EOI - Campaign Coordinator Role

A word from Campaign Coordinator - Holly Godfree

Dear School Library Community,

I’ve come to the (long-considered) conclusion that it is time for me to step down from my role as Coordinator of the Students Need School Libraries campaign.

It was in 2016, a year after its conception, that the School Library Coalition (ALIA, ASLA, SLANSW, SLASA, SLAV, QSLA, WASLA & individuals from TAS and ACT) conceived of a school library campaign targeting parents (not just politicians and principals). In SWOT analysis terms, this was (and still is) an Opportunity with a capital O. In 2018, we launched that campaign as Students Need School Libraries with a logo, a website, 17 awesome short films and a TwitterStorm.

After seven years of learning and working and stretching myself, I find that my ‘well’ of energies is significantly depleted. This important campaign work needs and deserves a coordinator who can give more than what I currently have in my tank.

As you might imagine, I have very mixed feelings about this decision. I am genuinely excited about the opportunity for the school library community to have a reinvigorated campaign to explore interesting and innovative new directions. And, I am deeply saddened to step away from a creation that I am immensely proud of and deeply committed to.

However, as they say, change is the only constant in life. It’s time for a new chapter for me and a new chapter for this wonderful advocacy work.

On that note, this moment represents a very exciting opportunity - possibly for YOU! One professional complaint often voiced in the school library community is the lack of opportunities for professional advancement without having to leave the school library itself. I can say without reservation that coordinating the Students Need School Libraries campaign will give you exciting new opportunities to learn and grow and to harness your experience and passion to impact on a national-level scale.

It’s a way to stretch your wings in new directions whilst keeping grounded in the work you love. If you’ve got a little voice of curiosity in your head, please do reach out. We can have a chat about it!

With warm regards,

Holly

Expression of Interest: Students Need School Libraries Campaign Coordinator’s Role

Background Information

History of the campaign

The Students Need School Libraries (SNSL) campaign was conceived of in 2016 by members of the School Library Coalition meeting in Adelaide. The School Library Coalition (now called the Australian Coalition for School Libraries (ACSL)) is a collaborative working group including all national and state-based school library associations (ALIA, ASLA, SLANSW, SLASA, SLAV, QSLA & WASLA) and selected representatives from other areas (e.g. states/territories without any association). The point of difference for this new campaign in comparison to previous advocacy efforts was its focus on parents as a target audience. “Parents” was defined in its most broad sense: anyone who cared about young people.

The campaign officially launched in 2018 with a website and social media presence. This Long Term Strategic Plan was developed in 2019.

Budget

The campaign is funded by contributions from all the associations in ACSL. A budget is prepared annually (in Term 4) outlining projected expenses for the upcoming year. Some budget items are ongoing costs (e.g. website-related fees) and others are related to the strategic projects for the coming year as identified by the Campaign Leadership Team.

More information about the budget is available upon request.

Current leadership team structure and duties

Please note: The following summary is intended to give you a ‘peek behind the curtain’ about current operations; it is not intended to ‘lock’ you into the status quo. As the new coordinator, you may have a different vision for operations and management. Please also note that one other member of the leadership team (besides the coordinator) is also planning to step down when the new coordinator takes over.

The current leadership team consists of five volunteers from around Australia who work both independently and collaboratively as required. The team usually meets once a term to share updates about current projects, discuss solutions to questions or problems that have arisen and identify future goals and who will be responsible for driving them.

The Campaign Coordinator manages communications (e.g. from the Contact Us page and with the media), directs the strategic decision making, organises and chairs team meetings, provides personalised advice to individuals and groups that reach out to the campaign, liaises closely with ACSL (including making contributions to group initiatives, and attending online and face-to-face meetings of ACSL, usually four per year), and occasionally posts on SNSL social media accounts.
Social Media platforms are currently managed by two members of the leadership team. We have growing numbers of followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
The remaining members of the Leadership Team develop and manage discrete projects that play to their strengths and align with the campaign’s goals.

Criteria for Submissions:

Please email a PDF document of no more than 2 pages to snslcampaign@gmail.com. We would like to hear about:

Your vision for future campaign goals and activities
Your vision for future of the SNSL leadership team
A summary of relevant personal and/or professional experience

Timeline

Wednesday, 5 July - Submission deadline for Expressions of Interest

Early Term 3 - Panel makes short list of candidates and interviews of candidates are conducted.

The panel will consist of 3-5 people including the current campaign coordinator, members of the current leadership team and representatives from ACSL.