don't really have a point of continuity - a senior staff member who can help them navigate and influence the university, the union and external organisations. I try to provide that.

I am very privileged to have the job I do on a beautiful campus, in a brilliant City, with amazing students and a union who are working hard to be the best we can be. I care deeply about trying to offer all our students a variety of activities, venues, support and campaigns that they might engage with and also I try to ensure the union is there and thriving for future students. I believe the union does not exist to work for students but with them. I'm always keen to help students find their place in YUSU whether that's with a sports team, society, in a student job, enjoying one of our venues, as an elected rep or running a campaign they are passionate about.