Officers’ duties

The first four ex-officio officers listed above coordinate together and with each other’s support, the various ERA activities on behalf of the Council thus following Council’s decisions and regularly reporting to the Council.

The President oversees the activities of ERA (i.e. Society, Council, Staff). Collaborates closely with the Secretary-General (mainly) and the Treasurer/Renal Science Chair. Weekly calls with the other ex-officio officers. Receives support from the ERA HQ.

The Secretary-General is expected to oversee the general administrative activities of the Society supporting the President/Council. In particular, he/she oversees the ERA HQ activities. Is in charge of incoming funds. He/she should oversee the organization of all meetings, in particular: 3xCouncil meetings per year (in person), bi-monthly virtual Council meetings, 2x retreats (=Summer and pre-Christmas), bi-weekly calls (ERA HQ senior staff/ex-officio officers), emails on a daily basis. The workload is 2-3 hours a day. Receives support from the ERA HQ.

The Treasurer is in charge of budgets, expenditures. Weekly calls with the other ex-officio officers. Receives support from the ERA HQ.

The Renal Science Chair is in charge of scientific and educational activities (i.e. Working Groups, E-Seminars, etc.). Weekly calls with the other ex-officio officers. Receives support from the ERA HQ.

The Chair of the Registry is supported by the Registry staff (AMC) and oversees all the Registry activities/output. For the administrative matters the ERA Registry collaborates with the ERA HQ.

*Currently these two roles that were approved by the General Assembly on June 17, 2023 are represented by the Secretary-Treasurer and will become effective during the 2024 ERA Congress (General Assembly of May 25, 2024).

**The position of Renal Science Chair will also include the duties of the Ex-Officio position of the Chair of the ERA Registry. This is subject to the approval by the ERA General Assembly of the Constitutional Changes that will be submitted to the 2024 Ordinary General Assembly (May 25, 2024) for discussion/approval and which will be circulated to all members with the 2023 ERA Annual Report four weeks prior to the General Assembly.

Appendix

 I. President

1. He/she is the main representative of the Society and can act on behalf of the Council with regard to urgent matters.
2. He/she will preside over any Council meeting or General Assembly or Congress that he/she attends and have a second or casting vote at such meetings (where votes are held).
3. He/she must ensure that all the activities of the Association are conducted in accordance with its objects following the Constitution/Rules.
4. The President is the ERA representative in other Societies and/or initiatives of third parties endorsed/supported by ERA.
5. The President is the Officer who represents the Society vis-à-vis with other national and/or international Societies (i.e. special bilateral agreements, etc.).
6. Any new initiative decided by Council is under the responsibility of the President until a specific committee for this new initiative is created by the Council.
7. The President is responsible for granting ERA endorsements (in collaboration with the Council when needed as specified in the internal regulations).
8. The President is responsible for granting ERA non-financial support in collaboration with the Secretary-General and the Renal Science Chair.
9. The President can always delegate a representative of his/her choice to represent him/her for specific task(s) and/or event(s) (i.e. relations with National Presidents; EKHA; etc.).
10. The President is responsible, in collaboration with the Secretary-General (who, in any case, will be the person who will actually prepare/finalize/send/receive the items listed below), of the following matters: the Agendas of the Council Meetings, the General Assembly and any other meeting that the Council deems necessary; of the invitations to the meetings of non-Council members and for the final approval and signing of the Minutes of the Meetings; for informing the ERA speakers/chairs and representatives in events organized by third parties, as well as for receiving their report after the event; for signing all ERA diplomas and certificates issued while he/she is in office (except for his/her own personal diploma, which must be signed by the President-Elect). Finally, still in collaboration with the Secretary-General, he/she is responsible for informing all the people directly involved of the outcome of the Council’s decisions (candidates for Council; SAB positions; selected future Congress venues, etc.), again operatively speaking it will be the Secretary-General who will send these notifications.
11. During his/her term, he/she is included, ex-officio, in the following Committees/Boards/Initiatives:
    • ERA Registry
    • Co-President ERA Congresses
    • EKHA Representative
    • BMA Representative
    • Congress Scientific Committee
    • SEID Scientific Committee
    • One of the directors of ERA-Eurocongress Ltd, ERA’s Subsidiary Company
12. The ERA HQ gives secretarial support to this role.

II. Treasurer*

1. He/she is responsible for all the Society’s financial activities (budgets, investments).
2. He/she is responsible for all the ERA Group payments, in collaboration with the ERA senior staff that is authorised to make the day-to-day payments up to a maximum amount of EUR 50,000.00 per single payment provided that this is within the ordinary (and already approved) budgets of the various activities of the Society. For payments above this amount a previous authorisation by the Treasurer or the Secretary-General is mandatory.
3. Together with the Secretary-General, he/she is responsible for the ERA Group accounts and has full signatory on said accounts.
4. During his/her term, he/she is one of the directors of ERA-Eurocongress Ltd, ERA’s Subsidiary Company.
5. The ERA HQ gives secretarial support to this role.

*Currently this role that was approved by the General Assembly on June 17, 2023 is represented by the Secretary-Treasurer and will become effective during the 2024 ERA Congress (General Assembly of May 25, 2024).

