Nominations are now open for Executive positions on The ANU Observer in 2018! You can nominate for the positions of Secretary, Treasurer, News Editor or Digital Editor. Editorial positions require nominees to hold previous roles within Observer, but any student can nominate for Treasurer or Secretary – and please do!
How this works: In our survey, we found that most people would prefer that Executives of Observer are chosen from within the Observer team, rather than be popularly elected. As such, in this election only Members of Observer will be entitled to vote – that is, individuals who currently hold positions within the organisation.
The election will be held at the Observer Annual General Meeting, which will be held on the 9th of October at 6:30PM in the Physics Link Building.
For more information on the positions to be elected, see below.
Treasurer
Role Description: The Treasurer will manage the finances of Observer.
Duties: Production and maintenance of an annual budget, advising other Executives on appropriate expenditure, and preparing an annual SSAF bid. The Treasurer will also assist in the creation and maintenance of financial policy of Observer, and be responsible for attaining sponsorship. The Treasurer will also assist in the general administration of Observer.
Approximate Time Commitment: 15 hours per week (on average – workload will depend on time of year).
Expected Experience/Skillset: Previous experience managing the finances of an organisation with a substantial budget.
Payment: Depending on the success of the Observer SSAF bid, a stipend of between 1.5-2 thousand.
Secretary
Role Description: The Secretary will manage the governance and administration of Observer.
Duties: Assist other Executives in the creation and maintenance of policy, organise and chair meetings of the Council and General Meetings, maintain the Observer office, interpret and enact the policies of Observer, assist in implementation of systems to increase the productivity of the Observer team, and maintain Observer’s administrative stability and sustainability.
Approximate Time Commitment: 20 hours per week.
Expected Experience/Skillset: Previous experience as secretary of an organisation, or another role with significant governance responsibilities.
Payment: A stipend of between 3-3.5 thousand depending on the success of the Observer SSAF bid.
News Editor
Role Description: News Editors are responsible for the journalism of Observer and the production of written content. They manage, coordinate, and edit stories written by Reporters.
Duties: Manage, coordinate and assign stories to their News Team, which is made up of approximately 2-4 Reporters; follow developments in their assigned issue areas; edit/fact check/proofread stories written by their News Team and other Reporters; manage the hiring of Reporters; coordinate content with the Digital Editor; determine editorial policy through the Editorial Board; attend various meetings and events when needed; upload and share their own stories on WordPress and Facebook, and the stories of their News Team as required; find, research and write stories as necessary; be available on a negotiated weekly rotation to deal with breaking news; attend weekly editorial and news meetings.
Approximate Time Commitment: 20 hours per week.
Expected Experience/Skillset: News Editors must have previously been reporters. Editors will have excellent skills in sourcing and selecting stories of interest to students, editing written material, and managing and training reporters.
Payment: Depending on the success of the Observer SSAF bid, an expected stipend of between 3-4 thousand.
Digital Editor
Role Description: Digital Editors are responsible for the production of digital content for Observer. This includes the production of livestreaming, photography, social media and video content, as well as management of the website.
Duties: Manage and coordinate Livestreamers, Photographers and Video Creators; manage the website with the Web Developer; contribute to video production; liaise with the Editorial Board; manage Observer’s social media.
Approximate Time Commitment: 15 hours per week.
Expected Experience/Skillset: Digital Editors must be adept in at least some of the areas of videography, video editing, graphic design, social media management, and web development. They should also be capable of managing a team.
Payment: Depending on the success of the Observer SSAF bid, an expected stipend of between 3-4 thousand.
