CER Secretary
As the Officer who is the primary communications facilitator within CER, the Secretary is crucial to the smooth running of an Assembly of the Continental European Region (CER). This involves activities before, during and after CER meetings.
The Secretary works with the Steering Committee to determine what business requires discussion at the Assembly and what requires a decision by the Steering Committee, and is responsible for consulting with and assisting the Chairperson in setting the meeting agenda. The Secretary helps ensure that notice of the meeting is given, that suitable accommodation is arranged and confirmed, and that copies of the agenda are prepared. He or she circulates to all members the agenda, minutes of the previous meeting, and any documents to be discussed at the meeting, making sure that reports or information requested at the previous meeting are available.
The Secretary takes the minutes of CER and Steering Committee meetings. This includes recording the key points and all decisions and proposals, as well as the name of the person(s) responsible for carrying them out. The minutes ought to include clear action points and a record of who is present.
The Secretary will convey and record apologies received from those absent, and read the minutes of the previous meeting. If approved, he or she will post them on the AA fileshare.
The Secretary will report on action or matters arising from the previous minutes, read any important correspondence that has been received, ensure that the Chairperson is supplied with all necessary information for items on the agenda, and remind the Chairperson if an item has been overlooked.
After a CER or Steering Committee meeting, the Secretary will prepare a draft of the minutes and consult the Chairperson for approval. The Secretary will also contact the relevant person(s) as a reminder of each decision requiring action.
The Secretary will promptly send all correspondence as decided by the full Assembly or Steering Committee.
The Secretary will maintain and update the confidential electronic CER General Assembly list for the purpose of distributing all official and approved CER announcements and documents, as described in
the CER Digest of Decisions (June 2016 decision).
The Secretary will maintain and update the CER Digest of Decisions.
The Secretary will also take on the responsibility of ensuring that the RECLO and the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) are provided the pertinent details for keeping the CER website current and up-to-date with regard to essential CER service information and will, if deemed appropriate by the RECLO and ECC, assist in those updates.
The CER Secretary usually responds to emails within 48 hours.
