As LI BAME officer, you will be the key representative of BAME members within LI, working to ensure that BAME members are fully involved in the work of LI. You will take a leading role in making sure that the campaigning work of LI reaches out and engages with Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority voters. This work is expecially important given the rise in xenophobia, racism, and anti-semitism in the UK and worldwide.

There are four key aims:

• Making sure that the voices of BAME members are heard within LI
• Building a party for BAME members: This means working to make sure that BAME members in LI are supported, involved and engaged.
• Campaigning with BAME members: Playing a leading role in making sure that LI campaigns win BAME votes
• Informing LIEC of any instances of xenophobia, racism or anti-semitism within the Labour Party

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a general point of contact for BAME, including welcoming new BAME members to LI.
• Work to recruit more BAME members into the Labour party and help to make sure that they make the jump from member to activist.
• Involve BAME members in LI and Labour Party activities, working to make meetings and activities relevant and accessible to BAME members.
• Ensure that BAME issues are reflected in LI and the  Labour’s policy making, including the Labour Party democracy review.
• Encourage members to attend the LP national conference
• Report to LIEC and members on your activities and campaigns and highlight any forthcoming events or campaigning.
• Actively encourage BAME members to contribute to discussions, and stand for election to LIEC.
• Reach out to BAME members through local campaigns and work with BAME organisations to highlight issues.
• Bring BAME members together to empower each other and gain the knowledge and skills they need get involved.
• Work with BAME organisations to engage ethnic minority voters, highlight issues, and get a better deal for BAME people.
• Act as an LI link to BAME Labour, the party’s national affiliate representing BAME party members.
• Work to ensure that BAME members of LI are not subjected to harassment within LI and the Labour Party as a whole, including at branch and group meetings and online.

Key Tasks

 This role is varied, exciting and can make a real difference to LI,not just to BAME members but in terms of how the whole of LI and the Labour Party operates. You can choose how to focus your role and what to make your priority, depending on what sort of activities that members want to see. At the heart of all your activity should be the aims of building an inclusive party for BAME members and building campaigns with BAME communities in mind – playing a leading role in making sure that LI campaigns to win BAME votes.

You may want to consider the following activities:

• Run events for BAME members, including training, policy development and social events and online meetings.
• Set up a BAME forum in LI to support you in your work. Consider setting up a BAME in LI Facebook page
• Consider running a survey for BAME members on issues that are important to them and the support they would need to get active.
• Work with the LIEC education, training and information officer to encourage BAME members to become more involved in LI and in community activity.
• Enhance the involvement of LI in Black History Month and work closely with the the LI Migrants Rights campaign to highlight BAME issues including the effects of Brexit and the Hostile Environment.
• Encourage BAME members in LI to attend  the Labour Party national conference.
• Encourage BAME members to support campaigns that affects BAME communities in their local area.
• Encourage LI to keep an accurate self-defining record  of the numbers of BAME members.

Lines of Communication

You will be a voting member of the Labour International Co-ordinating Committee (LIEC) and will be required to report to and attend LIEC and All Member meetings.

Time Commitment

Approximately 5 hours a month but this may increase duting General Election or other campaigns.

Skill Requirements

• Good communication skills
• Good analysis skills
• Ability to develop policy
• Ability to represent LI to the Labour Party centrally and secure support for LI initiatives.
• Access to the internet and Facebook
• Ability to use or willingness to learn how to use Zoom online videoconferencing
• Knowledge of issues that affect BAME in the Labour Party and in communities

Personal Attributes

As BAME Officer, you need to be:

• Friendly and approachable
• Organised
• Willing to work as part of a team
• Committed  to work hard to ensure that BAME members have a real voice within LI
• Knowledgeable about issues that affect BAME members in the Labour Party and communities

Benefits

This is a new role in LI and as such you will be at the forefront of increasing the involvement of BAME members in LI and the Labour Party as a whole. So how you choose to develop it will be up to you in negotiation with LIEC and with BAME members.

How to apply

Please write a personal  statement  of 150 words stating the skills you can bring, pointing out how you would develop this new role.

This role is open to job share.