Notices

Here, you will find announcements for upcoming deadlines and events. If there is anything that you believe would be of interest to members of the Society, please contact our webmaster, Dr Anne Hanley (a.hanley@bbk.ac.uk).

Opportunity: SSHM Executive Secretary

The Society for the Social History of Medicine invites applications for an Executive Secretary. Please note this role is on a self-employed basis, with no tax or NI liability to the Society.

The Executive Secretary provides administrative support to the Chair, Officers and Executive Committee members on an ad hoc basis equating to roughly half a day a week and invoiced on a quarterly basis at a flat rate honorarium of £625 (£2,500 per annum). During the first three months, this will be paid monthly to allow for a flexible probation period for both SSHM and the successful applicant. The workload fluctuates during the year, and candidates must be able to manage their time and to work flexibly at peak times such as AGM preparation.

In order to apply for the post, please submit a CV (no more than two pages) and maximum one-page (A4) cover letter to the SSHM Secretary Victoria Bates (victoria.bates@bristol.ac.uk) by Wednesday 11 November. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a short online interview in mid-November, with the role starting 1st December.  Informal enquiries about the role can be made to the current Executive Secretary, Patricia Skinner, at sshmexecsec@gmail.com.

Criteria for the role:

Essential

  • High level of demonstrable experience using MS Office apps, especially Excel
  • Excellent administration skills including taking of minutes, answering of email enquiries, compilation of committee papers.
  • Ability to prioritise own work to specific deadlines with minimal supervision
  • Ability to deal with enquiries and support committee members in an approachable and professional manner

Desirable

  • Knowledge of the regulatory environment in which a charity operates
  • Familiarity with/degree-level qualification in social history of medicine as a discipline / sympathies with the aims of the Society.
  • Evidence of training in GDPR
  • Elementary experience of financial accounting and report writing in a non-academic context

The candidate will need to be able to undertake the following core duties:

COMMITTEE SERVICING (supporting CHAIR and HONORARY SECRETARY)

  • collating reports, producing agendas, routine minute-taking for up to 3 Executive Committee meetings p.a. plus AGM. Assisting Honorary Secretary to produce the Annual Report for the AGM by liaising with EC members.

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS (supporting CHAIR and HONORARY SECRETARY)

  • managing Society administrative email box ‘sshmexecsec@gmail.com’ for front-end enquiries to the Society
  • directing emails to specific Officers or to OUP Membership support team if they cannot be dealt with routinely

DOCUMENTATION AND ARCHIVES (supporting CHAIR and HONORARY SECRETARY)

  • maintaining the online sharing platform for Society business, sharing folders with Officers as necessary, archiving past Society business, ensuring security and compliance with GDPR
  • creating and populating archive folders for each year as necessary

TREASURER SUPPORT

  • receiving and collating ongoing applications to the Bursary fund, checking eligibility and making awards subject to the protocols agreed with the Treasurer; notifying applicants of outcome
  • receiving and checking all claims and invoices to the Society and adding them to a spreadsheet for Treasurer to pay
  • supporting the Treasurer in the preparation of annual accounts for the AGM as required
  • supporting the Treasurer and Society Accountant in reclaiming Gift Aid on donations

CONFERENCE OFFICER SUPPORT

  • receiving and collating applications to three rounds of the Conference Support fund each year, notifying applicants of outcome and maintaining a full list of applications and outcomes for reporting purposes

In addition, the following periodic activity will be required:

SSHM WEBPAGE (supporting Web Officer)

  • routine monthly check of information and modest updating of factual info – Web Officer to direct larger-scale revamps/re-designs

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY SUPPORT

  • maintaining the Society’s GDPR-compliant account for member notifications and regularly publicising it on Society social media for members to subscribe
  • circulating notifications drafted by Officers as required, including AGM and invitations for nomination to the Executive Committee

GAZETTE EDITOR SUPPORT

  • forwarding contributions from award-holders and circulating calls for content as required by Gazette editor

ROY PORTER PRIZE SUPPORT

  • supporting the Chair of the Prize Committee in updating annual advertisement of the Prize and circulating it
  • receiving and checking eligibility of entries, notifying ineligible entrants
  • anonymising entries and collating them into a Dropbox with associated entry list for the Prize Committee
  • notifying unsuccessful entrants once winner and shortlisted entrants have been notified.

The year’s work might cluster as follows:

DecemberAdvertise Roy Porter Prize
JanuarySubmission deadline for Gazette; EC meeting
FebruaryRoy Porter essay entries to collate
MarchConference Funding Deadline 1 March
AprilEC meeting; submission deadline for Gazette
JuneConference Funding Deadline 1 June
JulyAGM; communication with Roy Porter Prize applicants; submission deadline for Gazette
OctoberConference Funding Deadline 1 October; EC Meeting; submission deadline for Gazette