ESA Council and Office Bearers are elected at the Annual General Meeting (with the exception of the Past President) and hold their position for a one year term. Office bearers are entitled to a year of complementary membership for each year successfully served on Council.

If you are interested in nominating to a position on the ESA Council, the following answers to Frequently Asked Questions may be of interest.

Executive Council Frequently Asked Questions

President

What kind of skills do I need to be a President?
patience; mediation skills of Kofi Anan; ... but seriously...

Sound knowledge of Committee/Board chairmanship roles;
Knowledge of governance procedures;
Knowledge of effective meeting practices;
Ability to layout strategic direction including financial management;
Overview of make-up of ecological disciplines in Australia;
Knowledge of science research and education funding mechanisms in Aust;
Familiarity with a cross-section of members of ESA;
Good time management skills.

How much time does the role require?
About 10-15% of my working time. That is 200 hrs in 2003 = about 1 hr per working day (5 hrs/week).This might be higher than average reflecting a lot of changes last year.

What are my main responsibilities going to be?

preside at General, Council and Executive Meetings of the Society;
provide general guidance in the formulation of policy;
act as the Society's representative in negotiations with the Australian Government and national scientific bodies;
normally deliver a Presidential Address at the Annual General Meeting of the Society or the Society's Annual Conference;
normally select a Gold medal winner at intervals of no more than one per year;
be directly responsible for actions associated with paid employees of the Society including: recruitment processes, signing employment contracts, directing the day-to-day activities of employees, and conducting reviews of performance and reward as stipulated in employment contracts;
ensure that all positions on Council are filled and that elected Councillors are aware of their responsibilities to the Society in holding such positions, and do conscientiously fulfil their commitment to the Society in such positions.

To contact the current ESA President, email: President at ecolsoc.org.au

President-Elect

This position commenced in 2004, and currently has no further information.
To contact the current President-Elect, email: Pres_elect at ecolsoc.org.au

Hon Secretary

What kind of skills do I need to be a Secretary?

Reasonable communication skills.
Ability to use email and word processor.
Patience is an asset when it comes to doing the minutes of meetings.

How much time does the role require?

Difficult to assess. Probably about 2 hours a week averaged out but the work comes in blocks. This includes time spent attending the planning day and AGM.

What are my main responsibilities going to be?

Scheduling council meetings, organising agendas participating in meetings and doing the minutes.
Attending executive meetings.
Attending AGM and doing the minutes.
Screening and distributing ESA post mail.
Attend the planning day
Other minor administrative tasks eg. interview panels

Hon Treasurer

What kind of skills do I need to be a Treasurer?

SHOULD BE A CAPITALIST (OR AT LEAST BE PREPARED TO THINK LIKE ONE).
HAVE AN INTEREST IN FINANCES.
BE ORGANISED

How much time does the role require?

THE LAST SIX MONTHS ITS BEEN 2 HOURS/WEEK. I THINK 2 HOURS/WEEK IS WHAT IT SHOULD BE IN FUTURE, WITH OCCASIONAL TIMES WHERE YOU'LL SPEND 10 HOURS/WEEK.

3. What are my main responsibilities going to be?

MANAGING FINANCES.
DECIDING ON INVESTMENT OF FUNDS
WORKING WITH EXEC. OFFICER ON THE BUDGET & THE AUDITS.
ATTENDING EXECUTIVE MEETINGS, COUNCIL MEETINGS & THE PLANNING DAY (MEETINGS ARE PROBABLY THE BIGGEST TIME REQUIREMENT).

Treasurer at ecolsoc.org.au

Vice-Presidents
3 different portfolios- Student grant; Communications portfolio; Position Papers

What kind of skills do I need to be a Vice President?

Some knowledge of how EcolSoc works.
Broad knowledge of people within ESA [so you can ensure a good mix on the committees].
Knowledge of postgraduate research courses, to evaluate research grants effectively.

How much time does the role require?

It is not a continual contribution, however, there is concentrated efforts three times a year inorganising applications, committees, dissemination of monies and collection of reports.

What are my main responsibilities going to be?

Participate in the support of the President with the other VPs. Various responsibilities are attached to each Vice-President portfolio: Student research grant; Communications portfolio; Position Papers.

VP1 at ecolsoc.org.au ; VP2 at ecolsoc.org.au; VP3 at ecolsoc.org.au

Hon Bulletin Editor

What kind of skills do I need to be a Bulletin Editor?

Need to be well organised, good at deadlines, able to chase people for contributions. You need a good working knowledge of Word, and the ability to proofread (or the ability to coerce someone else into doing it).

How much time does the role require?

About one week's solid work to put it together, plus time to e.mail people asking for contributions, sending reminders etc. Plus you are a member of the Society's council, and are expected to attend phone meetings, ESA planning days etc.

What are my main responsibilities going to be?

Compiling and editing the Society's Bulletin – this involves:

making sure lists, contact details etc inside covers are current
soliciting articles and contributions from other members, especially the executive and regional councillors.
summarizing information from various sources for inclusion
compiling meetings list
inserting advertising material
publishing material required by Executive
furnishing to the Executive a statement of expenditure
arranging distribution of Bulletin and Membership List
proofreading
liaising with printers
preparing Membership List and arrange publication

bulletin at ecolsoc.org.au

Regional Councillors

What skills do I need to be a Regional Councillor?

Good time management
Able to communicate effectively with other scientists, notably to spur interest in others so that they contribute to regional events and ESA Bulletin contributions
Awareness of the broad demographic spectrum of ecologists and the broader range of ecological disciplines studied between them
Interest in promoting ecology and the ESA

How much time does the role require?

About 1-2 days spread over each 3 months (for organising the Bulletin and attending council meetings)
About 0.5 days per 3 months for other ESA correspondence with state members (eg. promoting events, seminars etc.)
More time would be required for event organising

What are my main responsibilities going to be?

Collating, editing and submitting bulletin entries for your region
Email correspondence for ESA and ecology promotion
Organising regional events to increase interaction between regional members
Attending council meetings (mostly phone hook-ups plus one meeting in person per year, usually coinciding with the ESA conference)

Office Bearers

Conference Coordinator

To read more about what is involved in organising or coordinating an ESA conference, view the briefing paper available here. PDF (38.8KB) Word document (130KB)

conference at ecolsoc.org.au