After a comprehensive student review of our democratic structures, your elected representative structure is changing this year. For the first time you have the opportunity to be the Lead Representative for your school in a paid, part time role that you can do alongside your studies. 

Context for the new Student Leadership Roles

At South Bank Students’ Union we want to ensure that you have the best representation possible to make sure your experience is centred in all of our work. In pursuit of this goal and after a number of years of low voter turnout in our elections, last year we ran a comprehensive review of our democratic representative structures to find out if the current model was working for our students and you told us that it wasn’t. 

This year, the model of having 4 Sabbatical Officer roles, which are elected, paid, full-time, one-year positions (President and Vice-Presidents), and Part-Time Officer roles, which are elected, unpaid, voluntary roles that students hold alongside their studies - is out. 

You told us that the traditional model of working to represent students as a Sabb after you’ve finished your degree or volunteering alongside your studies doesn’t work for our students. You told us instead that you identify with your schools, that work should be paid and that you want the opportunity to represent your fellow students while you are a student yourself, so this is the model we’ve created and are launching this year. If you want to find out more detail about the review, check out this article. 

Be the first paid Lead Rep for your School or College

This year you have the chance to be elected as the first Lead Representative for your school and get paid to do this vital work alongside your studies. In this role you’ll work with Course Reps in your school and the SU President to respond to and support student voice and feedback. You’ll have the opportunity to create community with your Course Reps and create real change at LSBU through detailed insight gathering and campaigning with your team. 

You’ll receive in depth training for the role and you’ll work supported throughout the year by the SU Team as a staff member. Not only will you have the chance to build community and run campaigns with your schools’ Course Reps, but you’ll also get to be a part of lots of big cross organisation projects run by the SU to maximise your impact in the role. 

The SU is a small team of people committed to disrupting inequality in HE, constantly learning and providing the best possible opportunities for our students and staff. Check out this testimony from Juleda, one of our current student staff members about working at the SU: 

“Working as an Assistant Advisor Assistant at the London South Bank University Student Union has been an incredible journey. This role has allowed me to grow both professionally and personally, while directly supporting my fellow students. I’ve gained valuable skills in communication, problem solving, and teamwork, all while contributing to a welcoming and supportive environment.  

It has been rewarding to see the impact of our work on the student community, and I’d encourage anyone looking for flexible, fulfilling, and skill-building opportunities to consider joining the Student Union team. It is more than just a job, it is a chance to make a difference!”

The role will be 10 hours per week and you will be elected by students in your school to represent them in the next academic year starting in July 2025. 

To be eligible for this role you will need to run in the elections happening in April 2025. Elections are a great opportunity to learn skills you wouldn’t otherwise access at university. 

To run you must apply by filling in the application form, attend candidate training and provide a list of any students who would like to campaign for you during the week of the elections to the SU. During the election you’ll need to convince the students of your school to vote for you as their Lead Representative but don’t worry - we’ll provide you with campaign training ahead of the election. 

Applications for the roles are open now and close on the 21st of March at 12pm - check out this page to read the full handbook and fill in the Application form then or contact the SU team at elections@lsbsu.org for a chat!