Learn about Elections

Find out more about how our elections are run, what roles are available and the key dates of the elections journey.

Find out more about how our elections are run, what roles are available and the key dates of the elections journey.

Timeline

This is the date from which you can submit a nomination for yourself to stand in the election. Before nominations open, check you are eligible using the criteria listed above. To complete your nomination you must submit a manifesto with 5 distinct ideas and a photo of yourself in order to be eligible. You can do this via our nominations page. You can only put yourself forward for one role.

After this point you will no longer be able to submit a nomination to stand in the election. At this point all candidates who have nominated themselves will undergo checks to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria for the role they have put themselves forwards for. Candidates will be contacted individually to let them know the outcome of these checks

All eligible candidates will be announced on our website for the student body to view. This marks the beginning of the campaign period, where candidates can start speaking to students about their campaign, and why they should consider voting for them. Full guidance and rules for campaigning can be found here.

Students have 48 hours to cast their votes, selecting the candidates that they feel are suitable for each position. Students will be able to vote for all 4 Full Time Officer roles, as they represent all Coventry University Group students, as well as the Part Time Officer Role that represents their College/Campus. At Your SU we use the transferable voting system for our elections (sometimes called the preferential voting system). This means you can select multiple candidates for each role, in your order of preference (for example a first choice, second choice and third choice candidate).

Once voting closes, the votes are then counted and verified. Results of the election will be announced by midday on 13th February, on our website.

Are you interested in becoming an officer?

Pick between full-time or part-time roles below and we will contact you with more information.

To join the interested list you must be logged in, click here to login.

Roles

We have a total of 13 roles available, with a range of full-time and part-time positions on offer. You will find job descriptions, eligibility criteria and a job outline for all roles on this page.


Elected roles at Your Students' Union:

Full-time officers

Full-time officers are paid a minimum of £25,448 a year, and work approximately 37.5 hours per week in their role. This is a full-time role so you cannot carry on your studies during your time in office (though you may be able to pause and restart them once you have finished yout term as an officer). Full-time officers represent all students studying across the Coventry University Group, and focus on different elements of student life at the SU such as societies and community groups, sport, welfare and education. The exact remits of each Officer can be found in the role descriptions linked below.

To be eligible for a full-time Officer position, you must still have current student status at the end of the election period (13 February 2025). You must also have right to work status for the duration of the role term (between 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027).

Roles available:
  • Education Officer focusing on academic representation, student issues affecting learning experience, and wider student voice initiatives - Education Officer role description
  • Welfare Officer focusing on issues affecting students in their non-university lives, representing student mental health, wellbeing and welfare matters to the university, and developing initiatives to support student welfare - Welfare Officer role description
  • Activities Officer focusing on societies, communities, volunteering and campaigns for social change - Activities Officer role description
  • Sports Officer focusing on competitive sport, social sport opportunities, and micro sport opportunities - Sports Officer role description
Read Our Full Time Officer Job Outline

Part-time officers

You will be paid at a rate of £12.64 per hour plus £1.53 holiday pay. If you are a London-based PTO, you will be paid at a rate of £12.64 per hour plus £1.71 holiday pay (inclusive of the London Weighting Allowance). Part-time officers hold their office alongside their studies and tend to represent a specific community of students (e.g. a College or Campus) or a specific area of the student experience.

To be eligible for a part-time Officer position, you must be able to fulfil a minimum of at least 6 months in post. The date of office starts on 1 June 2026, which means that you must have current student status until at least 1 January 2027, in order to be eligible. You must also be a student from the specific college or campus relevant to the role.

Roles available:
Read Our Part Time Officer Job Outline

Eligibility Information

Full-time Officer Eligibility

To run in the election, individuals must hold current student status until at least the date results are announced (13 February 2026). To run for a full-time position, students must either be in their final year of study and have completed their degree by August 2026 at the latest, or be prepared to take a year out of study.


Part-time Officer Eligibility

To run for a part-time position, students must be studying and have current student status until at least 1 January 2027.


Visa Information for full-time officers

If you are studying on a Coventry University sponsored Student Visa, this can continue to be sponsored by the University for up to two years whilst you undertake a full-time Officer role. This does not require a different visa application for the position; the terms of your Student Visa will allow you to work as a full-time Officer until its expiry.

If you are elected to a full-time Officer position, you will need to notify the University’s Visa team at your earliest opportunity at reg.isc@coventry.ac.uk to make them aware, as they will need to inform UKVI of the change in your circumstances. If your Student Visa does not already cover the full length of the role (until 31 May 2027), you will need to apply to extend your Student Visa in order to take up the position.

If you do need to extend your visa, you will need to liaise with the University’s visa team at reg.isc@coventry.ac.uk to go through the normal sponsorship process, and make a visa application for the full-time Officer role accordingly. If you are returning to your studies after you have completed your term as an Officer, you may then need to make another visa application at that time. Please also note that the full-time Officer position will not count towards your time limits for studying in the UK.

Before standing for a full-time Officer position, you should check whether you are able to make your application for visa renewal whilst within the UK, or whether you will need to allow time to leave the UK and apply from your home country.

The endorsement on your eVisa will be the same as other Student Visas, meaning that it will not state that you are now a full-time Officer and it will still state that you are restricted to working a maximum of 20 hours per week in term time. However, please be reassured that you can work full time as a full-time Officer with this endorsement.

Please be aware that if your visa expires before the elections due to having finished your programme of study, you will not be able to make an application to extend your Student Visa to remain in the UK for the elections, and would likely mean that you have to leave the UK during the election period. Please ensure that your Student Visa will cover the election period before standing for a full-time Officer position.

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