Alumni Advisory Council

Purpose

The ANZSOG Alumni Advisory Council is the alumni peak representative body.

The ANZSOG Alumni Advisory Council (AAC) is the alumni peak representative body. The Council represents the interests and views of a diverse alumni community and contributes to ANZSOG activities including, but not limited to alumni programs and activities, stakeholder relations and engagement, marketing and communications, program development.

The Council provides advice to the ANZSOG Dean/CEO and Executive Management Team.

The Council draws on the expertise and engagement of Alumni to ensure that this important community can influence the future direction of the School.

The Council acts as an advisory body, reporting to the ANZSOG Dean and CEO (Chief Executive Officer), and working closely with the ANZSOG Executive and Academic Management Teams via an ANZSOG representative (Engagement & Experience Deputy Director).

Objectives

To build a strong, engaged, and cohesive alumni community.

To foster appropriate, two-way communication between alumni and the ANZSOG executive and academics and between alumni and the public service.

To ensure the delivery of high quality, high value and innovative alumni programs and services.

To encourage support of ANZSOG as a demand driven agency owned by Australian and New Zealand governments.

To act as a national steering committee group for jurisdiction alumni chapters.

Membership

A member of the ANZSOG Alumni Advisory Council is selected to hold the position based on:

• demonstrated involvement, support and/or commitment to ANZSOG
• demonstrated leadership professionally and personally demonstrated skills and capabilities that add value to the Council
• commitment to the Council purpose and objectives and the values of ANZSOG.

Council members must agree to actively participate in and accept the responsibilities of Council membership. Council members will:

Advise ANZSOG management on strategically important alumni-related issues, including strategies, programs and services that benefit alumni, and propose actions to enhance the wellbeing of the alumni community.

Provide insightful input on ANZSOG directions and priorities.

Communicate the interests and concerns of alumni broadly to ANZSOG management and faculty.

Evaluate how decisions will affect/benefit both ANZSOG and alumni in the short and long- term.

Build relations between alumni, students, management and faculty, public sector departments and agencies, and engage with local alumni to build understanding of their needs and expectations.

Be visible advocates for ANZSOG and the alumni community by serving as ANZSOG’s representatives and spokespeople in the community, workplace and other professional networks.

Advise on, endorse and provide visible leadership of ANZSOG’s alumni program and engagement strategies and encourage alumni involvement in ANZSOG.

Accept leadership and participatory roles in ANZSOG’s strategic project teams, programs, activities and events as needed and work closely with staff on behalf of ANZSOG.

Remain engaged and committed to the Council during the length of their term and attend and participate in Council meetings each year and online conference calls as needed to fulfill the Council and project team commitments.

Represent the diverse views of alumni and actively seek to broaden the influence of alumni and ANZSOG.

Composition and terms

The Council is comprised of a minimum of 10 members from the Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand alumni community. An ANZSOG representative (Deputy Director Engagement & Experience and/or Engagement Coordinator) will be present at all Council meetings and act as the key liaison between ANZSOG and the Council.

One or two alumni members will be selected from each jurisdiction:

• ACT

• Commonwealth

• New South Wales

• Aotearoa New Zealand

• Northern Territory

• Queensland

• South Australia

• Tasmania

• Victoria

• Western Australia

A member of the ANZSOG Engagement & Experience team will provide secretariat support for the Council.

Council members will serve a two-year term and may apply for re-selection for one additional term. After the maximum membership time of four years, Council members must step down for at least one term before being eligible once again for Council membership. Council members will begin their term at the first Council meeting of the calendar year and end their term at the last.

The Chair will be decided by a self-nomination process and a council member vote. In the event of a tied vote, rotating Chairs may be considered. The Chair will serve a two-year term and may apply for reselection for one additional term. After the maximum membership time of four years, the Chair must step down from the position (but not necessarily from the Council). The Chair must step down for at least one year before being eligible once again for the position. An acting Chair (Deputy Chair) should be nominated to allow for a council member to fill the position in the unexpected absence of the Chair.

Where possible, Council members to direct ANZSOG staff to relevant Public Service Commission contacts to assist with succession planning/centralised EOI (Expression of Interests) submissions (in addition to open EOI process via ANZSOG comms channels).

Meetings and work program

The Council will meet four times per calendar year (default online meeting format with time to be advised). ANZSOG will fund members to attend one in-person meeting per term if this is not able to be accommodated within agency/jurisdiction budgets. Meetings each year will be via video conference. Meetings will be scheduled to ensure timely advice to ANZSOG executive meetings. The Council may meet more than four times a year should the need arise.

Council members will establish an annual work program that may require some activity in between meetings. This may include representing ANZSOG at education, advisory or research programs and events, communicating and meeting with local alumni and strategic partners.

Selection

ANZSOG will call for expressions of interest from alumni. Interested alumni will be asked to submit their CV and a one-page statement summarising how they will deliver on the membership requirements outlined above.

The Dean and CEO, Deputy Director Marketing and Communications and other key staff will review applications and oversee the selection process. The composition of the Council will ensure:

• all jurisdictions are represented

• diverse and inclusive representation (50/50 gender split, Indigenous representation, senior executive representation and alumni from recent cohorts).

• Minimum 50% of members must be currently working in public sector.

ANZSOG reserves the right not to appoint to all 20 possible council positions and to stagger initial appointments to support continuity and knowledge transfer as membership is refreshed. Feedback will be provided to all alumni nominees.