Now more than ever you can make a change
Leadership Elections 2025
The Leadership Elections provide you with the chance to elect your leaders that will shape your university life at Southampton, representing you and working on educational projects, supporting clubs and societies and making your voice heard at the Students’ Union and the University.
How do the elections affect me?
The Student Leadership Elections play a key role in shaping the experience of every student at Southampton. This is your chance to choose Sabbatical Officers who will advocate for your interests and priorities.
Sabbatical Officers act as your voice, representing you on issues that matter most—such as academics, equality, diversity, inclusion, sports, and the overall governance of the Students’ Union. Their role is to ensure SUSU stays focused on delivering on its commitments and providing an exceptional student experience.
Who can run in the Elections?
All current students—whether you’re in your first year or approaching graduation—are eligible to run for a Sabbatical Officer position!
The Roles
Sabbatical Officers
Being a Sabbatical Officer means enhancing life at the University for all students. Participate in key meetings, advocate for students’ priorities and ensure student voices are heard at the highest levels of the University. Working as part of the Students’ Union, you can play a significant role in driving major changes at SUSU and the University, and may even get the opportunity to have a national impact too.
This is a full-time, paid role with an annual pay of circa £25,000, that you can take on either at the end of your studies or during a year out.
Union President
Union President is the main figurehead of the Union, acting as the primary student spokesperson and the key liaison with the University.
The Union President will:
- Work as the overall spokesperson of SUSU.
- Be responsible for University Governance, working with the highest levels within SUSU and the University.
- Champion mental health & cost of living, high level campaigns.
- Education and promote democracy both with SUSU.
VP Education
VP Education ensures students have a voice in the University, representing students’ academic interests and lobbying the University on key educational issues.
The VP Education will:
- Represent all students’ academic needs and interests.
- Advocate for a better academic culture.
- Represent academic communities.
- Advocate for access to representation.
VP Inclusion
VP Inclusion ensures our diverse student population; underrepresented and liberation groups, have a voice in the University, lobbying on their behalf and advocating through inclusion campaigns.
The VP Inclusion will:
- Represent our diverse student population, particuarly underrepresented & liberation groups.
- Advocate for the interests of international students.
- Advocate for access to the same opportunties as UK campuses.
- Advocate for and celebrate our diverse student population with inclusion campaigns.
VP Communities
VP Communities represents Union Societies and community groups, advocating on their behalf to the University, and supporting and championing student-led events.
The VP Communities will:
- Represent student communities.
- Build communities and represent student needs in housing and accommodation.
- Champion student-led and student focused events.
- Represent students in the local community.
VP Sport
VP Sports represents Team Southampton Clubs and Intramural Teams, advocating on their behalf to the University, and lobbying on key issues students face when using sports facilities.
The VP Sport will:
- Represent sports clubs, including BUCS and intramural.
- Represent sport facility users.
- Encourage being physically active and facilitate opportunities within sport.
- Encourage healthy lifestyles and champion awareness campaigns.
Suggest a Friend
If running in our Elections isn’t for you, but you know someone who would be a fantastic Sabbatical Officer, you can put their name forward!
All you need to do is tell us their name, university email address and which role they would be perfect for, and we’ll get in touch!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When are nominations open?
Nominations are open in our Leadership Elections from Monday 27 January at 09:00 until Friday 21 February at 16:00.
I'm having problems nominating myself or have some questions about the role, what do I do?
If you’re having any problems nominating yourself for a role or have any questions, please contact representation@susu.ac.uk.
How much work is involved with being a Sabbatical Officer?
A Sabbatical Officer role is full-time and you will become a paid employee of the Union. If you have one or more years left at university, you will need to take a year out of your degree in order to be a Sabbatical Officer.
Who can run for a Sabbatical Officer role? Do I need any previous experience?
Any student can run to be a Sabbatical Officer, whether you are an Undergraduate, Postgraduate Researcher or Postgraduate Taught student. If you’re looking for that next step after your studies, anyone who will be graduating this summer is still able to run for the role too.
