Administrative staff keep the committee room running so that the chairs can concentrate on the debate. At most conferences they are the people moving between the rooms with messages, papers and equipment.
They are staff. They are not delegates and they are not chairs.
Carry messages between committees, the chairs and the conference staff.
Help set the room up and put it back.
Fetch what the chairs need during a session.
Help with the projector and the room's equipment.
Assist with counting and with distributing anything the house needs.
Administrative staff are staff, but they are not Student Officers. That distinction matters and is often got wrong. See What is administrative staff and What is a Student Officer.
Ask clearly and ask once. Say what you need, where it is, and when you need it by.
Say thank you in front of the room. The house treats the staff in the room the way the chairs treat them, so the chairs set that tone.
If you are unsure whether something is their job. Ask. Asking politely for something that turns out to be another department's work costs nothing. Sending a member to do something unsafe or unauthorised does.
Every member belongs to a department and answers to that department's manager. A chair is not their manager.
Small things in the moment are fine. Anything larger, anything recurring, or anything that will take somebody away from their own department's work goes through their manager.
In MEDIMUN, tasks are given in MediBook. If a task is not in MediBook, the person it was given to is not required to do it. So if you need something done rather than fetched, ask the manager to put it in MediBook. See Tasks for managers.
At most conferences, Administrative Staff is one large group that does everything operational.
In MEDIMUN, that work has been divided into separate departments. Each has its own specialised role, its own manager and its own members. The Admin Staff department still exists, and it works as a traditional administrative staff department, but its only responsibility is in-committee logistics. See Departments overview and Admin Staff.
If you have chaired elsewhere, this is the thing to unlearn. Admin Staff here does not cover everything.
In MEDIMUN, there are nine departments. Admin Staff. Approval Panel. Food and Catering. Information Technology. Medinews and Social Media. Photography. Preparations. Public Information. Sales and Funding.
Anything about the room and in-committee logistics goes to Admin Staff.
Anything about equipment, screens or connectivity goes to Information Technology.
Anything about resolutions once they have left the chairs goes to the Approval Panel. See
The Approval Panel for delegates.
Anything about photographs of the committee goes to Photography.
Anything about food or breaks goes to Food and Catering.
If you are unsure which department. Ask the secretariat rather than asking three departments in turn. Their job includes knowing this.
An administrative staff member is not the right person to hand an emergency to. Deal with it yourself, tell the secretariat, and follow the conference's own procedure.
See Emergencies and incidents and Chair reporting a problem.
In MEDIMUN, a member who does not meet the attendance policy does not receive a certificate. The attendance policy is full attendance, unless the executive board has agreed otherwise in advance. Do not keep a member in your room past the end of a session without their manager knowing where they are. See The attendance policy.