As with most things, you can make each role on the SOS Committee as simple or as complicated as you like. Most new Committee members start off by following the handover instructions left by their predecessor before gaining the confidence to make the role ‘their own’. Therefore, the role descriptions below are more like guidelines – roles can be crafted and/or split (shared) to suit.

 

CHAIR & VICE CHAIR

What the role is: The Chair and Vice Chair help keep all the plates spinning by keeping an eye on the calendar, calling meetings as required, and noting when the other Committee members have things in hand or when they might need additional help. Basically a monitoring role. They may also represent SOS at events or on external panels or committees if invited. Having a Chair and Vice Chair demonstrates good governance and gives potential partners and funders confidence in the organisation.

What the role is not: The Chair and Vice Chair do not decide what SOS should be doing and how it should be done. Most general operational decisions are made by the Committee during its monthly meetings, with bigger questions being put to the membership as a whole to vote on – usually at an AGM.

Big egos wishing to impose their ‘vision’ need not apply! Fresh ideas, submitted in a thoughtful way are always most welcome though.

Time involved: 10-20 minutes / day – In general the roles of Chair and Vice Chair could be carried out in 10-20 minutes per day depending on the time of year and would primarily involve keeping up to date with the various WhatsApp groups, but in particular the Committee WhatsApp group.

The Suffolk Open Studios Chair and Vice Chair will:

  • Monitor the SOS calendar, ensuring all Committee members have their areas of responsibility in hand and are on track to meet any deadlines.
  • Call meetings, agreeing dates and times with the other members of the Committee (usually via WhatsApp poll), sending out the agenda, minutes and Zoom links in good time. Also doing the same for the annual AGM, liaising with the membership (via the Membership Secretary) regarding the date and time.
  • Attend functions, panels or similar to which SOS as an organisation might be invited. Act as a spokesperson for the organisation if required (working in conjunction with the Press Secretary).
  • Act as additional signatories on the SOS bank account
  • Request that members submit an annual Member Survey, then analyse and present a summary report to the AGM.
  • Keep abreast of conversations that members are having in the various SOS WhatsApp groups ensuring that any concerns are addressed swiftly by the appropriate Committee member and that any new initiatives suggested are tabled for discussion.

Possible role-share:

  • One member could monitor the Calendar and WhatsApp discussions
  • One member could call meetings, prepare and send the minutes and agenda
  • Members could alternate attending external functions etc.

Skills required: The Chair and Vice Chair roles are largely concerned with light-touch monitoring and coordinating so effective use of a calendar or diary would be handy. It would be useful to have the ability to see the big picture, take an overview, think strategically and plan ahead. Also, taking a supportive, collaborative approach would be beneficial.

Support available: The roles of Chair and Vice Chair have been vacant for a few years now and the Committee members have shared the responsibilities in addition to their designated roles.

Useful personal qualities: Fairly organised and enthusiastic for the SOS mission.

 

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY

What the role is: The role of Membership Secretary is all about communication (usually by email but sometimes on the phone or by text/WhatsApp). Acts as the ‘first point of contact’ with the organisation.

What the role is not: The Membership Secretary does NOT do everything.

Time involved: 10-20 minutes / day. In general the role takes approximately 10-20 minutes per day depending on the time of year – 31st October to 31st January being the busiest times.

The Suffolk Open Studios Membership Secretary will:

  • Monitor the SOS email account admin@suffolkopenstudios.org Monday – Friday. There is an “out-of-office” response permanently switched on to inform everyone who emails SOS that their email has been received and to let them know the timeframe within which they might realistically expect to receive a reply. Messages that come in through the website’s “Contact Us” page tend to go straight to the Spam folder so this also has to be checked regularly.
  • Respond to emails relating to SOS membership e.g. artists asking how they can join – there are multiple email templates set up which not only speed up the process of replying but also ensure that correct and consistent information is provided. How much/little these are modified to add a ‘personal touch’ is up to the individual Membership Secretary.
  • Forward all other emails to the relevant Committee member e.g. “I’m a member and I can’t log in to the website!” would be forwarded to the Web Admin.
  • Prepare and send out a ‘regular’ newsletter to members (currently via Mailchimp – the frequency is up to you)  keeping them informed of the latest news information supplied by other Committee members e.g. links and deadlines for Exhibition submissions. As with emails – templates have been set up which just need to be updated for each newsletter.
  • Request, at predetermined times of the year (see SOS Calendar), that the Marketing Team (Press, Social Media) and Web Admin post information, reminders and links to membership opening and closing.
  • Notify the membership of the date and time of the AGM (plus send out the Agenda etc.) – the details are decided by the Committee as a whole not the Membership Secretary who simply communicates the Committee’s decision to the members.

