Duties of Board Members
The AUUG Board is a group of nine (sometimes ten) elected AUUG members who determine the direction of the organization.
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Duties of members of the AUUG Board of Directors
The AUUG Board is a group of nine (sometimes ten) elected members who determine the direction of the organization. They are aided by the AUUG Executive Director, a paid position. The Executive Director is not a member of the board, but is present at all board meetings.
Many of the duties of the board members are defined in the constitution. This document explains in more detail what a board member can expect, and is subject to continual change. Where any discrepancy exists, the constitution overrides this document.
Members of the Board
The Board of Directors consists of four, or sometimes five, officers and five ordinary members. The officers are:
- The President. He runs the show. He ensures that the other members of the board are doing their jobs. He chairs meetings and represents AUUG to the outside world. He should expect to spend half an hour every day talking on the phone to the Executive Director, and to devote a total of several hours a week to AUUG. He prepares a quarterly report to the Board, a quarterly report for AUUGN, a report to the Annual General Meeting, and a report to the new President when one is elected. He is expected to chair board meetings and the AGM. Finally, he acts as the manager of AUUG's employees.
- The Vice-president acts as the liaison between the national Board and the Chapters. He represents the President when he is not available - including chairing meetings if the President is absent. He normally will not need to spend more than an hour a week on AUUG-related activities.
- The Secretary conducts AUUG's correspondence, with much help from the Executive Director. He organizes board meetings, including preparing the agenda and soliciting reports from other officers. He keeps minutes of board meetings. He maintains the membership list and provides the Returning Officer with details when there is a ballot. He prepares a quarterly report to the Board, a report to the Annual General Meeting, and a report to the new Secretary when one is elected. Further details are in paragraph 36 of the AUUG Constitution.
- The Treasurer maintains the accounts. He notifies the President and Secretary of any change in the location of the accounts. He receives all payments and maintains the bank accounts. He prepares a quarterly report to the Board, a report to the Annual General Meeting, and a report to the new Treasurer when one is elected. Further details are in paragraph 37 of the AUUG Constitution. He should expect to spend several hours at a stretch going over the accounts with the business manager once or twice a month. Although not a requirement, it would be very convenient if the Executive Director and Treasurer were to live in the same city.
- In addition, the board includes an Immediate Past President in years where a new president has been elected. His duties are to advise the new president and maintain continuity. This position is not directly elected and lasts for one year only.
General duties
All board members should attend all-day board meetings four times a year (usually a Saturday in February, May, August and November, though this is a matter to be decided on by the board for each individual meeting) and a fifth half-day meeting just before the annual conference. With the exception of the last full meeting and the half-day meeting before the conference, which are in the same city as the conference, the other meetings will be wherever is cheapest, and that depends on the composition of the board. Where necessary, AUUG pays the flight and accommodation to such meetings. Board members are expected to attend the annual conference, so we don't normally pay for attending that meeting, though in cases of hardship we'll usually find a way.
During the board meetings, ordinary board members are allocated tasks to perform. These could be big things (run next year's security symposium) or smaller ones (review privacy policy). On average, an ordinary board member can expect that the smaller activities will keep him active for between 2 and 8 hours per quarter, though that depends on their capacity for pain. It's up to individual board members to commit to any task; the board doesn't force people to do anything.
Other officers
In addition to the board of directors, AUUG has three more officers:
- The Returning Officer and Assistant Returning Officer are responsible for conducting the ballot. The rest of the year they don't have any particular work to do.
- The Public Officer represents AUUG to the Victorian Government (since AUUG is incorporated in Victoria). He is appointed by the board. Normally this position is held for a long period of time. The Public Officer must be a Victorian resident.