Leeds for Change is Recruiting!

Membership and Outreach Worker

Leeds for Change is seeking a self-employed contractor to work with us over the next ten months to develop the project to its full potential. The role focuses on carrying out outreach activities to expand the Leeds for Change membership, keeping the website up to date, and provision of administrative and governance support to the steering committee.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about social justice, brilliant at developing relationships, and able to engage people new to social justice action. Leeds for Change is offering the work as a fixed price self-employed ten month contract.

 

How to apply

Download the Application Form here. Please send the completed application form to info@leedsforchange.org.uk by 10am Wednesday 22nd of May 2019, with the subject line ‘Leeds for Change Membership & Outreach Worker Application’.

 

Background to the role

In November 2014 the Leeds for Change website was launched, and in early 2018 the site was redesigned to build on lessons learned. The site aims to link all those groups in Leeds who are acting with the values of solidarity, equality, and justice, to make the world a better place. Whether it’s better mental health or inequality in Leeds or climate change across the globe – groups trying to bring about social change often face similar sets of challenges and sometimes share broadly similar world-views.

Leeds for Change aims to strengthen the existing cooperation between these groups, draw in others who want to get involved and make it easy to share skills and resources. We do this by hosting a list of active groups in Leeds, allowing those groups to list upcoming events, and by promoting relevant opportunities on their behalf through our social media channels & newsletters.

You can see the site at: www.leedsforchange.org.uk, and visit us on twitter or facebook.

This role will be undertaken as a self-employed contract and the successful applicant would be responsible for their own insurance, tax, and any other responsibilities and liabilities associated with being self-employed. We will provide a full induction and training and are happy to signpost to further information about being self-employed.

Fee and hours

The fee will be £1,960 before tax over the next ten months. There is an anticipated 160 hours work over the ten months, which is the equivalent of about half a day per week at £12.25 per hour.

 

Description of tasks

1. Outreach to new groups and people to increase membership and participation

At the time of writing there are 165 groups signed up to Leeds for Change. Many groups found Leeds for Change and registered themselves independently, while others were the result of direct outreach. For the site to be truly inclusive of the diversity of groups in Leeds some dedicated outreach time is necessary to ensure that everyone has the chance to sign up and make the best use of the site.

This will involve reaching out to groups identified by the current staff, identifying new groups, developing relationships with them, guiding them through the membership process, and maintaining communication to ensure they are utilising the site to its full potential.

2. Outreach to new individuals to invite them to sign up to our newsletter, and use the website tools

We have over 1,600 members on our website, 1,300 followers  on Facebook, and 500 newsletter subscribers. We’d like each of these audiences to continue growing. The role will include promoting Leeds for Change in relevant groups and communities with the view of increasing our membership. Particular importance is placed on growing our newsletter audience.

3. Outreach to new venues to increase population of the Venue Finder tool

The Venue Finder tool allows users to find a venue for their event based on a wide range of criteria. The role will include finding and reaching out to venues whose inclusion would improve the tool. You can see it here: https://leedsforchange.org.uk/venues/

4. Populating the Events Calendar & Sending Newsletters

The Events Calendar lists activist events in and around Leeds, and is the cornerstone of the website. The role will include manually sourcing and uploading relevant events to the website, and encouraging member groups to add their own events. Then on a monthly/bi-monthly basis sending out the Leeds for Change event’s newsletter through our Mailchimp. You can see the events calendar here: https://leedsforchange.org.uk/events/

5. Provide Administrative and Governance Support

Attendance at quarterly steering group meetings is required to provide updates on activities outlined in other points.

Reporting

The contractor will report on progress to the Leeds for Change steering group every quarter, along with monthly supervision meetings with a steering group member (either in person, or via phone or Skype call).

Place of work and equipment

The person contracted for this job will be responsible for providing their own equipment. You will be welcome to use our office space at Bridge Street Church, but this is not obligatory. We are happy to help advise on and assist with sourcing necessary equipment.

Duration of contract

The contract is for a ten months initially, and will be reviewed at three and six months. Either party may terminate the contract with one month’s notice at any time.

Person Specification

Attributes	Essential	Desirable
Experience:
Experience of networking and developing strong relationships with a variety of organisations and individuals	*
Experience of being part of a social justice campaigning group and promoting events		*
Experience of recruiting, supporting and managing volunteers		*
Experience working with communities and groups facing discrimination and injustice		*
Skills:
Ability to effectively communicate and network with a wide range of individuals and organisations	*
Ability to present information in written and verbal form to a wide range of audiences	*
Confident in online communication	*
Ability to teach technical knowledge to people with low computer literacy		*
Basic IT skills, including ability to use Microsoft Office packages	*
Excellent organisational skills and ability to achieve targets to schedule	*
Ability to be able to engage with and inspire people to take part in a new project	*
Ability to update websites via the use of content management systems, for example WordPress and/or use of HTML Ability to send newsletters through Mailchimp		* *
Knowledge:
Knowledge of social justice groups and organisations in Leeds	*
Personal Qualities:
A passion for action on our values – solidarity, equality, and justice	*
Able to work on own initiative with minimal supervision & as part of a team	*
Ability to build relationships with a wide range of individuals, partners and stakeholders	*