LI youth members already have an embryonic informal LI youth group and have agreed to nominate their own youth officer. They have already developed their own LI youth Facebook group and have been very proactive in involving LI youth members.

This job role is to formalise youth representation on the LIEC as the LIEC consider it very important that LI youth have a voice on the committee. As such this job role may need adjusting to take account of how the youth members want to develop their group and how they envisage representation on the LIEC.

You will be the key representative of youth members within LI, working to ensure that members are fully involved in the work of LI. This work is especially important given that since the 2015 General Election, the number of young members in our Party has increased and young voters voted in strength for Labour in the last General Election. More than ever, we need young leaders in every local Labour Party – recruiting new talent, running campaigns, and bringing fresh energy and ideas to local meetings. Youth members represent the future of the Labour Party.

With a bigger youth membership than ever before, this job is both challenging and rewarding.

There are three key aims:

• To take the lead in recruiting and engaging young people, ensuring that young members get as much as they possibly can out of their membership, making sure that the voices of youth members are heard within LI and the Labour Party
• Building a party for youth members  – working to make sure that youth members in LI are supported, involved and engaged
• Campaigning with youth members – playing a leading role in making sure that LI campaigns continue to win youth votes

Key Responsibilities

1. To welcome young members into the local Labour Party, help them feel engaged and turning them into active members who campaign for change in their communities and to get Labour elected.
2. Take the lead on recruiting and engaging young people, ensuring that young members get as much as they possibly can out of their membership and have their say.
3. Ensure that youth meetings are accessible, interesting and welcoming, and represent and promote the views of all young members.
4. Bring youth members together to empower and support each other and gain the knowledge and skills they need get involved.
5. Lead campaigns on matters affecting young people in the CLP.
6. Maintain and develop the current informal LI Labour Youth Facebook group
7. Attend the Labour Party National Youth and national conferences.
8. Coordinate with other sections of the party on youth issues
9. Ensure that youth issues are reflected in LI and the Labour’s policy making, including the Labour Party democracy review and feeding back the outcomes of young member policy discussions in LI.
10. Report to LIEC and members on your activities and campaigns and highlight any forthcoming events or campaigning.
11. Work to ensure that youth members of LI are not subjected to harassment or abuse within LI and the LP as a whole, including at branch and group meetings and online. This includes reporting any safeguarding concerns to the LIEC and reporting them immediately if they are in immediate danger.

Key Tasks

This role is varied, exciting and can make a real difference to LI – not just to youth 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 youth members and building campaigns with youth in mind – playing a leading role in making sure that LI campaigns continue to win youth votes. This can include:

• Actively encouraging every young member to contribute to any discussions and working with young members to plan new and creative ways to increase membership participation and new methods of recruitment.
• Keeping young members active and informed of all activity. This can include supporting delegates to attend the LP youth and national conferences, supporting any campaigns young members want to run, and more generally ensuring young members are included in all of the activities of the local party.
• Organising events for young members and other local young people.
• Maintaining and developing the LI Facebook group for young LI members.
• “Buddying” new young members to help them get to grips with LI and LP party processes, including e.g. jargon busting sheets, and briefing papers for canvassing and campaigning.
• Working alongside the LIEC education, training and information officer to develop resources to support youth members.
• Consider running a survey for youth members on issues that are important to them and the support they would need to get active.
• Work with European LI youth members to explore the main issues that may affect them in Brexit.
• Encourage youth members to support campaigns that affects youth in their local area

Lines of Communication

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

Time Commitment

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

Skill Requirements

• Good communication skills
• Able to run campaigns/events
• Good analysis skills
• Ability to develop policy
• Ability to represent LI to the Labour Party centrally and secure support for LI initiatives.
• Regular access to the internet, including social media
• Able to use or willing to learn to use Zoom online videoconferencing
• Knowledge of issues that affect youth in the Labour Party and in communities.

Personal Attributes

As youth officer, you need to be:

• Friendly and approachable
• Organised
• Willing to work as part of a team
• Committed  to work hard to ensure that youth members have a real voice within LI

Benefits

 You will be at the forefront of increasing the involvement of youth members in LI and the Labour Party as a whole.

The role of Youth Officer may sound like a lot of work, but everything you do can lead to a big difference. Being a Youth Officer for a CLP is a fantastic opportunity to meet new people and have fun, rewarding experiences. As Youth Officer, you are directly shaping the future and direction of the Labour Party and politics!

How to apply

Youth members will elect their own representative to the LIEC. Please write a personal  statement  of 150 words  why you want to stand to  the LIEC pointing out how you would develop this new role.

This post is open to job share.