Volunteer position
Hours of work: 4-5 days per week
Duration: Minimum of nine months
Working Hours: If 5 days: 34 hours per week – 9am – 5pm Monday to Thursday, 9am – 4pm Friday.
Reports to: Communications and Campaigns Officer
Main tasks:
The General Election Campaigns and Communications Intern will assist the Mental Health Reform team in the organisation’s work to improve mental health services and ensure the social inclusion of people with mental health difficulties. This will include work to support an upcoming General Election campaign on mental health.
Mental Health Reform is a national coalition of 54 organisations.
The key outcomes for Mental Health Reform over the coming years are:
1. The Government ensures high quality community based, primary care and specialist mental health services are available and accessible to everyone in Ireland.
2. The Government and HSE ensure a transformed system for governance and accountability.
3. Government improves the social inclusion of people with mental health difficulties.
4. The espoused values and principles of A Vision for Change exemplified by citizenship, partnership, recovery and respect underpin mental health service delivery in Ireland.
5. Government ensures that children and adolescents have adequate, prompt access to a range of mental health supports to promote their mental wellbeing and address mental health difficulties at an early stage.
The Campaigns and Communications Intern will play an important role in building and communicating with Mental Health Reform’s network of supporters and stakeholders, supporting our social media activity, organising events, conducting desk research and assisting in extensive consultation with mental health service users and their family members and other mental health stakeholders across the country.
Primary tasks for the Campaigns and Communications Intern will be decided in conjunction with the Mental Health Reform team on the basis of the needs of the team and the experience, competencies and interests of the intern but could include:
Assisting Team members in:
- Researching and drafting press statements
- Disseminating materials for the General Election campaign
- Planning and assisting in campaign launches and press photo shoots
- Media monitoring (print, broadcast and digital)
- Monitoring of Oireachtas debates relevant to mental health
- Drafting content for website and blog, updating website via WordPress
- Maintaining contacts databases (CiviCRM) for key contacts in media, state and non-governmental organisations
- Organising and supporting public consultation events, meetings, seminars and conferences
- Editing and writing campaigning and policy documents
- Transcribing minutes, meeting notes and interviews
- Gathering evidence on good practice in mental health service delivery
- Gathering evidence on the status of mental health reform in Ireland
- Preparing and sending mailings to lobby targets and stakeholders
- Providing administrative support
- Office administrative tasks including responding to routine correspondence, photocopying, etc.
Skills and Attitudes Required:
- Fluent speaker and writer of English
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Excellent organisational skills
- Experience of event organisation
- Research skills
- Keen interest in and knowledge of mental health issues
- Knowledge/experience of the workings of the Houses of the Oireachtas
- Skill in Microsoft Office and databases
- Sense of humour
- Flexibility
Occasional evening and/or weekend work may apply. Time in lieu will apply for any out of hours work built up.
Please apply by sending your CV and a cover letter by email or post to Lara Kelly, Communications and Campaigns Officer:
lkelly@mentalhealthreform.combinedmedia.com
Mental Health Reform, Coleraine House, Coleraine Street, Dublin 7.
Closing date: 5pm on Friday 27th November 2015. Interviews to be held in mid December with a view to starting at the beginning of January.
