The role involves being the liaison between the leader and the party – her ‘eyes and ears’ as it is often expressed.
It is a role I have done several times before, albeit never to the leader of the party, and I am very happy to help and bring my experience to bear.
As I wrote last week, when Parliament is in session, MPs are required to be in Westminster most of the time, ready to vote.
Recess, therefore, offers a valuable opportunity to undertake challenging but necessary duties away from London.
As a case in point, I have spent much of this week with a small delegation visiting Jordan to meet with UNHCR to discuss refugee services and the constantly evolving situation at the Syrian border.
Jordan houses some of the world’s largest and longest-standing refugee camps, which have grown into permanent structures for displaced Palestinians and Syrians – refugee cities, of sorts.
On a personal and emotional level, I expect to find the planned visits to the Za’atari and Jabal el-Hussein refugee camps intensely difficult.
However, I think that true understanding of the living conditions and the hopes and fears of those who have been driven to leave their homes only comes through being willing to engage.
I have to remain optimistic that, in amongst the pervasive problems of poverty and overcrowding, and the painful life stories of individuals, there will be stories of hope to be found.
In long-established camps, UNHCR sets a pattern of gradually sharing responsibility and passing top-down control of administration and aid from external agencies to the refugees themselves.
Thus, people in the grip of appalling crises are still able to build a sense of community and use their skills to work and to serve each other – keeping their dignity and humanity intact and their hope of return alive.
The hope is to return with fresh perspective and useful insights ahead of a sharply contrasting week of constituency engagement.
As always, I will continue to accept local invitations as they come and make myself available for surgery appointments in Salisbury on demand.
But I also want to use the summer to get out and about to some of our villages, knocking on doors and meeting people in their own communities.
I will be taking a small team and spending the whole of next week out of the office and clocking up my step count throughout the constituency.
If you see me, feel free to come and say hello and share your thoughts.