Council Positions

To see where you fit in, take a look at the following Council positions.

If you would like to become a member of the council, fill out our nominations form.

President

Responsible for all operations of the chapter, the President should be enthusiastic, energetic, responsive and good at solving problems and resolving disputes. The President should also be gracious and a good listener. The preferred candidate has experience in human resource and financial management and has a proven aptitude for public speaking. The President has served on other Council positions.

The President chairs Council meetings, assigns duties to other Council members, makes program suggestions, writes newsletter articles, submits chapter activity reports to the STC Director-Sponsor, provides advice and support for other Council members and intervenes or mediates when necessary. Planning for the next Council year takes place during the summer, when the President leads the Council in establishing goals for the upcoming year. (Approx. 10-20 hrs/month).

Vice-President

Supports the President in administrative duties, maintains a special awareness of all chapter operations and confers frequently with the President. The Vice-President assumes the duties of the President when the President is unavailable. The preferred candidate has served on other Council positions and has a good understanding of the chapters operations.

The Vice-President represents the chapter at general meetings, social events and program events, leads special projects, volunteers on committees, and supports and mentors other portfolio managers, when necessary. (Approx. 10-15 hrs/month)

Treasurer

Manages the chapter budget and chapter bank accounts. The preferred candidate has bookkeeping experience and knowledge of a bookkeeping application.

The Treasurer prepares a budget at the beginning of the chapter year, maintains a chapter chequing account, deposits funds and pays invoices promptly, prepares a monthly report of chapter income and expenditures and prepares a year-end report for STC International. (Approx. 8 hrs/month)

Secretary

Takes minutes at the Council meetings. The preferred candidate can attend all Council meetings. He/she also distributes minutes to Council members and other interested parties and writes Council meeting recaps in the Quill. At Council meetings, the Secretary keeps track of action items, motions and votes. The Secretary also inherits the previous newsletters for safekeeping. (Approx. 10 hrs/month)

Competition Manager

Manages the chapters annual Online and Publications competition. The preferred candidate is well organized and has a flexible schedule during the event.

The Competition Manager works closely with the Toronto STC chapter and STC International to organize, publicize and manage the competition. The Competition Manager solicits and organizes entries, recruits judges, manages the judging process, maintains a budget, posts results, presents awards, submits local winning entries to the STC International competition and helps to organize an awards banquet.

The Competition Manager works with the Public Relations and Program Managers to publicize and manage the event. (Approx. 24 hrs/month in fall; 15 hrs/month in spring)

Competition Committee

Five to six committee members assist the Competition Manager with assigned tasks. Committee roles include: Awards Day Coordinator, Certificate Coordinator, Judge Recruiting Coordinator, Judges' Training Day Coordinator, Entry Receiver/Cataloguer, Judge Packaging Coordinator, and Mailout Coordinator.

Education Manager

Manages the chapters annual workshop(s) or seminar(s). The preferred candidate possesses excellent organizational skills and has a flexible schedule during the event. The Education Manager conducts surveys or uses previous member feedback to determine an appropriate topic, speaker, venue and date. As chapter host for the speaker, the Education Manager schedules the speaker, gathers speaker biographical data, develops an agenda and publicizes the event. He/she also maintains a workshop budget, manages registrations and books a venue and services.

The Education Manager works with the Public Relations Manager to publicize the event. (Approx. 20 hrs/month, over a 3-month period)

Education Committee

Two to three committee members assist the Education Manager with assigned tasks before and during the event. Committee roles include: Workshop Treasurer and Workshop Public Relations.

Email List Administrator

Maintains chapter email lists. He/she makes list updates, pursues bad email addresses and forwards mail on request. (Approx. 2 hrs/month)

Employment Manager

Publicizes employment opportunities for members on the chapters website. Where possible, he/she matches job openings with qualified applicants. The preferred candidate has some experience in the technical communications industry, has been part of a hiring and/or recruiting process and is trustworthy and professional. The Employment Manager also collects job seekers information, provides career counselling, attends job fairs and assists employers with postings on the website.

The Employment Manager works with the Public Relations Manager to increase public awareness about our profession and the chapter. (Approx. 8 hrs/month)

Membership Manager

Recruits new members and maintains member information. He/she greets new members at meetings and, through email, fields membership questions, maintains member contact information jointly with STC International, produces a yearly membership directory, and contacts non-renewing members and potential new members.

The Membership Manager works with the meeting greeter and the rest of the Council to ensure new members and potential new members feel welcome and have access to the information they need. (Approx. 5-8 hrs/month)

Newsletter Editor

Produces the chapters 8-9 newsletter issues. The preferred candidate has some newsletter design and editing experience, as well as a flexible schedule near publication time.

