The SYP Committee

Posted on December 10, 2007 in Uncategorized

With Christmas pending and another year drawing to a close, I’m looking forward to a new year in the SYP calendar. Every January, the London and Oxford Committees hold their AGMs to decide who will take up the committee positions for the following twelve months. With the Constitution stating that one can only be a committee member for three years, it is time for some of us to sadly depart. However, as always, I’m sure there’ll be a fresh new batch of members who want to get more involved and help those committee members staying on in taking the SYP onto bigger and better things in 2008. For all of you interested, here’s a lowdown of the main London committee positions.

Chair – The Constitution states that the Chair’s position can only been be taken by a person who has been on the committee the previous year. The Chair’s role is really one of leadership. In addition to co-ordinating the London committee (which can be twenty-strong) – leading the monthly committee meetings, the Chair must also be on hand to deal with any queries from members further afar and the Oxford and Scottish committees. They’re really the face of the SYP (you’re very lucky in that you see Doug Wallace’s in every issue of InPrint in his ‘Chair’s Column’!), holding positions on the BTBS Panel and LCC’s advisory committee. One of the main priorities for the 2008 Chair will be organising the annual career conference in November, to be held in London.

Vice Chair – My position this year – a role supporting the Chair, obviously. Doug and I had certain areas for which we took responsibility at the start of the year, but it’s swings and roundabouts as to who does what when, given work commitments and how the Chair and Vice Chair want to work together.

Membership Secretary – The Membership Secretary is the first contact new members have with the SYP, and so a very important role. They handle new memberships, deal with queries and process the careers’ conference delegates. The ever-growing amount of SYP members is centralised in the database maintained and updated by the Membership Secretary, based in London. A rewarding job as they are their efforts directly benefit every member.

Secretary – Organising the committee meetings in terms of sending out the agenda and writing the minutes, and playing a key role in communication between the committee members, the Secretary needs to be someone organised and friendly.

Treasurer – A job with a lot of responsibility, the Treasurer must keep a track on the ins and outs of the finances and endeavour to keep the SYP solvent

Press and Marketing Officer – As the scale of the SYP’s events gets bigger and its presence in the publishing industry grows, this position is integral to everything that the SYP does. Keeping the members up to date with what the SYP is doing, as well as other events that may be of interest to and promotions and discounts available to members through the fortnightly press email and links with the trade press, the Press and Marketing Officer must be committed to promoting a strong awareness of the identity and activities of the SYP.

Jobs Co-ordinator – Members’ feedback tells us that the weekly jobs bulletins are one of the things they most value, and it’s hardly surprising – with so many inside links into the majority of publishing houses, the Jobs Co-ordinator is able to advertise jobs from all areas of the industry often before they appear in the trade press. Encouraging more companies and recruitment agencies to use the SYP’s free service is also part of the position.

Speaker Meeting Co-ordinator – A great position for making contacts, the Speaker Meeting Co-ordinator finds and liases with speakers on various topics throughout the year, as well as dealing with the various venues at which we hold these monthly meetings.

InPrint team – the InPrint team consists of the Editor (who commissions the content and manages the schedule and the team), the Production Manager (who designs and typesets the content, and deals with the printers) and an editorial team of proofreaders. Now a bi-monthly publication, InPrint has grown both in size and style over the last few years and there is more than enough work in editorial and design if you want to practise your skills in either.

Website team – Including the Web Developer (who develops and maintains the technical side of the website – involves HTML coding), the Web Editor (who takes care of the content on the main website) and the InPrint Online Editor (who commissions additional content to the magazine and places the paper content online), this team requires those with technical skills as well as editorial.

Social Secretary – The Social Secretary has the hard task of organising the social events the SYP holds – does what it says on the tin really. They need to be approachable and fun-loving, but will be busy as the SYP takes its social events extremely seriously and likes to put on a full programme!

Sound like a lot of work? Well don’t be put off. Committee members are usually required to attend one committee meeting a month, as well as the monthly speaker meetings and any social events. But of course, it’s not always going to be possible for everyone to attend everything – people have jobs and a life! And in return for the work that you put in, you’ll have gained some experience in your chosen role, giving yourself a few extra CV brownie points, met some great friends and made some important contacts for your future. I’d also like to point out that the roles are quite fluid and open. For example, people have shared positions in the past, or created new roles depending on what the committee needs.

So, that’s the London committee for you. The AGM is on Wednesday 16 January; keep an eye on the website and the press emails for further details. In the meantime, if you want to know more about any of the positions, feel free to contact me at clairemshanahan@yahoo.co.uk or the Chair, Doug, on chair@thesyp.org.uk. Should you wish to get more involved in the Oxford committee or the newly-launched Scottish SYP (based in Edinburgh), please contact Clare Caruana or Amy Mitchell. All information and contact details are available on http://www.thesyp.org.uk.

Please note that it’s not necessary to live in one of the cities mentioned (although a great advantage), as some of the positions can be carried out remotely.

Lastly, I’d like to say a massive thank you to all the committee members of 2007, in London, Oxford and Edinburgh, as well as all of those who have helped the SYP along the way this year.