You do not need any experience to come and work for the Union. All you need is to be a current student of the University, a passion for representing students and ideas for what you would like to achieve. We give full training and provide ongoing development opportunities for all our Sabbatical Officers. At the end of your year you will be able to evidence fantastic skills such as public speaking, budgeting, consultation, leadership and more.
Can international students run for a Sabbatical Officer?
Yes, if you have a standard student visa, you can run as a Sabbatical Officer. You must check that there are no specific restrictions on your student visa.
Can I fit being a Sabbatical Officer alongside family/caring commitments?
We appreciate students may have other commitments and we are happy to discuss with you about any flexibility you may need regarding working hours. Please speak to our Elections team at representation@soton.ac.uk for more information.
I am a Postgraduate Taught (PGT) student and I am concerned about…
…my eligibility for a Sabbatical Officer role.
The role is open to students at every level of study including Undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD. You will have plenty of training and an induction programme provided to you when you first start to help you throughout your role. In addition, core members of staff at SUSU are here to support sabbatical officers throughout the year.
…whether I will be able to support myself financially as a Sabbatical Officer.
The sabbatical officer role is a full-time paid job. It has an annual salary of circa £25,000, which will be paid in monthly installments (less income tax, national insurance and pension contributions) from the end of your first month in the role (July 2025) until the end of your last month in the role (June 2026).
…my start date in the Sabbatical Officer role conflicting with my final assessment submission.
As a sabbatical officer, you are a member of SUSU staff and as such will be entitled to Annual Leave, which can be used to take some time off to finish your dissertation. There is also some flexibility in working hours for those finishing their dissertation, so please do speak to the Elections team at representation@soton.ac.uk to discuss this.
I am a Postgraduate Researcher (PGR) and I am concerned about…
…my eligibility for the Sabbatical Officer role.
The role is open to students at every level of study including undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD. You will have plenty of training and an induction programme provided to you when you first start to help you throughout your role. In addition, core members of staff at SUSU are here to support sabbatical officers throughout the year.
…the need to gain employable skills after graduating.
As a Sabbatical Officer, you will be a full-time member of staff and will gain a wealth of experience, training, and skills throughout your time in office. You will improve your future employability while receiving recognition for the work that you accomplish.
…whether I will be able to support myself financially as a Sabbatical Officer.
The sabbatical officer role is a full-time paid job. It has an annual salary of circa £25,000, which will be paid in monthly installments (less income tax, national insurance and pension contributions) from the end of your first month in the role (July 2025) until the end of your last month in the role (June 2026).
…interrupting my work on my thesis to take on a Sabbatical Officer role.
If you are midway through your thesis, we would advise that you talk to your supervisor and see if they agree with a year of suspension while you gain some work experience. If you are close to your submission date, we can offer flexibility in your working hours, or you can take annual leave to complete your submission in the first few months of your role.
Please speak to our Elections team at representation@soton.ac.uk for more information.
Where can I view the Leadership Election Rules 2025?
You can view the Leadership Elections Rules here.
I have a complaint, what do I do?
If you believe a candidate has broken any of the Election Rules then you can make a complaint using the Election Complaint Form.
Please see the full SUSU Elections Complaints Procedure here.
When is voting open?
Voting is open in our Leadership Elections from Tuesday 11th March 2025 at 09:00 until Thursday 13th March 2025 at 16:00. Click here to vote.
I'm having problems voting, what should I do?
If you are having trouble voting please email us at representation@soton.ac.uk along with your username, your course, and your year of study.
What are the incentives for voting?
Everyone who votes at any point before voting closes will be entered in our competition which has fantastic prizes*:
This year we are offering you even more chances to win – once you have voted, your voting confirmation email will include a bespoke link, send that link to your friends and if any of them use it to cast their vote you will be entered for the above competition again. Each time someone new uses it you will get a new entry, increasing your chance of winning!
*Terms and Conditions apply. Find out more: Terms and Conditions.