VP Finance and Membership is an officer role which is part of the Student Leadership Team. This role focuses on Open SU as a membership organisation, ensuring student views are embedded into decision making at all levels.
A key aspect of the role is being a Trustee on our board and taking an interest in our organisational finances, risk and strategic work.
Average number of hours: This is a voluntary role which requires on average five hours a week, though at times this may be more or less depending on the time of year – for example: for quarterly Trustee meetings, there will be papers to read and the meeting is generally 3–4 hours long.
Meeting expectations: Trustee meetings and Finance Resource and Risk Committee meetings both take place within the working week, and are both quarterly meetings.
Attendance at face-to-face meetings: Sometimes. This role can be completed hybrid. There are some face-to-face meetings in Milton Keynes where attendance would be required a couple of times a year.
Location: You will need to live in the UK or continental Europe to apply for this role.
DBS required? Yes
Term length: 2 years from 1 August 2026 – 31 July 2028.
What is the Student Leadership Team?
The Student Leadership Team (SLT) is a group of elected students who work together to improve the experience of Open University students. When you run in an Open SU election, you are standing to join this team. The President and Deputy President are paid full-time roles, while all other roles are voluntary.
How the Student Leadership Team work together
The Student Leadership Team (SLT) is made up of two teams: Elected Officers and Elected Representatives.
As VP Finance and Membership, you are part of the Officer team. 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 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
- Reviews applications for extended membership alongside the Chief Executive.
- Takes an interest in financial matters under discussion at the Open SU and Board of Trustees, considering the financial impact of all decisions and ideas.
- Is a Trustee for the Open SU, as well as being a member of the Finance, Resources and Risk Committee, a sub-committee of the Board of Trustees.
- Leads the Rules Revision Convention every four years (next due in 2029) – an opportunity for student members to participate in a review of the Articles of Association.
- Is the student representative involved in any funding negotiations or business case submissions to the University.
- Supports the planning of the biennial Membership Conference.
- Takes an interest in our commercial activity and ensures that we remain focused on this activity, providing a benefit to our members and funding our core objectives as a Charity.
- Is invited to join OUSET as a trustee. OUSET is the OU Students Educational Trust, a charity which supports students experiencing financial hardship. This role involves working with other Trustees in an online forum to consider and decide on applications from students for OUSET funding.
Key skills and attributes
You will need to possess, or be prepared to develop rapidly, the following:
- An understanding or interest in learning about finance issues.
- Attention to detail – always looking for ways to take complex information and deliver it in a manner which students can understand and that is relevant.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
- Commitment to develop further skills and knowledge appropriate to the role.
- A willingness to be involved in content creation for a range of platforms – social media, video, podcast, news articles – in order to inform and support students.
- A broad understanding of what the Open SU do.
Training and support will be available to the elected candidate.
Example of meetings attended by VP Finance and Membership
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 VP Finance and Membership 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Finance, Resource and Risk Committee – This occurs four times per year. It is a committee focused on a deeper dive into the Open SU’s financial and risk position.
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)
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)