Role of Secretary

The Secretary plays a critical role in the strategic decision-making regarding EACD policies and practices, through proper management and communication, and by utilization of important records. The Secretary ensures compliance with the constitution, rules and regulations for any meeting, negotiation or action that the EACD is involved in.

The Secretary is elected by the EACD members during the Annual General Meeting for a term of three years, with the possibility of one renewal.

The Secretary is part of the EACD General Management Committee (GMC) and has wide-ranging responsibilities, requiring much more than simply being present at all GMC meetings. The Secretary participates in GMC Meetings as a voting member. The Secretary provides items for the agenda as appropriate. In the absence of the Chairperson (and prospective Chairperson, if the position exists), the Secretary calls the meeting to order.

The Secretary is an active conduit for communication by giving proper notice of any meetings and timely distribution of materials such as agendas and meeting minutes. Additionally, the Secretary should be knowledgeable of the organization’s records and related materials, providing advice and resources to the GMC on topics such as policy and governance issues, amendments to the constitution, and the like.

The Secretary is also part of the EACD Executive Committee, together with the Chairperson and Treasurer. As such, the Secretary works closely together with the Chairperson and Treasurer regarding all strategic EACD issues. The Secretary is also responsible to coordinate the discussions regarding strategic issues with other GMC members

Responsibilities and Duties

The EACD Secretary is responsible for:

• Maintaining accurate documentation, and ensuring that accurate minutes of meetings are taken, approved and stored. (See ‘Requirements of minutes’ for more information)
• Proposing future strategic policies and practices when appropriate (in cooperation with the Executive Committee)
• The supervision of EACD staff members.
• Ensuring membership records are maintained and updated, and ensuring these records are available when required for reports, meetings, etc.
• Ensuring timely and accurate responses are provided to all queries received from individuals or organisations.
• Managing the general correspondence of the GMC except for such correspondence assigned to others.
• Providing support and policy information to Annual Meeting organisers and Presidents of Annual Meetings to ensure compliance with EACD regulations, goals and fiscal discipline.

The Secretary is the custodian of the organization’s records. The Secretary may be designated by the GMC and/or Executive Committee as one of the signing officers for certain documents. In this capacity, the Secretary may be authorized or required to sign or countersign checks, correspondence, applications, reports, contracts or other documents on behalf of the EACD organisation.

The Secretary is the first point of contact for queries from individuals or organisations. In addition, the Secretary has the duty to ensure that appropriate contracts and documents are signed/dated and available to ensure that the limit of EACD's financial and other obligations are clearly stated and agreed. This is applicable to Annual Meeting organisers and any other individual or organisation with whom EACD is entering into a financial contract.

Accountability

The Secretary is accountable to the GMC and/or the EACD Members (via the Annual General Meeting). The Secretary is accountable for the stated duties and responsibilities; however, it is not necessarily the Secretary who carries out the activity. That is, a number of these responsibilities may be delegated to staff, GMC members, sub-committees, or others including experts retained for a specific purpose.