Election Overview 

Our OBA Chapter committees are dedicated volunteers who are the driving force in their region to encourage reciprocal, lifelong relationships between Saïd Business School and alumni. The Oxford Business Alumni (OBA) Chapters stand proudly at the centre of our 17,000 strong alumni community. Over the past two years (2015-17), Chapter membership has grown by over 50% - a direct result of the energy and dedication of our Chapter leaders! OBA Chapters are the School’s recognised regional representatives, providing essential peer to peer connection points in cities with a concentration of 50 or more alumni.  

The 2018 Chapter elections open on 17 January 2018. If you are a supreme networker, event organiser or enthusiastic fundraiser, and want to give back to the School, why not nominate yourself for a committee position? Read on to find out how you can get involved, either by nominating yourself for a Chapter position, or ensuring you are eligible to vote to have your say in the future leadership of your local Chapter.

About the OBA Chapter committee elections

The OBA Chapter committee elections are designed to generate interest in, awareness of, and membership to, the Chapters through a global campaign. A two-year term of office allows different alumni to take leadership roles, provides a succession plan and allows the committee to welcome new membership and ideas. These chapter committee elections allow interested and motivated OBA network members to self-nominate for a committee position and become an integral part of the future direction of the OBA Chapter network. 

The elections are administered by the Electoral Reform Service (ERS).  Voting closed on Wednesday 7 March (23:59) Results for contested elections will be live on the ERS website on Monday 12 March.  The Oxford Saïd Alumni Relations Office will distribute the outcomes detailing the final results for 21 Chapters on Tuesday 13 March.

Eligibility

Eligible alumni who have nominated themselves for a position on an OBA Chapter committee are from one of the following groups:

  • All postgraduate Saïd Business School degree and diploma programme alumni members who have joined the OBA Network (e.g. MBA, EMBA, MFE, MLF MMPM, MSc Research, Dphil)
  • Undergraduate Saïd Business School alumni of the OBA Network 
  • Executive Education alumni who have pro-actively joined the OBA Network
  • Oxonians who have pro-actively joined the OBA network
  • OBA alumni must reside in the Chapter region for which they wish to nominate themselves.
  • They must have an Oxford Saïd alumni seconder for their nomination.

NB: Students are not eligible to stand or vote in these elections

What is the job description?

The elections are not for a particular position, but for a place on the OBA Chapter committee. A minimum of three seats are available for each committee and where there is a higher concentration of alumni, this is reflected in the number of seats available.

Once the committee is elected, the expectation is that the committee positions such as President, Vice President Treasurer, Communications Officer, Events Officer, Secretary, will be democratically assigned based on the individuals' skills, interests, and time commitment.

We recommend that when voting in your region, please consider the desirable qualities in a committee member. Possibilities include (but are not limited to):

  • A strong personal network of alumni and/or business leaders
  • Previous volunteer experience with the School or another organisation
  • A desire to further the School’s reputation and raise its global profile adn assist in identifying fundraising opportunities
  • Strong relationships with members of the School’s faculty and/or Alumni Relations team
  • Experience or interest in serving as an ambassador for an organisation
  • An open and diplomatic approach to managing regional alumni requests
  • An experience of project management and/or event management

Interested alumni should also have a clear sense of the time they have available to commit to a role on the Chapter committee.  You can read more about the Chapter group role, committee positions and guidelines here.

What do I need to self-nominate for an OBA Chapter committee position?

Oxford Saïd alumni and Oxonians with an interest in business can self-nominate for a position on a Chapter committee once they have activated their OBA Network account and are resident in a region in which a chapter election is being run. You will need to have registered your OBA account before the nomination deadline (Tuesday 6 February 2018 23:59 (GMT)) in order to be eligible to run for election - please be aware it can take up to three days to verify your OBA account.

Each nomination will require the following:

  • A registered OBA account and membership of the relevant Chapter
  • Candidate details including alumni number and residential address
  • A seconder (an Oxford Saïd alumnus/a)
  • An election statement of not more than 250 words (Guidelines for writing an election statement)
  • A recent portrait photo
  • A public LinkedIn profile weblink (required)

Details of how to nominate will be sent to you once they are live on 17 January 2018.  Nominations will closed on 6 February 2018 23:59 (GMT)

Timeline

Nominations open  17 January 2018
Nominations close  6 February @23:59 (GMT)
Voting opens  19 February 2018
Voting closes  7 March @23.59 (GMT)

 

Existing committees will finish their term on 31 December 2017* and we expect to welcome the new OBA Chapter committees on or around the first week of April 2018, once they have democratically allocated the appropriate committee positions based on the individuals' skills, interests, and time commitment.
*Three members of the exsisting London Chapter committee will retain their positions to continue to provide succession continutity in the OBA Network's largest area. 

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 If you have further questions about the process, timeline and the number of seats available for each OBA Chapter committee please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions section on the right-hand side menu.

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Interested in taking on a Chapter leadership role? Our OBA Chapter committees are dedicated volunteers who are the driving force in their region to encourage reciprocal, lifelong relationships between Oxford Saïd and alumni. These chapter committee elections allow interested, motivated OBA network members to self-nominate for a committee position and become an integral part of the future direction of the OBA Chapter network.