Come lead HYY – we are looking for a substitute for the secretary general!

Can you resolve matters related to HR management, administration and advocacy work without breaking a sweat? We are now looking for a substitute for our secretary general to join our ranks on a fixed-term contract!

Please note that the position requires an excellent command of Finnish.

The secretary general of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY) serves as the supervisor of the Student Union’s personnel and the Board’s right hand, prepares the Representative Council meetings, runs other administrative matters and coordinates advocacy work and the Student Union’s influencing relationships. The job description is broad and diverse as the secretary general’s duties include the following:

• Managing HYY’s Central Office and serving as the direct supervisor for nine employees
• Running HYY’s administration and preparing decision-making processes while ensuring that HYY’s decisions are made in a manner that complies with legislation and regulations
• Coordinating the advocacy work conducted by HYY and maintaining influencing relationships with the University, the city and national politics, for instance

The secretary general’s duties emphasise their role balancing the expectations of various groups. The secretary general serves as a link between different groups within the work community, between different decision-making bodies and between the Student Union’s operating and property finances. In the position, you will get to work with motivated and committed employees and people in positions of trust.

We require applicants to have the following:

• Experience of leading people and HR management
• Administrative readiness to lead a community representing indirect public administration.
• The ability to manage large issues
• Good interaction skills
• Readiness for financial management
• Excellent command of Finnish and readiness to operate in a trilingual community in Swedish and English, too

We consider the following as advantages:

• Experience of similar duties
• Vision for impactful advocacy work
• Proof of having managed expert work or vision for doing so
• Applicable higher education studies

The position for the substitute for the secretary general has a fixed term, 18 November 2024–10 August 2025. The position of the secretary general is a full-time position. Applicants are requested to submit a salary requirement. HYY offers a full lunch benefit as well as a sports and culture benefit.

Do the secretary general’s duties sound right for you? Apply for the position right now or by 12.00 noon on 16 September by sending your free-form application and CV to hallinto@hyy.fi with ‘Pääsihteerin sijainen’ as the subject.

As the secretary general serves in an important position in the Student Union, the Student Union’s highest decision-making body, the Representative Council, will be making the decision on selecting the suitable substitute. The recruitment process continues as follows:

• The application period ends on 16 September.
• The working group to prepare the recruitment of the substitute for the secretary general decides on the applicants to invite for interviews on 18 September.
• The first round of interviews is held on 23 and 24 September.
• The second round of interviews is held on 30 September.
• The proposal on the substitute for the secretary general is submitted to the Representative Council on 2 October.
• The Representative Council decides on the selection of the substitute for the secretary general in its meeting on 15 October.
• We hope that the secretary general could start in their position on 18 November.

HYY emphasises diversity and equality in our activities. We hope to receive as many applications as possible from people with diverse backgrounds. We use anonymous recruitment in the first stage of the application process.

Further information

Mikko Kymäläinen 
Secretary general
0400 816 426
mikko.kymalainen@hyy.fi