Committee or management teams tend to work best with clear and defined roles. The simplest way to do this is to have a role description for each position on the committee or management team. It means whoever is in the role understands what their job is and what they are responsible for, helps all members to understand what everyone does and can be invaluable if an occasional territorial disputes crops up.
If your group is a charity it is important to understand that in the vast majority of cases all committee members are trustees for the charity and are therefore responsible and liable for the running of the charity. You can find out more about the roles and responsibilities in our Trustees Handbook or in the Charity commission guidance.
We have provided example role descriptions for the most common committee roles for a music group below. They should give you an idea of the types of things to think about and be a useful starting point. All groups are different though and you may find you want to include some extra points, remove some points, or that some tasks fall under different roles.
Contents:
- Chair
- Vice Chair
- Treasurer
- Secretary
- Membership Secretary
- Librarian
- Publicity/Press Officer/Team
- Concert Manager or Concert Secretary
- General Committee Member
- Musical Director
- Sponsorship/Partnership Manager
- Fundraising Manager
- Recruitment Manager
- Voice/Section Reps
- Making Music Group Rep
Chair
General
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as a committee member on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
- Work with committee to plan the strategic direction of the group
- Oversee and manage the implementation of the group’s strategy
- Take responsibility for the actions of the group
Committee
- Oversee the activities of other committee members
- Delegate duties / allocate tasks when appropriate
- Chair all committee meetings if possible, or otherwise nominate one of the other officers to do so
- Have the casting vote at committee meetings where this is required or necessary
Governance
- Chair the AGM, or otherwise nominate one of the other officers to do so
- Ensure that the constitution is upheld at all times by the group
- Ensure that the organisation acts within the limits of the law
- Advise the committee and the membership on procedure in accordance with the constitution and the law
- Be the main signatory on behalf of the group on all official documents
- Be a signatory on the bank account
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Vice Chair
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as a committee member on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
- Assist the Chair with their role
- Assume the Chair’s responsibilities when the Chair is unavailable/absent
- Be a signatory on the bank account
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Treasurer
General
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as a committee member on behalf of the group
- Work with committee to plan the financial strategy of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
Financial planning
- Oversee and implement the financial strategy of the group
- Chair the finance subcommittee
- Oversee the financial wellbeing of the group
- Assist other committee members in planning budgets for their area of responsibility
- Present the accounts to the committee on a quarterly basis
- Present the accounts to the membership on an annual basis
- Prepare budget forecasts for scrutiny by the committee
Financial administration
- Receive subscriptions from the membership and pursue missing monies when necessary
- Prepare invoices for monies due if necessary
- Pay all invoices promptly
- Make all payments in accordance with agreed procedures
- Maintain the bank account on behalf of the group
- Record all income and expenditure for the group and maintain cash flow
- Maintain appropriate evidence such as receipts and invoices
- Process the Gift Aid claim on an annual basis
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Related resources:
Secretary
General
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as an officer on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
Committee
- Take minutes of all committee meetings and circulate them accordingly, or otherwise nominate an appropriate deputy to do so
- Arrange committee meetings as agreed by the committee and notify the committee of dates, locations, agendas
- Prepare and issue agendas for meetings in conjunction with the Chair
- Maintain a record of the minutes of all committee meetings and general meetings
Administrative
- Hold the group’s copies of the constitution
- Advise and assist the Chair on matters of procedure and governance
- Main correspondent for the organisation
- Maintain the group’s e-mail account and respond to all messages as appropriate
- Keep the membership informed of the committee’s activities and circulate relevant information accordingly
- Remind members of rehearsals and concert details as appropriate
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the committee
Membership Secretary
General
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as a committee member on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
Membership Administration
- Keep the membership records up to date and communicate these to the Chair and Treasurer on a quarterly basis
- Keep registers of attendance
- Maintain the list of players for concerts and book deputies where necessary
- Manage the audition process
- Issue welcome packs to and oversee the welcoming of new members
- Assist the Treasurer in the collection of subscriptions
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Librarian
General
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as a committee member on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
Librarian duties
- Assist the Treasurer and Musical Director in planning repertoire within an appropriate budget
- Source and order appropriate numbers of copies of the music for the group
- Maintain and manage the group’s own music library
- Issue music to members at rehearsals and concerts
- Look after spare or unused music
- Co-ordinate the collection of music after a concert
- Return all music to the correct place and in a suitable condition
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Related resource:
Publicity/Press Officer/Team
General
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as an officer on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
- Work with committee to plan the marketing strategy for the group
Marketing
- Oversee and implement the marketing plan and strategy for membership and concerts
- Generate new ideas for publicity
- Chair the publicity/marketing sub committee
- Manage the production of publicity material for performances:
- Co -ordinate the distribution of publicity for performances
- Sell advertising space for concert programmes where appropriate
- Look after any banners, A-boards or other publicity materials
Promoting the group and concerts
