Role & Responsibility of Council Members

All officers and members of Council should:

Carry out their designated duties diligently, including updating information on the website
Comply with the Bye Laws, Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Society
Treat colleagues with respect, maintain appropriate communication and work as a team

Exec Committee
comprising the Principal Officers:
President, Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and Chair of Ac & Ac

The Principal Officers will work together and with Council and its subcommittees.
The committee meets as and when required (e-mail, tele-conferencing or face to face)
Supports and advises individual Principal Officers in their work
Make executive decisions that do not warrant consulting Council; such decisions taken will be reported to Council
Major decisions will involve consulting Council by e-mail if it will not wait until the next Council meeting

Each Principal Officer has prime responsibility in defined areas:

President
Role: to take an overview and lend his/her experience whenever appropriate and requested.
Duties:

Chair the AGM
Represent the position of the Society with outside agencies where necessary.
Perform or delegate the appraisal of the National Secretary
Mediate in internal difficulties

Chair
Role: to chair Council meetings (where he/she has a right to express his/her opinion on Council matters)
Duties:

Take an active part in strategy and planning of the Society’s activities and development
Facilitate Council team work
Discuss and agree agenda drawn up by Hon Sec for Council meetings
Represent Society position where appropriate
Address the Council meetings and the AGM

Hon Sec
Role: to contribute to Society development with a major role in organisation and delivery of Society business.
Duties:

Line manager for National Secretary
Responsible for the operation and administration of the Society; specifically National Office and the membership database
Clearing responsibility for membership applications – will refer unusual cases to Ac & Ac
Handle or oversee correspondence and enquiries
Prepare papers for Council meetings and the AGM
Organise the venue for Council meetings
Report to Council and to AGM

Hon Treasurer
Role: to be responsible for financial probity and budgeting for the national Society
Duties:

Preparation of annual accounts
Ensure compliance with charitable status and company registration requirements
Verify and approve all expense claims
Present financial report to Council and AGM
Handle funding requests
Oversee the collection of membership fees and the distribution of capitation to the Branches
Make recommendation to Council about the level of membership fees (usually at autumn Council meeting), ensuring compliance with direct debit rules
Pay the National Secretary for work done and oversee National Office expenditure
Report to Council and to AGM

Academic & Accreditation Committee (Ac & Ac)
Role: to maintain academic standards; supervise accreditation procedures and the referral list
Duties:

Ensure training courses cover the core curriculum (documents and observers)
Review core curriculum from time to time
Advise on membership eligibility issues
Approve requests for diploma conversions
Advise Council on all academic matters
Receive briefs from Council and report back to Council

Chair of Ac & Ac
Duties:

Chair the Ac & Ac meetings
Provide reports to Council and to the AGM
Make recommendations to Council
Implement the decisions of the Ac & Ac Committee
Circulate information to the Committee members e.g. by e-mail
Bring membership queries to the Committee for consideration
Respond to external enquiries
Oversee the maintenance of the Referral List
Check that applicants for Accreditation have fulfilled the criteria
Maintain the list of Assessors and arrange any continuing training
Review applications for accreditation and allocate to appropriate assessors

Communications Officer:
This role has yet to be developed
Role: to deal with media matters on behalf of the Society; to raise the profile of BSCAH and to disseminate information regarding training
Duties:

To give first line response to media enquiries and to deal with or re-direct these as appropriate
To endeavour to be proactive and to encourage other members to be as pro-active as possible in writing articles, cases etc for publication

ESH/ISH Representative:
Role: To be responsible for keeping BSCAH informed of all relevant information and developments pertaining to ESH and ISH.
Duties

To attend all relevant meetings in order to represent BSCAH and to act in BSCAH's best interests as agreed in advance with the BSCAH Council. (In the event of issues arising at CoR meetings where it is not possible to discuss in advance, to take a responsible view)
To ensure BSCAH has a voice and vote in all relevant matters.

In return, representatives should receive financial support where appropriate, e.g. travel expenses, membership fees and congress fees.

Newsletter Editor
Role: to edit and prepare the newsletter for printing and arrange for its distribution
Duties:

Encourage and collate contributions
Write the editorial
Liaise with the National Secretary
Prepare the print master in a suitable format for printing
Send to National Secretary by designated deadline dates; otherwise arrange printing and distribution
Report to Council and AGM

Web master
Role: To maintain the website in a current status
Duties:

Teach designated others how to maintain and update certain pages
Remain a resource for designated others
Upload material as and when requested by council
Ensure the website is functioning correctly at all times
Provide a link to the web designers (Consort Design)
Report to Council meetings and AGM

Branch Secretaries / Representatives:
Role: to support their Branch as locally agreed
Duties:

produce their Branch report for Council and for the AGM
submit income and expenditure accounts to National Office
maintain their respective web site pages with guidance from the web master

Ethical Officer:
Role: Handle issues pertaining to ethical matters and code of conduct on behalf of Council
Duties:

Receive enquiries, correspondence, and requests on ethical matters and respond
Handle complaints about members and convene a Committee as and when required for individual cases
Maintain confidentiality according to the nature of the case.
Keep Chair of Council informed regarding significant matters.
Deal with minor or informal matters on an ad hoc discretionary basis, being ready to share with colleagues if necessary.
Carry out tasks requested by Council or AGM
Report to Council meetings and AGM

National Secretary:
Role: to support the Society in his/her given role
Duties: as determined in the Job Description