The Student Leadership Team (SLT) is made up of two teams: Elected Officers and Elected Representatives.
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 being 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
- Is the University’s point of contact for matters relating to sustainability.
- Has a responsibility for ensuring effective student representation within the University on matters relating to sustainability.
- Is a student member of the University’s Sustainability Co-ordination and Sustainability Steering Group.
- Is co-chair of Open SU’s Environment and Sustainability Working Group, jointly with a member of Open SU staff.
Key skills and attributes
The post-holder will need to possess, or be prepared to develop rapidly, the following:
- A passion for sustainability within the Higher Education sector.
- The confidence to contribute to and challenge appropriately in high level committees.
- Effective communication skills and a willingness to chair meetings.
- A keenness to host events and write articles for our website and online student magazine.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Commitment to develop further skills and knowledge appropriate to the role.
- A broad understanding of Open SU and The Open University.
Training and support will be offered to any successful candidate.
Example of meetings attended by the Sustainability Representative
The nature of our SLT roles is that there are always additional Open SU and OU meetings that they will need to attend. This can include regular meetings or one-off activities. Below are some of the meetings that the Sustainability Representative 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 are chaired by the President.
- 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.
- Monthly Student Voice Forums (optional) – These meetings are an opportunity to hear about projects and initiatives taking place, providing input and feedback. They also provide an opportunity to engage with wider Student Representatives.
- Environment and Sustainability Working Group – This takes place monthly. The Sustainability Representative will co-chair this working group, which means they will contribute to setting the agenda, chairing meetings, and completing follow-up actions.
OU meetings:
- Sustainability Steering Group – This takes place quarterly. The University’s highest-level group for issues relating to sustainability.
- Sustainability Co-ordination Group – This is monthly. An OU meeting sharing updates and activities relating to sustainability.
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.
Essential role-specific information, including eligibility
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 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.
- The freedom to pause, take a break or step down from your role at any time.
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)