The Community and Events Organiser is the driving force behind the Cable’s presence in Bristol. You’ll build and deepen our relationships with members, and Bristol’s many communities and organisations, by organising events and other engagement activities that connect people with our journalism and wider conversations around it.

You’ll organise informative and empowering community meetings in collaboration with community members, democratically engage our membership in driving the Cable forward, and pull off big public events including socials – such as edition launch gigs, member celebration meals, and high-profile speaker events.

You’ll coordinate our volunteers, including our board of voluntary directors, and identify new opportunities for volunteers to get involved. We haven’t used volunteers much at the Cable in recent years, so you’ll lead on developing a rewarding volunteering experience and creating policies and procedures that underpin our approach.

More generally you’ll advocate for community-focused approaches within the wider team, developing our strategy around community engagement and events with a focus on how they can be core to the Cable’s mission and future sustainability.

Aside from our main roles, every Cable team member is part of the staff cooperative. We all have a shared stake in the work we do and how we work together, so all team members contribute to key decisions and the overall direction of the Cable, including our priorities, strategy and general operations.

Role Responsibilities

Community engagement and events

• Hold responsibility for our community outreach and engagement strategy
• Plan and deliver events that engage people with the Cable and wider conversations
• Be a visible presence for the Cable in the city, giving talks and attending events to engage people in the Cable
• Develop mutually supportive relationships with groups and organisations in the city
• Promote and support other engagement activities such as callouts, marketing/advertising and expert circles
• Develop and manage our Community Calendar, making it into an essential community information hub

Volunteer coordination

• Develop our volunteering strategy, implementing policies and procedures that help create a good experience for volunteers and the Cable
• Identify and manage volunteering opportunities, including recruiting and coordinating volunteers
• Support our board of elected voluntary directors, being the main point of contact for them, convening board meetings and assisting with board elections

Membership and distribution

• Plan and deliver a programme of regular events for Cable members, including our Annual General Meeting
• Support and enhance the distribution of our flagship quarterly print newspaper, to maximise its promotional impact for growing membership and reaching out into Bristol’s communities
• Manage the member inbox and related member communications and administration

General co-op coordinator responsibilities

• Pro-actively participate in sociocratic decision making in our team meetingsContribute to the general strategic development of the Bristol Cable as a co-op coordinator
• Participate in the peer-to-peer support scheme, providing mutual coaching and support with a colleague
• Regularly attend our board of director and subgroup meetings (involves a few hours of work in the evening no more than once a month, outside normal working hours which you’ll be able to claim back)

Person Specification

Essential

• Experience organising events and other engagement activities, ideally with experience of facilitation and participatory approaches
• A track record of building and maintaining effective relationships with external stakeholders and communities
• A confident, personable and effective communicator, able to connect with a wide range of audiences
• Ability to speak and facilitate at public events as a representative of the Cable
• Ability to work independently and proactively
• Excellent organisational and project management skills
• Experience in or enthusiasm for democratic and inclusive ways of working
• Flexibility to work occasional evenings or weekends, as needed for event coordination
• Experience managing freelancers and volunteers

Desirable

• Knowledge of communities and networks in Bristol
• Experience of promotional or advertising work
• Experience as a community organiser/outreach worker, voluntary or paid
• Experience of working with people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds

What We Offer

• A permanent position in our staff team, subject to a 6-month probationary period and funding.
• A salary of £27,314 pro rata, with opportunities for increases.
• 36 days annual leave pro rata, including bank holidays, plus up to 5 days extra paid time off at Christmas, and up to 15 days unpaid holiday allowance, both pro rata.
• A pension scheme with a 3% employer contribution and 5% employee contribution.
• Flexible working based on team hours, and a period policy, to help you work when works best for you.
• Monthly socials
• A personal training, professional development and wellbeing allowance to help support you.
• A key role in a values-driven and purposeful team, with huge freedom to shape your work, evolve your role, and contribute to our strategy.
• Cycle to work scheme

How To Apply

Apply by using the link below, applications close at 10am on Tuesday 13th June. Please mention Journo Resources when you apply, it really helps us out.

We particularly encourage applications from women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and people from working-class backgrounds.

If you have any enquiries about the role or application process not answered above, please email applications@thebristolcable.org or call our office phone on 07533718547.

This application form is a space for you to tell us about your experience, skills and approach to working which make you suitable for the Community and Events Organiser role.

Please refer closely to relevant parts of the person specification in your responses, providing concrete examples of where you demonstrate meeting the criteria where possible, and what you specifically achieved in those cases if relevant.

You may want to draft your responses to this application form in a different document. You can find all the questions listed below in this document: Community and Events Organiser – application questions. Download or make a copy of it to draft your responses before pasting them in to the form here.