Democracy Assistants

Warwick Students’ Union is a vibrant charity. We are a professionally run, independent organisation, with Warwick students at our centre. Our talented teams support elected student leaders to make change, improve lives and fulfil potential; we empower them to make all this happen.

What’s on offer:

Hourly Rate: £11.44 plus holiday pay calculated at 15.55% (equivalent of 35 days paid leave per year)

Duration: Fixed Term Contract until 28^th June 2025 (subject to a 26-week probationary period).

Hours: An average of 10 hours per week during term time. More hours available of 10-15 hours per week during Spring Election week. However, we cannot guarantee these hours. Some weekend and evening working may be required from time to time for special events.

Location: Warwick Students’ Union, Coventry, with possibility for some remote working.

Closing Date: 9am on Monday 6th January 2025 - This vacancy and advert will be closed earlier if sufficient applications are received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you submit your application as soon as possible.

Assessment Details:    Group Assessment Centre, online via MS Teams, on the week commencing 13 January 2025. Candidates must be able to attend on this date.

What’s the role?
To help champion and empower our students in their University lives, we are recruiting for Democracy Assistants to help deliver one of Warwick SU’s major priorities – getting our members to engage and participate in our democratic processes.

You will be responsible for promoting SU elections and All Student Votes throughout the year. From encouraging members to be candidates to reminding people as to why it is important that they vote.

If you are passionate about supporting students and promoting their voice, and you have the ability to speak confidently to individuals as well as full lecture hall this could be for you.

Who are you?
You will be the SU representative, proactively engaging with students around campus. Engaging them in the issues they and other students care about. Suggesting routes for them to be more engaged, from writing a policy motion and asking a question in a hustings to standing as a candidate.

You need to have a positive attitude and the ability to build a rapport with a range of people. With an eagerness to engage with students and improve their experience, you should have robust communication skills, the ability to prioritise and organise your time effectively and work productively within a close team.

You will understand the need for neutrality, and anyone employed in these positions will be unable to stand as a candidate or endorse any candidates that stand.

Why apply?
Facilitating and advocating for our members is at the heart of the Students’ Union, and we are dedicated to ensuring our students gain the best possible engagement experience during their time at Warwick.

If you are enthusiastic about making a difference and promoting the student voice in a democratic environment, then working for Warwick SU could be the right challenge for you.

This role is part of the Warwick Award. The Award is based around 12 core employability skills that have been identified in collaboration with a range of employers as being crucial for the next step in your journey after graduation. This means that the training you receive and the time you spend working in this role to develop your skills, will help you to earn Core Skills Points which count towards the Award.  For more information and to register for the Warwick Award please visit: What is the Warwick Award?

We’re committed to equality of opportunity for all. We welcome applications from individuals regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, gender, or disability status. We want to support diverse and inclusive work environments and are actively looking for people who share our values.

Any queries please contact jobs@warwicksu.com

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: Democracy Assistant

RESPONSIBLE TO: Democracy Manager and, through them Governance & Influence Director, Chief Executive, Board of Trustees

RESPONSIBLE FOR: None

MAIN PURPOSE FOR JOB:  To support students to engage with the democratic structures and assist in the delivery of Spring Election

MAIN DUTIES:                        

• To assist in the build up to elections & All Student Votes
• To support the elections & All Student Votes (ASV) process through responding to candidate and electorate queries.
• Maintenance of elections publicity and branding in the Students’ Union buildings.
• To visit ‘further to reach’ sites of the University to help promote the elections & All Student Votes (ASV)
• To encourage students to use the democracy structures to make their voices heard.
• Staffing polling stations and encouraging students to vote.
• Assisting any disabled candidates to distribute their campaign publicity in difficult to access areas, as required.
• To accurately record details of the issues students raise to ensure information can be easily shared with colleagues, through helping to maintain a ‘data-bank’ of student voice
• To be a point of contact and support for all candidates when and if necessary during the election period
• To help assist the Democracy team in the delivery of Elections

EXPECTED STANDARDS

• To encourage people to vote, to think creatively and have a positive outlook on SU Democracy.
• To promote the elections & All Student Votes, encouraging voting, speaking to students in a friendly, confident and approachable manner
• To represent the University outside of main campus in a professional manner
• To be impartial with regards to candidate support

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Skills/Knowledge/Qualifications/Competencies

• Fully conversant with Microsoft Word and Excel
• Ability to stay calm under pressure
• High standards of customer care and professional representation of the SU at all times
• Attention to detail
• Significant planning and organisational skills (systematic approach to tasks and workload)
• Clear communication skills both written and verbal, including over the telephone
• Demonstrates initiative
• Demonstrates flexibility and ability to work independently as well as collaboratively
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Strong interpersonal skills – focused & stays on task
• Commitment & foundation understanding of equality of opportunity in practice

Desirable Skills /Knowledge/Qualifications/competencies

• Experience of working with students or young people and an understanding of the Education/Volunteering environment
• Commitment to widening participation in education