Campaigns Organiser (Portsmouth Lib Dems)

Job Title: Campaigns Organiser (Portsmouth)
Salary Range: £25,000 with review after 6 months
Location: Portsmouth

Days: Full-time. It is expected that the Campaigns Organiser will work to assist evening and weekend campaign activities by agreement.

Closing Date: 9am 9th June 2025

Purpose of the job: 

Would you like to work with a successful team campaigning for a Lib Dem led council against opposition from Labour and the right in an affordable city by the sea?  We are a skilled team of campaigners who have run Portsmouth City for 18 of the last 22 years. We are one of the few Key Cities that the Lib Dems have run for a long time.

We have a record of growing organisers so that they end up working for LDHQ or ALDC. Our current Local Party Chair is a former Deputy Director of Campaigns for the Party, and our Campaign Chair works for LDHQ.

Portsmouth Lib Dems are a small team who punch above our weight. We fight hard campaigns and win against Labour, Conservatives and Independents. We have an office and print shop and have selected our target seat candidates for May 2026 local elections. 

As Campaigns Organiser, you will be communicating with volunteers about upcoming campaign activities, recruiting and triaging new volunteers, designing and arranging distribution for campaign leaflets, coordinating constituency doorknocking efforts, supporting our social media campaigns and working together with respective campaign teams to steer our campaigning efforts.  

Each of these tasks will require strong communication skills, a welcoming attitude, and the confidence to work with and engage volunteers.  

The successful candidate will be highly motivated by hitting targets, and proactive in keeping the pace of the campaign, getting stuck in on a range of different tasks and getting things done.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

1. To assist the Campaign Team in Portsmouth in strategic planning and campaign organisation
2. To organise volunteers and local party workers to deliver the campaign plan, by:
   1. Recruiting, training, managing and mobilising volunteers
   2. Leading volunteer teams on campaigning activities (doorstep, online, telephone and delivery)
3. To ensure the delivery of a programme of doorstep and telephone voter contact
4. To oversee and contribute to the production of literature as per the local party literature plan, both local and constituency wide
5. To build and develop digital campaigning capacity alongside key volunteers
6. To organise volunteers to enter data in the online database, taking into consideration confidentiality and data retention rules. The organiser may also be required to enter data in the absence of such volunteers
7. To line manage any supporting staff and interns
8. To assist the fundraising team to a limited extent, as allowed by other duties
9. To undertake such training as is recommended to develop and update required skills
10. To undertake such other duties as the line manager may require furthering effective communication, campaigning and organisation in the area.

Overall Aims

To support the work of the local Liberal Democrats so that:

• The local party’s membership and volunteer base grows and thrives;
• The local party’s capacity to fight elections is increased including planning towards the next city elections;
• We can win every target council seats at the next city elections
• We can win Portsmouth South constituency at the next Parliamentary election

Person specification

Essential

• Ability to communicate effectively with and maintain the confidence of a wide variety of stakeholders.   
• Strong drive to recruit, mobilise and manage volunteers.
• Demonstrate a “can-do” attitude and resilience in pressured/difficult situations.       
• Understanding and experience of election campaigns and management.
• Ability to motivate and manage a team of people and work effectively as a team member.
• Ability to work unsupervised and effectively prioritise from a wide variety of tasks.
• Ability to meet deadlines.                  
• Good written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to delegate effectively.
• Good digital skills and willingness to learn new software/apps and media: social media, ability to update web sites, ability to use a variety of specialised software e.g. desktop publishing, video subtitling.
• Sympathetic to Liberal Democrat aims and/or values.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the local area, its politics and local communities.
• Ability to produce effective political literature.
• Ability to spot issues with campaigning potential.
• Ability to work with the local media and generate positive coverage for the party and its representatives.
• Possession of driving licence and access to a vehicle.

Starting date: ASAP.  

How to apply:  

Please read through the job description to learn more about the role before applying and take a few minutes to complete our Equality and Diversity Monitoring Forms (information from which is confidential and not shared with the panel), then proceed with your application.

Please submit:  

• A full CV of no more than two pages, with full employment history, and including a telephone number and email address
• A covering letter (no more than one A4 page) setting out why you want the job and how your experience and skills are relevant to it.
• Details of two referees, including one from your current or most recent employer (if applicable).  

to Mark Jeffery at mark.jeffery@libdems.org.uk with the subject line: Application – Campaigns Organiser (Portsmouth).

We will be reviewing applications as they come in and reserve the right to appoint prior to the closing date.  

Please note:  We will not be able to employ you if you are not eligible to work in the UK. We will not be able to obtain a work permit on your behalf.  A DBS check will also be needed.

Applicants are encouraged to inform us if any reasonable adjustments are needed to be made during any part of the recruitment process.  

The Party  believes  it  is  essential  to  foster  equity,  equality,  diversity  and  inclusion  within  our workforce.  We want our employees  to  thrive  in  an  environment  where  everyone  is  welcome and  supported  to  achieve  their  potential.  It is  important  to  celebrate  what  makes  us  unique  and that  you  feel  valued,  appreciated  and  free  to  be  who  you  are.