The Newsletter Editor establishes submission deadlines and issue themes, coordinates articles with contributors, edits and formats content, publishes a PDF version, and continuously collects information from a variety of STC and other sources. (Approx. 15 hrs/issue, with 8-9 issues per year)

Newsletter Committee

Four to five committee members contribute and edit articles and assist the Newsletter Editor with reproduction and distribution of the newsletter. Committee roles include: Copyeditor, Mailer/Emailer, Print Coordinator, Advertising Manager, Special Contributor (puzzles, jokes, etc.), Contributing Writer.

Program Manager

Plans, schedules and coordinates general chapter meetings and special events. The preferred candidate has a proven aptitude for public speaking and is well organized.

The Program Manager contacts all potential speakers and secures biographical data, maintains future speaker and topic lists, surveys members for topic preferences, presents evaluation feedback to the Council, liaises with the Toronto chapter Program Manager and publishes program information on the website and in the Quill. Some of the general meeting responsibilities include arranging speaker gifts and door prizes, booking meeting rooms and hosting a pre-meeting dinner. There are 8 general meetings planned for next year.

The Program Manager works closely with the President and Public Relations Manager. (Approx. 10 hrs/month)

Program Committee

Four to five committee members help the Program Manager plan for and execute each meeting. Committee roles include: Hospitality, Key Master, Meeting Facilitator, Program Public Relations, Program Development.

Public Relations Manager

Increases public awareness of our profession, our chapter and the Society. The preferred candidate has a marketing or public relations background.

The Public Relations Manager produces and distributes general meeting posters, press releases and announcements to advertise general meetings, cultivates new public relations media channels, fields new member inquiries, establishes liaisons with chapters and branches of other communication organizations, provides promotional material for special events and publishes information on the web. (Approx. 5-10 hrs/month)

The Public Relations Manager works with the following portfolios: Program, Scholarship and Education to develop promotional materials for events; Employment Manager to support job fairs and other events; and Academic and Student Liaisons, to distribute materials and promote presence at local academic institutions.

Public Relations Committee

Two to three committee members assist the Public Relations Manager with assigned tasks. Committee roles include: Business Liaison, Special Events.

Student Awards Manager

Manages the annual memorial university student awards. He/she sets student award criteria and guidelines, designs the application form, develops a publicity plan, fields student inquiries, arranges judging and distributes and announces awards. This individual works with the Public Relations Manager. (Approx. 3 hrs/month)

Student Awards Committee

Two to three committee members assist the Student Awards Manager with assigned tasks. Committee roles include: School Liaison, Promotions and Advertising.

Volunteer Coordinator

Arranges volunteer services for the community and the chapter. He/she establishes relationships with local non-profit organizations that require newsletters, posters, brochures, reports, etc., establishes a pool of potential volunteers for Council activities and non-profit work, and matches jobs to volunteers.

The Volunteer Coordinator works with the Membership Manager to approach new members who want to build their portfolios and with the Public Relations Manager, to promote our chapters services. (Approx. 2 hrs/month)

Webmaster

Oversees all web work. The candidate has a proven background in web authoring and graphics production. The Webmaster maintains a budget for ISP-related charges, monitors the work of remote authors (Employment, Program and Public Relations), updates pages on request and tests all pages. (Approx. 4-10 hrs/month)

Web Committee

Two to three committee members assist the Webmaster with regular updates and testing. These committee members may also belong to the Public Relations Committee. Committee roles include: Graphic Artist, Content Writers, Content Editors and Special Projects.

Consultants and Independent Contractors SIG Coordinator (CIC SIG)

The CIC SIG Coordinator is responsible for creating and maintaining this chapter-level special interest group. He/she maintains SIG membership information and arranges and chairs meetings, chats or discussion groups. (Approx. 2 hrs/month)

DITA Single-Sourcing SIG Coordinator

Maintains SIG membership information, arranges and chairs meetings, chats or discussion groups. He/she maintains SIG membership information and moderates chats or discussion groups. (Approx. 2 hrs/month)

Management SIG Coordinator

Online SIG Coordinator

Is responsible for creating and maintaining this chapter-level special interest group. He/she maintains SIG membership information and moderates chats or discussion groups. (Approx. 2 hrs/month)

Academic Liaisons

Exchange information between the academic institution and the chapter. Preferred candidates include faculty members from the local universities and colleges. Academic Liaisons publicize the chapters programs and events to students and fellow faculty members and volunteer their time in chapter activities and planning. This individual works with the Scholarship Manager and Public Relations Manager. (Approx. 2 hrs/month)

Student Liaisons

Publicize the chapter's programs and events at the school that they attend. Student liaisons use student connections to promote the chapter and its benefits for students. (Approx. 1 hr/month)