Club committee roles and responsibilities, explained

A club committee usually has three core roles: a chair who leads, a secretary who prepares meetings, and a treasurer who looks after the money. Other members take set jobs, such as fundraising or volunteer coordination. The whole committee then keeps every member informed.

This guide explains what each role does, how a small committee can share the work, and how to keep the rest of the club in the loop.

What are the roles in a club committee?

Many clubs start with the same three officers: a chair (or president), a secretary and a treasurer. Others add more roles around them.

Sport New Zealand’s guidance on committees lists the roles a committee or management team could have. Next to the three officers, it names a team manager, a marketing and promotions officer, a health and safety officer and a volunteer coordinator.

role	what it is for
Chair or president	Leads the committee and runs its meetings
Secretary	Prepares meetings and keeps the record of them
Treasurer	Looks after the club’s money and reports on it
Vice chair	Supports the chair and can step in
Other committee members	Take set jobs, alone or in a small sub-committee

The names vary from club to club. What matters is that every member knows who to ask about what.

What does the chair do?

The chair leads the committee. In a meeting, the chair keeps to the agenda and makes sure each topic gets a decision. Between meetings, the chair is the person other committee members turn to when a question does not fit anyone’s job.

The Queensland Government’s page on committee roles names the president as the leader of the committee, who chairs its meetings and speaks for the organization.

A good chair also opens a meeting with a short overview. It says what the club has done since the last meeting and what it aims for next.

What does the secretary do?

The secretary keeps the committee organized. Send the agenda out before each meeting, so everyone arrives with the information they need. For formal meetings such as the annual general meeting, Sport New Zealand notes that the secretary and the treasurer usually prepare the agenda and send it out.

The secretary also makes sure someone keeps a written record of each meeting: what was decided, who will do what and by when. It helps when a separate person takes these notes. That leaves the chair free to run the meeting.

What does the treasurer do?

The treasurer looks after the club’s money. Keep track of what comes in and what goes out, and give the committee a short report at each meeting. A clear report lets the rest of the committee ask questions before money is spent, not after.

The Queensland Government’s page adds that the treasurer usually prepares the financial reports and the budget and presents them to the committee.

What do other committee members do?

Give every other committee member a set job, and write one line that says what it covers. If two people think a job is theirs, or nobody does, the line is missing. Sport New Zealand also says committee members have set roles and jobs to complete, and that some clubs give an area, such as fundraising, to a sub-committee.

Some clubs also have a vice chair. The vice chair usually learns the chair’s job and supports the committee when asked. That also gives the club someone ready to take over the chair.

How to share the work on a small committee

Hand day-to-day tasks to volunteers outside the committee. When a committee of three or four people also does most of the work, it gets tiring fast. With the daily jobs shared, the committee is free to look after members, plan ahead and lead the club.

The Queensland Government’s page suggests the same split. It also recommends a committee with a range of skills and experience.

Write a short description for each role, with what the person does and how much time it takes. Date each version, so you can tell the current one from older ones. The next person in the role then starts from a page, not from memory.

How to keep the whole club informed

Committee decisions only help when members hear about them. Tell members what was decided and what it means for them, in a few lines, soon after each meeting.

Keep one place for club news, so members do not have to search for it. In Groupanda, a group has an owner, admins and members. Every new group starts with an Announcements channel, where at first only the owner posts. The owner can let admins post there too, so you can make your committee admins and let them share the news. You and your admins can also pin a message, such as the list of who does what on the committee.

What admins can do in a group is covered in our guide to roles and permissions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the typical structure of a club committee?

A chair, a secretary and a treasurer, plus a few committee members with set jobs. Some clubs add a vice chair and small sub-committees for areas such as fundraising.

What are the responsibilities of committee members in a club?

Each member takes a set job, such as fundraising or volunteer coordination. Together, the committee makes decisions and keeps the club’s members informed about them.

Does every club need a vice chair?

No. Some clubs have one, where the role supports the chair and prepares someone to take over. A small club can ask another committee member to step in when needed.

The short version

Start with a chair, a secretary and a treasurer, and give every other committee member a set job. Write one short, dated description for each role, and let volunteers outside the committee take on day-to-day tasks. After each meeting, tell members what was decided, in one place they already read. For committee admins, announcements and who can post in detail, read how Groupanda works as a club communication app.

Sources

We found these pages through one search we ran on 27 October 2026 and read them the same day. Each source below gives the date the page carries, on the page or in its metadata, or says that it carries none, and the day we read it.

• Queensland Government, Committee roles and responsibilities. The president as leader, who chairs meetings and speaks for the organization, the treasurer’s reports and budget, and the vice president who understudies the president. Also volunteers outside the committee for day-to-day tasks, and a range of skills on the committee. The page says last updated 26 February 2026 and last reviewed 17 May 2024. Read 27 October 2026.
• Sport New Zealand, Committees, roles and meetings. The roles a committee could have, the chair who keeps to the agenda, and the agenda sent out before formal meetings. Also a separate person taking the notes, set jobs and sub-committees, and dated role descriptions. No date is visible on the page; its metadata says published 16 May 2014 and modified 4 September 2025. Read 27 October 2026.