Social media volunteers needed!  Deadline 9 April 2019

We are looking for a couple of enthusiastic and curious volunteers who have a deep interest in and commitment to challenging immigration detention and can help us increase our social media presence.

This social media role includes tasks such as:

  • Making sure our Twitter account (@DetentionForum) is always actively disseminating accurate and relevant information about immigration detention
  • Creating visual material we can share online
  • Writing small pieces of detention-related news that we can share with others
  • Attending detention-related events and filing reports about such events

You need to have:

  • Solid experience of working or volunteering in a NGO or other team
  • General understanding of immigration detention in the UK (you don’t need to be an expert!)
  • Experience of internet-based research
  • Solid experience of using Twitter (you need to have actively used Twitter for at least three months)
  • Demonstrable ability to communicate clearly in English
  • Ability to use initiative and complete tasks on time with minimal supervision
  • Access to a computer and internet connection
  • Any design / art / creative skills are a big plus – let us know what skills you have. We are always struggling to have enough visual material to share over social media: can you help us with this challenge?

Above all, you need to have the desire to communicate well with a wide range of audiences in order to challenge immigration detention.

You don’t need to be in London but you need to be able to communicate with us via email and Skype. We are especially keen to hear from people who can document how their local communities are affected by immigration detention.

We would like volunteers to be available for one day a week for at least five months.

Please do not apply if you do not meet these criteria.

The Detention Forum currently has two part-time staff working one to two days a week and a group of part-time volunteers. Our team is proudly diverse and multinational, made up of people coming from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. We do not have an office so we all work from home. On a day-to-day basis, we work largely independently and communicate with each other via Skype and email, although we occasionally arrange social events and meetings in London. This is the reason why you need to be a self-starter and reliable if you want to join our team! From our experience, it takes a while before new joiners understand our key messages, how we communicate about immigration detention and why.

Due to our limited resources and time, the only tools of communication we have with the outside world are emails, our website and Twitter – therefore for us, how we communicate using these platforms is very important.

Applications

If you are interested in volunteering for us, please send the following to detentionforumcoordinator@gmail.com by 9 April 2019:

  • Your CV
  • A short covering letter addressing the above points, confirming that you are available for training and interview, if recruited/shortlisted
  • Details of your Twitter account
  • A short written piece, up to 300 words, on immigration detention (you can write about any topic or theme relating to immigration detention)

We will contact those who are shortlisted.

Volunteering at the Detention Forum can be a lot of work.  However, you will get to learn more about immigration detention and you also have a chance to learn how groups like the Detention Forum, its members and other groups around the UK are challenging the government to reduce and end immigration detention.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The Detention Forum team