Council Secretary

About the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU): The DSU represents the collective voice of over 18,000 students in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The DSU advocates for student rights, builds community on campus through events, supports over 300 societies, and provides focused services to foster a supportive and positive student experience.

Overview

As DSU Council Secretary, you will help facilitate the flow of Council, the thoughtful consideration of emerging ideas, and the democratic decision-making process. You’ll record concise and accurate meeting minutes and ensure their timely distribution as well as their proper filing. The Council Secretary plays an integral part in ensuring the Dalhousie Student Union meets its obligation to students through effective and sound governance.

The Council Secretary will develop skills in record-keeping, professional writing and communication, and governance. This position is ideal for students interested in working in the public sector, non-profit governance, secretarial professions, and/or office settings.

The Council Secretary is appointed by Council and is directly supervised by the Policy and Governance Coordinator.

Characteristics

The successful applicant for this position will have:

• Competency with Microsoft Word, e-mail, and basic computer skills

• Excellent English-language writing, reading, and listening skills

• Excellent organizational skills

• Attention to detail

• Previous experience as a minute-taker, note-taker, secretary, or other role involving quick and detailed recording of discussions an asset

• Previous involvement with the DSU or knowledge of its structures an asset

• Knowledge of EDIA principles and/or experience with EDIA frameworks an asset

Duties

The Council Secretary:

• Records concise and accurate minutes of each meeting of Council

• Prepares, edits, and distributes minutes to Council for approval

• Ensures proper filing of minutes and timely uploading to the DSU website

• Maintains an up-to-date list of Council Committees and their members

• Prepares notes of thanks, sympathy, inquiries etc. as need on behalf of the Council

This opportunity runs from May 2026 to April 2027. The rate of pay is $17.35 per hour, and hours of work amount to approximately 10 hours per month in the Fall and Winter terms and approximately 5 hours per month in the Summer term.

Please indicate in your application any previous experience you have with recording minutes or taking notes in an official capacity.

Deadline to apply: March 15, 2026 at 11:59pm

We thank all of our applicants for taking the time to apply. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

The Dalhousie Student Union welcomes the contributions that individuals from traditionally marginalized communities, as outlined under the prohibited grounds for discrimination in the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act, bring to our organization. These include racialized people; Indigenous people; women; lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender and queer people; and people with disabilities. We encourage applicants to self-identify in their application if they are a member of a marginalized community.