- Maintain and co-ordinate the audience mailing list
- Publish concert listings on relevant websites
- Promote the group within the local community
- Develop and maintain good relationships with local newspapers, radio and other media
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Website/online profile
- Maintain the group’s website with up-to-date information
- Maintain the group’s presence on the internet (eg Facebook, Flickr etc)
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Related resources:
Concert Manager or Concert Secretary
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as a committee member on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
Before the concert
- Find and book appropriate concert venues
- Be the main point of contact for the venue regarding bookings
- Be the main point of contact for anyone connected to the concert – soloists, suppliers ,
- Find volunteers to help with the running of the event (box office, interval refreshments etc)
- Contribute information for concert programmes
On the day of the concert
- Oversee the management and smooth running of all performance days
- Be Main point of contact for members, volunteers and guest players
- Ensure that all equipment required is at the venue in good time for concert day preparations and is assembled and dismantled appropriately in line with health and safety requirements
- Ensure that all technical requirements are smoothly managed
- Oversea the running of the front of house
- Ensure soloists are looked after
- Obtain gifts for soloists, conductors and guest players and arrange for their presentation
- Be available on the day to deal with last-minute issues
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Related resource:
Amateur Music – Professional Events: a how-to guide for being an event-managing master
General Committee Member
General
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as a committee member on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
- Represent the views of the membership to the committee
- Ensure that an appropriate cross-section of the group is represented at committee level
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Musical Director
Whilst the MD is often not a committee member we have included a role description here to establish areas of responsibility which are distinct from the committee’s responsibilities.
- Work with the committee to plan and manage the musical direction and strategy of the group
- Meet with the committee and advise on musical matters
- Work with the committee to plan and schedule appropriate repertoire within the allocated budget
- Draw up appropriate rehearsal schedules
- Take rehearsals, coach and conduct performers
- Conduct the group in performances
- Conduct auditions where appropriate
- Assist the librarian in obtaining music
- Assist the concerts manager in fixing players
Related resource:
Template contract for a Music Director
Other roles:
Below are brief details of some other committee roles. They have some cross over with the main roles listed above and are often incorporated into them. It can be useful (number permitting) to separate out some tasks into defined roles like the ones below. This can provide focus and time for the specific tasks, as well as lessening the work load of some of the more well established committee roles.
Sponsorship/Partnership Manager
General
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as a committee member on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
Sponsorship
- Work with the committee to develop a sponsorship /partnership strategy
- Oversee and implement sponsorship /partnership strategy
- Identify and approach potential partner organisations
- Manage relationship with sponsors and partners
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Fundraising Manager
General
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as a committee member on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
Fundraising
- Work with the treasurer to develop a fundraising strategy
- Work with the committee to implement the fundraising strategy
- Identify potential funders (trusts, local funders etc.)
- Prepare and manage funding applications
- Liaise with treasurer to ensure accurate accounting of successful funding bids
- Work with other committee members as appropriate to monitor, assess and report on funded projects/activities
- Identify and generate ideas for potential fundraising activities, events and opportunities
- Work with other committee members to plan fundraising events and activities
- Encourage group member participation in fundraising events and activities
- Oversee requests for donations at events and activities – including Gift Aid declarations
- Work with the treasurer to manage and process any fundraising and donation income
- Work with the treasurer to increase existing, and identify new, earned income streams
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Recruitment Manager
General
- Assume the responsibilities of and act as a committee member on behalf of the group
- Attend all committee meetings if possible
- Work with other committee members and contribute to discussions and decisions to manage and advance the best interests of the group
- Represent and the promote the group and its activities in a positive and appropriate manner
Recruitment
- Work with the committee to develop a group member recruitment policy
- Work with the publicity manager/team to implement recruitment policy
- Ensure new members are welcomed into the group effectively
- Carry out any other duties that may be deemed necessary by the Committee
Voice and section reps
Many groups have a representative from each voice part or instrumental section on their committee. They are often not a committee member but attend certain meetings or parts of meetings to ensure the committee is hearing a fair representation of views from around the group.
Making Music Group Rep
We recommend that your Making Music Group Representative (MM Group Rep) is a committee member. It does not have a role on its own. A lot of groups find the secretary is a good person to also be MM Group Rep as much of the role is about communicating information about opportunities, services and resources you get as part of your Making Music membership.
Whilst we do recommend the MM Group Rep is a committee member, they do not have to be. If they are not a committee member the important thing is that they have a good line of communication with the committee and Membership. You can find out more about the role of MM Group Rep here.
We hope you find this Making Music resource useful. If you have any comments or suggestions about the guidance please contact us. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the content of this guidance is accurate and up to date, Making Music do not warrant, nor accept any liability or responsibility for the completeness or accuracy of the content, or for any loss which may arise from reliance on the information contained in it.
