You’ll work closely with the Senior Management team of the organisation and lead the SLT, taking responsibility for key areas of governance and stakeholder engagement. This role also includes responsibility for key areas within Open SU:
The Student Leadership Team (SLT) is made up of two teams: Elected Officers and Elected Representatives.
As President you lead both the SLT and the Officer teams, delegating support of the Representative team to your Deputy President. The two teams have very clear remits:
The Elected Officers
- Led by the President.
- Each officer has a specific area of responsibility e.g. EDI or Student Welfare.
- Focus on projects, campaigns, and improving student life.
- Work together to support Open SU’s strategic priorities.
- Meet monthly to collaborate on priority projects and student issues.
- Submit monthly reports and updates to the student body.
- Lead development of Open SU Policy and Position Statements, seeking input from wider SLT, representatives and the student body.
- Provide content and information for social media, news articles and campaigns.
The Elected Representatives
- Led by the Deputy President.
- Each representative has a focus area e.g. Scotland/WELS.
- Focuses on Student Voice.
- Provides accountability and scrutiny to the Elected Officer team.
- Work closely with appointed Student Representatives.
- Ensures student experiences, needs, and perspectives influence decision-making.
- Meet every 4 months to understand what is going on in the University and for students.
- Comment on and contribute to development of Open SU Policy and Position Statements.
- Provide content and information for social media, news articles and campaigns.
Members of SLT meet as a whole team three times a year to collaborate, share insights, and make decisions that affect the whole organisation. Major decisions, such as changes to governing documents or Open SU position statements, must involve both teams.
Shared responsibilities of all elected Student Leaders
As a member of the Open SU Student Leadership Team (SLT), you play a vital role in representing students, building community, and supporting the mission, vision, and values of Open SU.
You’ve been elected by students to make a difference, and here’s what that involves:
- Working as a team to support Open SU’s mission, vision, and charitable objectives.
- Living our values: Welcoming, Approachable, Bold, Adaptable and Sustainable.
- Taking part in key events: onboarding sessions, SLT meetings, and Open SU’s biennial conference.
- Communicating effectively with fellow SLT members and staff, using official spaces and email regularly.
- Collaborating with other volunteers and Student Representatives who deliver activities, services, and events for students.
- Being the public face of Open SU: raise awareness, create promotional materials, deliver presentations, and host student-facing sessions.
- Sharing your impact: submit regular reports and blogs about your role.
- Engaging with students: supporting Open SU involvement in student-facing events.
- Championing equity, diversity, and inclusion in everything you do.
- Acting openly and responsibly, and be prepared to be accountable for your actions.
- All elected representatives are expected to adhere to our Values and Behaviour Policy, Volunteer Policy and sign a Volunteer Agreement on commencement of the role.
Role specific responsibilities
- Takes the lead role in representing Open SU to external organisations and within The Open University, supported by a Deputy President.
- Is the public face of the Open SU to the student body, and is prepared to communicate with students through a range of platforms. This may include issuing statements and commenting publicly on issues.
- Leads, inspires and supports the elected Officer Team. Chairing the Student Leadership Team meetings and, with the Chief Executive, sets the agenda, informed by contributions from the broader Open SU team.
- Trustee for Open SU and acts as Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees.
- As a Trustee, is responsible for ensuring we deliver on our Open SU Strategy – has oversight of our organisational risk and financial position. The duties of Trustees can be found on the gov.uk website.
- Focused on developing and maintaining a good working relationship with key stakeholders within the University. The President is a member of the University Council, Senate and other high-level Committees where they will be required to ensure that the student voice is represented in decisions impacting students.
- Owns a portfolio of projects developed by elected members to improve the student experience. Sponsors projects to completion through championing and supporting them at board, with the Elected Officer team and with staff.
- Will supports planning for and Chair the biennial Open SU Conference in November 2026.
Key skills and attributes
The post-holder will need to possess, or be prepared to develop rapidly, the following:
- The confidence to chair meetings and make decisions with the support of the Student Leadership Team.
- Leadership, teamworking and teambuilding skills.
- Committee skills, including challenging appropriately and close reading of papers.
- Good communication skills, including readiness to speak in public and on video.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
- Ability and confidence to network and build working relationships with key stakeholders.
- Commitment to develop further skills and knowledge appropriate to the role.
- A broad understanding of the Open SU and The Open University.
Training and support will be offered to any successful candidate.
Example of meetings attended by the President
The nature of our SLT roles is that there are always additional Open SU and OU meetings that people will need to attend. This can include regular meetings or one-off activities. Below are some of the meetings that the President is required to attend as an ex-officio (mandatory) part of their role – a full handover of current meetings will be provided by the outgoing post-holder:
- Open SU Student Leadership Team Meetings – These are formal meetings where the SLT discuss Open SU business, the issues facing students, and progress against the agreed priorities for the SLT. These take place every four months and as President, you are chair.
