Are you thinking about your next steps after graduating? Are you looking at graduate schemes that will offer you the best training and development opportunities to kick-start your career? If so, we might be able to offer you the best, and most unique experience out there – being a Sabbatical Officer!
But what does becoming a Sabbatical Officer mean?
Being a Sabbatical Officer means working full-time at your Students’ Union, receiving amazing career-enhancing training, gaining invaluable experience, attending networking opportunities, all whilst having fun, making a real difference to lives of students, and not to mention being paid a generous salary!
So, how is becoming a Sabbatical Officer the best opportunity in comparison to graduate schemes?
- You start at the very top.
Graduate schemes are great, but the chances are you’ll start at the very bottom and need to spend a lot of time and effort to work your way to the top. However, if you become a Sabbatical Officer you start at the top!
That’s right, as a Sabbatical Officer you instantly go to the top and become the leaders of the Students’ Union. You’ll have a direct say in how the Students' Union is run and work to develop the strategic direction of our SU as a member of the Students’ Union Trustee Board.
- You’ll never get bored!
Being a Sabbatical Officer is an incredibly unique and varied role where no two days are the same!
One day you might be sitting in on high-level meetings with the Lord Mayor of Plymouth in the morning, attending a SU festival in the afternoon, and the next day working on a national campaign helping to steer the direction of Students’ Unions across the UK; it really can be that varied, and it is safe to say your CV will be full by the end!
- You will gain invaluable, transferable skills.
Whether you know the career path you would like to take or if you are still undecided, being a Sabbatical Officer gives you an incredible opportunity to experience first-hand working in areas such as business development, finance, human resources, marketing, democratic procedures, and much more!
You’ll gain skills in leadership, public speaking, conflict management, prioritisation, and how to thrive in fast-paced environments.
Essentially, you will get what you put into your time as a Sabbatical Officer, and the amount of experience and skills you can learn can grow and evolve to your needs and the directions you take within your post.
- You get to make a real difference.
Whilst it’s great to show experience and skills on your CV, something that goes beyond this and will help you stand out to employers in the future is being able to show how you made a difference.
Our Sabbatical Officer team lead the Students' Union and represent the voices of all University of Plymouth students on a national level.
This means you will be responsible for listening to student feedback, finding out what’s being done well at the University and what you think could be improved to enhance the student experience and make those changes come to fruition.
- You get paid!
The salary for a Sabbatical Officer is £23,040.
Whilst you may find other graduate schemes offering a similar pay, what we offer in terms of training and development, variety of work, and leverage and support with finding your next career step after your post comes to an end is unmatched!
So, if this sounds like the opportunity for you, here is what to do:
You will first need to nominate yourself as a candidate in the Student Elections during the nomination period for one of the four Sabbatical Officer roles: President, VP Education, VP Activities, and VP Wellbeing and Diversity.
The nomination period closes on February 5th, 2024. You will then receive more information about how to run in the Student Elections, including how to campaign for votes.
Sabbatical Officers who are elected in March 2024 will start their role on the 24th of June 2024 and their contract runs until the 1st of July the following year. This gives you the time and space to finish your course or year of study before starting your new role.
If you are concerned about any exam dates or coursework deadlines post this date, speak to our Student Voice team who will be happy to help figure out a solution to ensure you finish your degree how you want to.
Email Student Voice: studentvoice@su.plymouth.ac.uk if you have any questions regarding the Student Elections or want advice about nominating yourself.
Come along to one of our 'thinking of running?' sessions!
If you are thinking about nominating yourself as a candidate in the 2024 Student Elections but would like to know some more information and ask any questions about the role of a Sabbatical Officer or the elections process, please come along to one of our 'thinking of running?' sessions!
See our 'thinking of running' session timetable here.