Interested in a 2025-2026 Board Position?
Kaleido, derived from Kaleidoscope, is the name of our Community. The word Kaleidoscope is defined as ‘a diverse collection’ or ‘a changing pattern or form’ - indeed a fitting definition of Maastricht’s vibrant international student population. We initially set out to create this community of unique people, to have a positive impact on the student community's quality of life. The way we want to achieve this is by:
Supporting other students in realising their ideas and event concepts,
Continuously developing unique events and activities, contributing to the cultural landscape of Maastricht,
Collaborating with smaller local organisations,
Creating and nourishing a community where people of diverse backgrounds can get together and feel at home,
Treating our surroundings, our city, and its people respectfully and sustainably.
Kaleido’s success can be attributed to its approach to the creation of a community. This approach, anchored to our statutes, is built upon 5 principles summarised below.
In order to become this inclusive student community we envision, we work from the bottom up - collaborating with other students- and organisations, building a strong network of people, initiatives, and ideas. We want to build a solid foundation where all students feel shared ownership over the space we build together and create enthusiasm and momentum to make our project a success.
This vision and all of our efforts now seem to come together in one place - our home Tapijn Z. We are working hard to make them a reality, to unite them in one central location, and at the same time, to tie together Maastricht's student population. For all these exciting plans, we need a lot of even more exciting people on board, so check our open positions, and also some more detailed info and what has been and what will be.
What do we expect from you?
While we have many plans for Kaleido’s future in Tapijn Z, there is a lot of space on the canvas for you to bring your ideas and creativity into the mix. Do you love fashion? You can plan a flea market or vintage fashion show. Do you love music? Feel free to organize your own jam sessions and open mic nights. Do you love to dance? Well, you get the drill.
In addition to bringing in your own ideas, we would like you to be available to work on Kaleido-related business for 25-32 hours a week. That’s a lot, we know. So, you will be compensated for your time with the administrative board months. That’s money in case you didn’t know. Of course, if 25-32 hours a week seems impossible to you, please do still apply as we can be sure to find a middle ground somehow.
There are more specific job descriptions for each position, but in practice, we operate on more of a flat hierarchy. This means that we allocate tasks and responsibilities based on who is more interested and available for each task. Thus, the following descriptions of each position are rough allocations of what needs to be done by whom rather than binding job functions.
What Kaleido can offer you:
You will learn the ins and outs of how to lead a student community. From organising things internally to being the spokesperson to the public, always sharing what we stand for.
You'll learn how to take responsibility, work independently, and send out a feeling of shared ownership and responsibility to everyone in the community.
You'll learn to be flexible, adapt to unexpected situations and find what drives your passion.
You will learn administrative and financial skills that will help you in any role you choose to take on in the future.
Some skills you'll learn or improve: "story-telling", effectively sharing your vision with strangers, delegating, being an enthusiastic leader, communicating with different groups of people within and outside of the community, facilitating good communication between all teams and groups, creating and maintaining effective organisational and administrative systems.
Of course, you'll get all the benefits our members have: A chance to realise any initiative or event you might be thinking of, special invitations to our crew events, our crazy cool merchandise, and probably the one or the other drink discount.
Most importantly, you'll join a unique community of creative and enthusiastic students.
As mentioned before, you will get a little bit of cash for your time.
2-day introduction to Kaleido in June with the Current Board.
You can get a BHV training which will introduce you to first emergency response and offer a certificate
Time involvement as a board member
The board of Kaleido is engaged in all manner of aspects to ensure that Kaleido runs smoothly on a day-to-day basis. Kaleido is pursuing a flat hierarchy organizational structure: therefore the board 2024-2025 will be more or less free to divide their workload between each other!
The responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Maintaining a social media presence: The board is consistently engaged in social media designs for each post, marketing activities, communications including answering questions, handling memberships, and managing the logistics of each event.
Responsibility over events: As evident from the extensive list of events, the workload for four board members is substantial. The commitment includes not only the planning and execution of all of our events but also the coordination of cross-organization activities, collaborating with external groups, and meeting up each week. The time invested in each event goes beyond the visible hours of the actual activity. The board needs to engage in pre-event preparations, such as designing social media content, logistical planning, and building maintenance. During events, the board is tasked with ensuring a welcoming atmosphere, selling/restocking the bar, and keeping the building clean afterwards, this can then also include moving and rearranging the furniture.
After-event duties & external events: The commitment extends to post-event activities, this includes cleanup, follow-up evaluation meetings, and getting feedback from our co-organizers and visitors of the event. Considering the continuous use of the building during the week by other associations such as Tuna Femenina, Alles is Drama or UnliMited-Students (and many more), the board faces additional challenges in managing the shared space as at a minimum, one board member is necessary to close and open the building and to supervise the event.
Community building: You’ll be also responsible for building our little community, from engaging people to join to catching up with your friends. The input and ideas of the members are what is making this place unique so we want you to talk to people and work on the projects together. It is also important to include the members in the event organization and divide the time to bond with each other.
The Role of the Board
The board follows a flat hierarchy with shared responsibility, nevertheless, certain responsibilities are divided among the different members of the board. A detailed description of the board roles and tasks is listed below:
President
You'll be the official representative of the community and make sure that our vision and philosophy are always communicated and implemented.
You'll be the main person of contact, internally as well as externally at our events and other special days in collaboration with other board members
You'll embody Kaleido's story and be an example for new members.