- Monthly SLT Officer Team Meetings – These meetings provide the Officer Team the opportunity to update on the progress of their agreed projects, seek feedback from others, and raise issues that they have encountered. As President, you chair these meetings.
- Open SU Board of Trustees Meetings – The Board meet four times per year during the working week, with the need to attend occasional extra meetings to address urgent matters. The Board oversees the organisation’s governance and strategic direction.
- Representative Forums – These are meetings where our Representation Team can hear from our Student Representatives about any issues that students are experiencing, allowing the Representation Team to feed this back into the whole SLT. These take place every four months. The Deputy President is the chair of these meetings.
- OU Council – The Open University Council meets at least four times per year, usually at the Milton Keynes campus, but occasionally at one of the nation’s offices. It is the University’s executive governing body, exercising control on university affairs, including strategic planning; finance; estate management; and human resource management.
- Senate – Senate meets four times per year at the Milton Keynes campus and is the highest academic authority at The Open University. It has oversight for all matters related to teaching and learning.
- Student Engagement and Satisfaction Steering Group – The President co-chairs this with Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Students), four times a year.
Around these meetings, you will be required to prepare for the meetings by reading the papers ahead of the meeting, and being ready and willing to contribute to the discussions.
Where a meeting is scheduled to take place in person, you will be supported to attend through the provision of reasonable expenses: however, most meetings that are held in person will also have a hybrid option.
Please note – most meetings will take place during normal business hours, and you will need to attend these.
Essential role-specific information, including eligibility
This is a paid, full-time role contracted to a minimum of 37 hours per week, usually worked between 7am and 7pm with a need for flexibility to meet the requirements of the role. The role is predominantly Monday–Friday, but there is some weekend and evening work to attend meetings or events.
The post is currently remunerated at £28,031 (spinal point 18) per annum for the first year of office. An incremental raise will be due in October of the second year of the term, (currently £28,778 – spinal point 19). These salaries are based on full-time hours.
This role is remote, with the post holder working from home, with some travel required.
Travel expenses incurred on Open SU business is reimbursable by Open SU in accordance with our Expense Claims Policy.
Reimbursement of expenditure on OU business will need to be agreed with the relevant member of OU staff in advance, and claimed from the OU.
A hot desk will be provided in the Milton Keynes office and Open SU will provide appropriate equipment to enable home working. Full contractual details and a staff handbook are available on request.
To apply, you must meet the following:
Active student status
You must be a registered and active Open University student. This means you are either:
- Currently studying a module, or
- Have previously completed a module within the last two years and are registered on an OU qualification.
Eligible modules
- You must be studying Open University modules worth at least 30 credits.
- Students registered as Postgraduate Researchers or on Access modules are also eligible.
Academic progress
To support your academic success, we will not consider applications from students who have failed or not completed their three most recently started modules at the time of application. This ensures you can focus on your studies while contributing effectively to the role.
Ability to act as the public face of Open SU
Elected officers and representatives who are not charity trustees, but act as the public face of the organisation, carry significant responsibility. For this reason, all candidates are expected to meet the same eligibility standards required of charity trustees, including not being disqualified from acting as a trustee. You can read read the official UK Government guidance on the automatic disqualification rules for charity trustees.
What you can expect from Open SU
- A supportive onboarding and training process.
- Guidance and support from a dedicated staff team.
- Appreciation and recognition for the work you do.
- A non-discriminatory environment that celebrates diversity.
- Reimbursement for reasonable expenses in accordance with our Expense Claims Policy.
- A culture of personal development where you will have access to training and support to allow you to further develop skills and gain relevant qualifications.
Student Leadership Team dates for your diary
- Friday, 17 July – Sunday, 19 July 2026: in-person (Handover Weekend)
- Friday, 4 September – Sunday, 6 September 2026: in-person (Onboarding Weekend)
- Saturday, 7 November 2026: online
- Friday, 5 March – Sunday, 7 March 2027: hybrid
- Saturday, 17 July 2027: online
- Friday, 12 November – Sunday, 14 November 2027: hybrid
- Saturday, 4 March 2028: online
- Friday, 14 July – Sunday, 16 July 2028: in-person (Handover Weekend)
(all 10am–4pm for the Saturday meetings)
Trustee meeting dates for your diary
- Wednesday, 22 July 2026 (newly elected trustees will be invited to shadow the last meeting of the term)
- Wednesday, 7 October 2026
- Wednesday, 27 January 2027 (online only)
- Wednesday, 24 March 2027
- Wednesday, 16 June 2027
- Wednesday, 6 October 2027
- Wednesday, 26 January 2028
- Wednesday, 29 March 2028
- Wednesday, 14 June 2028
(all hybrid: 9:30am–12:30pm)