Conference Secretariat

In Model UN, the Conference Secretariat is the leadership body responsible for the planning and execution of a conference. It mirrors the structure of the actual United Nations Secretariat but operates at the scale of a student-run event, ranging from small one-day conferences to multi-thousand delegate gatherings such as NMUN, HNMUN, WorldMUN, or LIMUN.

Typical Secretariat positions include:

• Secretary-General – the senior-most officer, accountable for the overall vision, substantive quality, and public face of the conference.
• Director-General – generally responsible for operations, logistics, and on-site execution.
• Under-Secretaries-General (USGs) – portfolio leads for areas such as General Assembly affairs, ECOSOC, Specialized Agencies, Crisis, Administration, Delegate Affairs, Outreach, Technology, and Press/Communications.
• Chargé d'Affaires or Chief of Staff – varies by conference; often manages internal coordination.

The Secretariat sits above the dais staff (chairs, directors, moderators, crisis staff) and sets training standards, approves background guides, vets committee topics, and resolves procedural disputes that escalate beyond a committee room. During the conference itself, Secretariat members typically circulate between rooms, observe debate, give awards guidance, and handle complaints regarding fairness, conduct, or accessibility.

Beyond the conference week, the Secretariat is also responsible for institutional continuity: recruiting and training the next year's staff, maintaining sponsor and university relationships, managing budgets, and publishing post-conference reports. At university-hosted conferences, the Secretariat is usually drawn from the host institution's MUN club or International Relations society; at independent conferences (e.g., NMUN, run by the National Collegiate Conference Association), it is selected through a competitive application process open to delegates from many schools.

For delegates, the Secretariat is the appropriate point of contact for issues a chair cannot resolve, including code-of-conduct violations, accommodation needs, or substantive concerns about a committee's direction.