Vice-President

Overview

A Vice President of RoboJackets is, in essence, a project manager of the holistic and far-reaching project that is RoboJackets. This entails ensuring the project continues to function as planned, as well as finding methods through which obstacles which might hinder the project are removed and finding methods through which the project may be made more efficient or better supported in some fashion.

Ex Officio Duties

According to the RoboJackets Constitution: "The Vice President will be the junior executive officer and will act on the behalf of the President in the event of his/her absence. The Vice President will work with project managers to ensure projects are executed as planned, and assist in presidential duties."

Those serving as the Vice President will often find the President not to be absent very often as a direct result of the temperament required of a President, and will, therefore, see fit to find themselves tasks to aid in improving the organization as a whole.

Additionally, a liberal interpretation of "act[ion] on behalf of the President in the even of his/her absence" involves accepting direct delegation of Presidential duties from the President. Unfortunately, rarely do Presidents recognize or remember this particular privilege, and, therefore, Vice Presidents should be obstinate and observant in relieving the President of tasks.

Presidential Duties in the Absence of the President

See President

Project Management

There is no one way to manage a project, but good project management strategies have a few things in common:

• Measurable, achievable goals with accountable people supporting them

• Healthy forethought around objectives

• Flexibility in the face of challenges

The job of the Vice President is to ensure Project Managers are making their plans and managing their projects according to good project management practices.

The Vice President is involved with the President and Treasurer in reviewing and accepting Project Proposals.

Information on Common Tasks

Preparation and Distribution of Core Agendas

Vice President has historically been the Core officer to prepare and send Core Meeting Agendas in the form of Google Docs out to the Core email list. It is recommended to do this at least five calendar days prior to the Core Meeting to allow ample time for leaders to fill in their sections with their reports, and to allow those who wish to bring important business to the attention of officers to do so within their reports.

One perennial section of a Vice President's report in Core Agendas is the Recognitions section, into which any Core member may submit a name of a member and a reason for submitting them to have their name and accomplishment read. Often this is reserved for tasks considered un-glamorous and annoying, and, by providing direct recognition and gratitude, may encourage others to volunteer for similar tasks in the future.

Key Management

The Vice President is responsible for ensuring keys to the shop are distributed to members with need for keys and value added by possession of keys. The Vice President should make this call based on their understanding of project needs, and should confer with relevant parties as necessary. Generally, recovery of keys should occur on a semester basis to ensure keys are all accounted for.

The Vice President is also responsible for ensuring the People with Keys page is up to date.

Shop Access

Historically, the duty of ensuring members have proper access to the shop has fallen on a variety of individuals, but most recently it has come under the Vice Presidential domain, and fits neatly into the overarching goal of removing obstacles to project objectives.

Generally, updated lists of GTIDs, names, and access levels should be sent to Dr. Cunefare by email.