You'll set up an agenda with the rest of the board for the year to have vision goals for the year in the interests of the community and organise quarterly meetings to see how well the implementation is going.
You'll keep an overview of all events, working groups, and other activities and keep in close touch with Kaleido's project leaders, the university staff and partner organizations.
You’ll be updating guidelines and instructions to guide the community
You'll attend weekly Board meetings, with the rest of the Board, and sometimes with project leaders.
You'll also be legally responsible for the community, you'll sign official documents, and you'll make sure that all official responsibilities of the community are carried out. Official Board member duties include organising the General Assembly, and keeping an eye on sticking to our legal documents and goals.
Vice-President
You will assist the president in their task as the official representative of the community and make sure that our vision and philosophy are always communicated and implemented.
You will assist the president in their duties as the main person of contact, internally as well as externally at our events and other special days in collaboration with the Secretary and the President.
You'll embody Kaleido's story and be an example for new members.
You'll set up an agenda with the rest of the board for the year to have vision goals for the year in the interests of the community and organise quarterly meetings to see how well the implementation is going.
You’ll be in charge of the promotion/communication of the Tapijn Z project to the student community.
You'll keep an overview of all events, working groups, and other activities and keep in close touch with Kaleido's project leaders.
You’ll be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the building, like making sure the bar(s) are staffed and the foyer is curated with an appealing program to maintain and expand the Tapijn Z support network.
You'll attend weekly Board meetings, with the rest of the Board.
You will be the main social media boss, sharing our posts with the international student community of Maastricht on Instagram, Facebook and the website.
Treasurer
You'll be in charge of tracking all of the community's money flows. Making sure people receive their payments, events and other activities have realistic budgets, our cash is always well-organised, and the event cash boxes are ready to use.
You'll make a year's budget, in line with Kaleido's vision. And throughout the year, you continuously check if Kaleido is on track but not unsustainable.
You'll be in touch with the Head of Committees, about the cash box system and protocols, and also about ordering new supplies once we need them.
You’ll be responsible for ordering drinks and maintaining the bar supplies.
You'll make sure that all purchases Kaleido makes are in line with our philosophy and vision. You'll be the one challenging others to explain the necessity of what they're planning to buy.
You'll think about how we can "improve" financially, whether this is creating new streams of revenue, or looking for sponsors. Be as creative as you can!!
You'll have (weekly) board meetings with the rest of the board.
You'll be legally responsible for the community's finances - signing documents and the like.
Above all, you'll be a board member. Keeping an eye out on all members, leading by example to promote Kaleido's vision and philosophy, being a spokesperson and someone to talk to at external events and internal socials. Official Board member duties include organising the General Assembly and keeping an eye on sticking to our legal documents and goals.
Secretary
You'll be in charge of everything related to planning, organising, and administrating. We keep track of everything on Google Drive, so you’ll be the one making notes and keeping our drive organized.
You'll write our newsletters and be the general point of contact for people outside the community reaching out.
You'll also keep communications running within Kaleido, always on top of new members joining, people creating new working groups, or even sending birthday cards (if you want to).
You’ll keep in touch with the Head of Committees to plan and schedule the events.
You’ll be the one to manage the new members, sign the contracts, and update them.
You'll make sure we're not over- or under-scheduling events and that is in order for events and activities from an administrative perspective.
You'll also "just" be a Board member - a spokesperson at events, always and everywhere shouting Kaleido, and leading the community by example with our philosophy in mind. Official Board member duties include attending the (weekly) board meetings, organising the General Assembly, and keeping an eye on sticking to our legal documents and goals.
Head of Committees
You’ll be the main person responsible for communication between the board and members.
You’ll be in charge of overviewing the proper functioning of the committees.
You’ll be in charge of the coordination across committees (eg. the coordination of an event committee with the social media committee to promote an event).
You’ll be ensuring that the committees are planning events that align with Kaleido’s vision.
You’ll evaluate ongoing activities (with the committees and the board) to improve organizational functioning & strategy
You’ll be responsible for crew planning in consonance with the event manager for events (staffing, work shifts, needed appliances) and communicate with the Treasurer about the financial needs.
You’ll be in charge of internal communications such as newsletters and announcements.
You’ll be responsible for engaging members with the committees and organising activities.
You'll have (weekly) board meetings with the rest of the board, and sometimes project leaders.
Being in charge of the Crew, you'll also try to make sure that everyone is doing well, staying in touch with the buddies of new members.
After all, you’ll be another board member who updates the workings of the committees and new ideas at the board meetings, someone the members can always talk to and engage new people to join the community.
Logistics Manager
You’ll be the main person responsible for all things logistics – making sure Kaleido runs smoothly behind the scenes.
You’ll manage inventory and supplies, making sure we never run out (or overstock).
You’ll coordinate the storage and handling of goods, so everything is safe, organized, and ready when needed.
You’ll negotiate contracts with suppliers and partners to keep things cost-effective.
You’ll collaborate with vendors, service providers, and fellow board members to streamline operations.
You’ll prepare logistics and inventory reports together with the Treasurer, helping to keep track of expenses and revenue.
You’ll ensure all logistics-related processes meet quality and safety standards.
You’ll stay on top of regulations, making sure we’re always in compliance.
You’ll join the weekly board meetings, updating everyone on logistics and supporting the team where needed.
After all, you’ll be the go-to person for anything operational, helping events and ideas come to life by making sure everything is where it should be.