III. Secretary-General*

1. The Secretary-General is responsible, in collaboration with the President (who must agree on the items listed), of repairing/submitting/ending/finalising/receiving the following matters:
   • agendas of the Council Meetings
   • agendas of the General Assembly
   • agendas of any other meeting that the Council deems necessary
   • the invitations to the meetings of non-Council members and for the final approval and signing of the Minutes of the Meetings
   • for informing the ERA speakers/chairs and representatives in events organised by third parties, as well as for receiving their report after the event
   • for signing all ERA diplomas and certificates issued while he/she is office (except for his/her own personal diploma, which must be signed by the Secretary-General Elect)
   • for informing all the people directly involved of the outcomes of the Council’s decisions (candidates for Council; SAB positions; selected future Congress venues, etc.), following the confirmation/approval by the President.
2. He/she is in charge of preparing the diplomas and eventual gifts for Council members ending their term.
3. He/she is the person responsible for the Council member elections, in particular, the ERA Secretary-General will be in charge of informing all Council candidates about the exact date and time of the post-Congress Council meeting so that travel arrangements can be booked taking into consideration this meeting to which they will have to participate if elected.
4. He/she is the person responsible for granting the FERA title.
5. He/she is responsible for following all the income generated by the activities of the Society (Congress activity; Membership activity; industry relations/sponsorships, etc.).
6. Similar to the role of the Treasurer, he/she can authorize senior staff to pay amounts above EUR 50,000.00.
7. Together with the Treasurer, he/she is responsible for the ERA Group accounts and has full signatory on said accounts.
8. He/she is in charge of following all membership matters, including verifying all materials sent to members.
9. He/she represents the Council in relation to the activities of the ERA HQ both within the Council and with the ERA HQ.
10. He/she is responsible for granting ERA non-financial support in collaboration with the President and the Renal Science Chair.
11. He/she is responsible for evaluating/scoring the Industry Symposia for the annual ERA Congresses, in collaboration with the Renal Science Chair.
12. During his/her term, he/she is one of the directors, and the Chair, of ERA-Eurocongress Ltd., ERA’s Subsidiary Company. As Chair he/she is in charge of recording the minutes of the meeting of said Company.
13. During his/her term, he/she is the YNP advisor (no vote within the YNP Board).
14. The ERA HQ gives secretarial support to this role.

*Currently this role that was approved by the General Assembly on June 17, 2023 is represented by the Secretary-Treasurer and will become effective during the 2024 ERA Congress (General Assembly of May 25, 2024).

IV. Renal Science Chair**

1. He/she is responsible for the coordination of activities related with basic science and translational research in nephrology.
2. He/she is also responsible of representing, within the Council, all ERA WGs and monitoring their activities.
3. He/she is the Officer responsible for the coordination of the CME, in collaboration with the CME Chair, and of the SEID Committee of which he/she is the Chair.
4. He/she is responsible for granting ERA non-financial support in collaboration with the President and the Secretary-General.
5. He/she is responsible for evaluating/scoring the Industry Symposia for the annual ERA Congresses, in collaboration with the Secretary-General.
6. During his/her term, he/she is included, ex-officio, in the following Committees/Boards/Initiatives:
   • CME Committee (he/she represents the CME Chair within the Council)
   • SEID Scientific Committee (Chair)
   • Congress Scientific Committee
7. The ERA HQ gives secretarial support to this role.

**The position of Renal Science Chair will also include the duties of the Ex-Officio position of the Chair of the ERA Registry. This is subject to the approval by the ERA General Assembly of the Constitutional Changes that will be submitted to the 2024 Ordinary General Assembly (May 25, 2024) for discussion/approval and which will be circulated to all members with the 2023 ERA Annual Report four weeks prior to the General Assembly.

V. Chair of the Registry

1. He/she is responsible for the coordination of all ERA activities impacting upon clinical and transitional science, from the epidemiology of renal diseases to evidence-based nephrology.
2. He/she is in charge of coordinating the work of the ERA Registry Committee and all the activities of the ERA Registry.
3. He/she is responsible for negotiating a contract with the eventual institute in charge of taking care of the work of the Registry. The contract must be signed by the President.
4. He/she is responsible for preparing the finalised accounts for all the ERA Registry work as well as the ERA Registry Committee expenses, as well as the budgets for future activities, that must be presented to Council on an annual basis for official approval. For these matters he/she will be assisted by the Registry staff and/or the ERA HQ.
5. He/she is in charge of the Minutes of all the ERA Registry Committee meetings, that then must be forwarded to the ERA Secretary-General for the archive and eventual consultation.
6. During his/her term, he/she is included, ex-officio, in the following Committees/Boards/Initiatives:
   • ERA Official Representative in: DOPPS, in the ESPN/ERA Registry and in the KHI
   • CME Committee
   • SEID Scientific Committee
   • Congress Scientific Committee
7. The ERA Registry gives secretarial support to this role.

Last update: December 2022

Note: EKHA (European Kidney Health Alliance), BMA (BioMedical Alliance), DOPPS (Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study), ESPN (European Society for Paediatric Nephrology), KHI (Kidney Health Initiative), YNP (Young Nephrologists’ Platform), CME (Continuing Medical Education), SEID (Scientific and Education Interaction Day)