PTO & PTA Job Descriptions

If you are in recruitment mode for your PTA or PTO officer roles, you might be scrambling to write job descriptions for each role. We’re here with some basic descriptions for the more common roles.

Your Parent/Teacher/Student group is unique and may have different officers from other such groups. That said, the functions of these roles have enough in common that starting with a standard job description can save you time. Feel free to tweak these PTO officer job descriptions to your own group’s needs.

President

The PTO President serves as the leader of the group and a key contact for members, officers and constituents. The President presides at all meetings and events and ensures all efforts are being directed toward meeting the group’s goals and objectives.

Secretary

The PTO Secretary maintains the group’s calendar of events and keeps a log of important notes from all general meetings. Maintaining an accurate history of key points discussed at each meeting is vital to keeping communication open and transparent.

Treasurer

The PTO Treasurer is responsible for all funds that pass through the organization’s doors. This includes money collected at events and fundraisers as well as the disbursement of funds. The treasurer is also responsible for ensuring accurate bookkeeping.

Learn more about the treasurer role with our PTO & PTA Treasurer Duties by Month guide.

Communications Chair

The PTO Communications Chair handles the creation and distribution of all PTO-related media and marketing. This could include bulletins, newsletters, school newspaper and radio show correspondence, the website, social media, etc.

Fundraising Chair

The PTO Fundraising Chair works with school volunteers, parents, students, staff and community members to oversee all fundraising activities for the PTO. The Chair must develop and manage sponsorship and procurement and work closely with school administration to plan key fundraising dates.

Special Event Chair (i.e. prom)

Each event or groups of events may require a dedicated chairperson. The PTO Special Event Chair coordinates everything about the individual event, including programming, fundraising, managing volunteers and correspondence with appropriate students, faculty and community members.

Student Board Member / Student Representative

The PTO Student Representative is responsible for being the voice of the student body within the PTO. The member is responsible for attending meetings as well as interacting with his or her peers to gather student input.

Faculty Board Member / Teacher Representative

Members of the teaching staff or other faculty play a vital role in the PTO as they represent the teachers’ voices and provide valuable input on the group’s decisions.

Principal / Administration Representative

The School Principal should plan on having an active role in the PTO or PTA as a representative of the administration to provide valuable input on the group’s decisions.

Volunteer Coordinator

The Volunteer Coordinator or Recruiter collaborates with key members of the PTO to coordinate volunteer assignments as needed. This role is also responsible for training and managing volunteers once they have signed up.

Conclusion

Depending on how large your school is, you may have more extensive PTO job roles such as Historian, Parliamentarian, Auditor, etc. Other schools might have a simpler roster of officers. Wherever you fall, we hope this list of PTA and PTO job descriptions helps set you off on the right foot as you recruit officers this year.