Possible role-share:

  • One member could monitor the email address
  • One member could prepare and send the Members-only Newsletters

Skills required: The ability to send emails.

Support available: All Committee members have access to the SOS email account and can temporarily take over the monitoring and replying to/ forwarding of emails in the case of holiday or illness at short notice. The previous Membership Secretary will available to help out if asked.

Useful personal qualities: It helps, but is not essential, to like people.

 

ART DIRECTORY & APP COORDINATOR (ADAC)

What the role is: Mostly liaison and coordinating, with some research. The Committee as a whole decides which graphic designer is commissioned to put the SOS Art Directory together, as well as the company that will be contracted to print it. However, this usually calls for the ADAC to do a bit of research into options e.g. contacting various people to obtain quotes, lead times etc.

The ADAC also works with the Membership Secretary and the Web Admin to ensure all the necessary listing information and images have been gathered together and sent to the chosen contractor(s) as well as identifying Directory Distribution Hubs from within the membership (members volunteer to be hubs).

What the role is not: The ADAC doesn’t need to know anything about graphic design, file transfer, image or text editing, websites, maps, databases, spreadsheets printing or desktop publishing – they just need to be able to coordinate the team of ‘people that do’.

Time involved: Roughly 2 hours a week for 10 weeks between February and mid-April. Plus, attendance at regular monthly Committee meetings (1hr/month) throughout the year is desirable, but not essential. This is one of the roles where there is a short, busy time of around 2 months and then the job’s done for the year.

The SOS Art Directory and App Coordinator will:

    • Research possible options and obtain quotations from designers, printers and/or design and print companies for the production of the SOS Art Directory, which will be submitted to the Committee for a vote. There’s a lot of historic data on this exercise from previous years which could prove helpful. The number of Art Directories to be printed is decided by the Committee, partly based on the quotations obtained by the ADAC and demand from previous years.
    • Liaise with the chosen contractor(s) to place the order and agree a framework of milestones to ensure the finished Art Directory can be distributed to members and the public sometime mid-April if possible.
    • Work with the Membership Secretary and Web Admin to ensure the contractor(s) have all the information and images they need according to the timetable of milestones established, and to identify the team of member-volunteer main-hubs and sub-hubs for directory distribution.
    • Ensure that a digital draft of the Art Directory can be sent to every member (by the Membership Secretary) in time for proofreading to take place and corrections and revisions to be made.
    • Coordinate the team of Directory Distribution main- and sub-hubs and, together with the Membership Secretary, ensure members know how many directories and posters they have been allocated and from which hub they should collect them.
    • Monitor the directory production and distribution process to ensure all milestones are met in a timely fashion, liaising with the rest of the Committee to agree solutions should any problems arise.
    • Liaise with the App developer and the SOS Web Admin to ensure all necessary data and images have been transferred and any year-specific updates have been entered.

Possible role-share:

  • One member could work with the designer and printers.
  • One member could worth with the app developer.
  • One member could sort our the members’ allocations and coordinate the Directory Distribution main- and sub-hubs.

Skills required: The ADAC needs to be able to communicate clearly with contractors and fellow Committee members to make sure everyone has what they need when they need it. It’s very much a task of scheduling and communication. You don’t need to know a thing about he publishing process except that it always takes longer than you think it will!

Support available: There is a clearly established timetable laid down which can be tweaked but needs to be followed fairly closely to get everything done in time. Committee members who organised the 2025 and 2026 Art Directories will be on hand to help as much as needed, behind the scenes. A February-April wall chart with reminders, milestones and deadlines would be handy.

Useful personal qualities: Patience, common sense.