Constituency Organiser

2 Feb 2024**Closing Date**: Midnight 16th February 2024

**Working For**: Yeovil Liberal Democrats

**Location**: Yeovil and South Somerset area

**Salary**: £26,000-£32,000 depending on experience

**Length of Contract**: Minimum 12 months or 1 month post next General Election (whichever is the latter)

Yeovil Liberal Democrats are recruiting a Constituency Organiser to help run our campaigns.

This is an excellent opportunity to work across the Yeovil constituency. The area has a fantastic Liberal history with previous MPs including Paddy Ashdown and David Laws. Until the recent Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Somerset, The Liberal Democrats had an excellent track record of running Somerset County Council until 2009 and South Somerset District Council for over three decades. Last year saw the Yeovil constituency return the highest proportion of Councillors who took control of the then Somerset County Council for the first time in 13 years and from May 2023, took over the new Somerset Council.

Our Yeovil office is situated in the heart of Yeovil and was once the Parliamentary office for both Paddy and David. Opened by Charles Kennedy, it has four good sized rooms, a kitchen, an accessible toilet on the ground floor and another facility on the second floor. It is equipped to produce addressed literature in house with a full colour RISO printer (which has seen good use over the recent Somerton and Frome parliamentary by-election and several local Somerset and Town Councill by-elections), folding machine and other ancillary equipment. There is also plenty of storage for stationary.

Although the job is based in Yeovil a mix of home and office working can be negotiated.

Flexible working hours will include the expectation of significant evening and weekend work, including, but not restricted to, attendance at local party meetings, training, action events, parliamentary and local elections.

**Key Tasks**:

- Play a leading role in developing the campaign strategy and messaging for Yeovil Liberal Democrats.
- Take overall responsibility for delivering parliamentary and local election campaign plans on message, on time and to the agreed budget.
- Oversee the design, production, print, and delivery co-ordination of campaign literature including direct mail.
- Manage the development of the volunteer base, including supporting and leading on the recruitment, retention and upskilling of volunteers.
- Sit on the Campaign Teams and Executives of both local parties and actively engage in meetings to encourage campaigning.
- Work with Western Counties Liberal Democrats and Liberal Democrat HQ where required to co-ordinate campaigning activity.
- Organise events including action days, fundraisers, and social events in conjunction with the relevant local party committees.
- Manage and develop the local party website and the use of Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms to ensure a high profile.
- Organise the internal communications of the local party including administration of the internal Facebook page.
- Assist in day-to-day administrative duties as appropriate and produce written reports as requested. Manage the office and stock adequate stationery and paper supplies. Ensureoffice machinery is operational.
- Attend relevant conferences, training and other meetings as required.
- Any other tasks commensurate with the role of Constituency Organiser.

**Essential Criteria/Experience**:

- Strong personal organisation and self-motivation.
- Ability to work on multiple projects at once, whilst prioritising workload to meet stakeholder expectations.
- Excellent written communication skills with a high level of accuracy and compelling style.
- Ability to engage, motivate, and manage a team of elected members and volunteers, and to delegate tasks effectively.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Experience using Affinity Publisher or other desktop publishing software.
- Must be happy and able to work independently and also as part of a team without significant supervision.
- Motivated to promote and deliver the aims and values of the Liberal Democrats.
- Full driving license and use of own vehicle.

**Desirable Criteria/Experience**:

- Experience of delivering political campaigns.
- Use a full colour RISO printer and folding machine.
- Production of addressed mail including mail merge.
- Copywriting.
- Graphic design / photo editing experience.
- Degree or equivalent in a political field.
- Political experience.
- Marketing or Project Management experience/qualification.
- Event organising/management experience.
- Experience of training others.

***Interview/Start Dates**:
Start date: As soon as possible, by agreement.

**Application Details**:
how your experience and skills are relevant to it.

Please also include the details of two referees, including one from your current or most recent employer where applicable. If you would prefer us not to contact them until a later stage of the se