The New Governing Body of TTPNuk to take effect from Elections 2008- 2009 shall comprise the following post holders and portfolios:
· Chairperson - to be elected
· National Treasurer - to be elected
· General Secretary - to be elected
· Public Relations/Marketing - to be elected
· Founding Members (2) - current National Directors
· Co-optees - chosen by New Governing Body and/or recommended by existing Board
The number of persons to be co-opted must be up to one third (1/3) of the numerical size of the above Committee.
Whereas the roles and responsibilities of the Two Founding Members are yet to be specifically defined, they (the two Founding Members) are in the main to provide support and guidance to the Network. The High Commissioner, is the Patron of the Network.
In addition to the above, the work of the Network can be configured to facilitate the effective and efficient delivery of services to its members and to realise the Network’s mission and vision.
These are:
1. Employment and Investment Opportunities
2. Personal & Professional Development
3. Consultancy & Advisory Services
4. Representation & International Profiling
Employment and Investment Opportunities
The Network will offer its members timely and facilitated access to employment and investment opportunities in T&T as well as information and advice for the procurement of contracts and services, primarily in the public sector. Access will be facilitated through the provision of professional advice, up to date information, certified introductions, referrals and references.
Personal & Professional Development
Through events and structured interventions, the Network can assist individual members to increase their capacity to benefit from any of the above opportunities available in T&T and to improve their capability to successfully achieve planned outcomes and results. A programme of such initiatives could include networking events, mentoring and coaching, learning sets, seminars, professional advice, good practice guidelines and exemplars, etc.
Consultancy & Advisory Services
Using the individual and collective knowledges, skills and experiences of members, the Network can offer consultancy and advisory services to contribute to strategies, policies and programmes being developed in T&T. The intellectual, experiential and academic capital gained from practice abroad can be harnessed for the benefit of the nation. Individual members and the Network as a whole can act as an external and critical “family friend” to government and the private and third sectors.
Representation & International Profiling
The Network is strategically placed in Europe and can work in partnership with the High Commissioner and her staff to achieve those goals and targets, set by the Government for its foreign missions, that are compatible with the mission and vision of the Network. The Network will remain non-party political and will offer its services in those key areas that relate to the other functions outlined above.
If we accept that these are the four key operational functions that the Network should provide to meet the needs of its members and to realise its mission, then sub-committees to the Governing Committee can be established to enable this to happen.
The structure, composition and remit of these Sub-Committees can be established in a number of ways and are subject to more discussions. However, based on a cursory analysis of the skills and interest base of members, the Network might find it more efficient to encourage the participation of members in Sub-Committees along two variables.
The first is key service sectors – Education, Health & Welfare, Justice, Technology & Communications, Trade & Investment, etc. Members with expertise and interests in these services might find it professionally attractive to meet with other members with similar experiences and interests.
The second is topic based Sub-Committees that reflect cross-service sectors, such as Arts, Culture and Festivals, the resettlement of returnees, Collaborative relationships with other Caribbean missions, Charitable work, etc or ad hoc and topical Sub-Committees with a limited timeline such as disaster relief, etc. Similarly, members with expertise and experience of these topics or issues can engage in discourses on these issues and topics.
Whatever configuration is agreed, it is proposed that each Sub-Committee embrace as its remit the delivery of its portfolio within the context of the four functional areas above.
For example, if Education is the service area, the Sub-Committee will have action groups or sub-groups within its membership to look at the differing aspects of “Education”. These may include:
· Providing members with the latest employment opportunities for academics, teachers and administrators
· Opportunities to tender for the procurement of services to schools and the Ministry
· Co-ordinating a Network formal response to education proposals such as plans to validate adult and continuing education
· Co-ordinating donors and channeling gifts to deserving institutions and individuals
· Assisting the High Commission to establish a Fund to assist deserving students encountering unforeseen difficulties in the UK
· Conducting seminars and network events to brief and empower members on the current situation in education.