Directorships and Teams

As part of the goal of improving coordination amongst the Downstate Chapters, amplifying the voice of the Young Democrats in the region and gaining advantages of scale the Downstate Planning Team is looking to fill Communications Director and New Media Director positions to help drive these plans forward. Nothing like this has been attempted at a regional level before, if you are an entrepreneurial spirit who is willing to work hard and push limits this is a fantastic opportunity to help shape advocacy for a constituency with growing power in Democratic politics.

We're also looking for talented individuals who are interested in building their skills and portfolios on the Media Team and Chapter Development Team. The Media team will work closely with the New Media Director and Communications Director to craft the actual content which will appear online and be sent to media outlets. The Chapter Devleopment team will work directly with the Downstate VP to help start chapters in the Bronx and Suffolk and ensure that the existing chapters are getting the support they need. Interested please contact ben@nysyd.net for more details.

Below are the descriptions of the Directorship roles. If you are interested please send your resume and a cover letter to the Downstate Vice President Benjamin Yee at ben@nysyd.net. All roles are entirely volunteer.

 

Communications Director

Currently each chapter is responsible for its own communications and there is virtually no concept of unified messaging which limits the young democrats ability to weigh in on larger, region wide issues or speak with a strong and unified voice as advocates for youth interests in New York.

The role of the communications director for the downstate region will be to

  1. Identify opportunities for the young democrats to weigh in on issues of the day.
  2. Help Coordinate messaging campaigns with the downstate chapters' communications apparatus.
  3. Help develop messaging for the downstate young democrats as a whole by keeping track of the messaging agendas of the chapters and their positions on issues.
  4. Supply support and aide to any chapters in need of communications expertise

This is the first time that anything like this will have been attempted. It will require tenacity and innovation but, if done well, provides an opportunity to be a mouth piece for an increasingly relevant and powerful constituency in democratic politics.

 

New Media Director

The New Media director would be serving at the downstate regional level. Although young people are virtually synonymous with technology and in the internet in politics, many Young Democrat chapters lack fundamentals like proper websites, online dues acceptance or custom domains.

Currently each chapter is responsible for its own online presence and there is little dissemination of best practices or pooling of resources for efficiency. Many of the chapters do not have any members with expertise in this area which hinders their ability to propagate their message and attract members through the internet.

The role of the New Media director for the downstate region will be to

  1. Help develop a New Media engagement strategy with the Downstate Chapters to build membership and activism
  2. Maintain downstatedems.com and create a downstate calendar.
  3. Work with the communications director to manage the online components of any messaging campaigns.
  4. Help establish the downstate chapters with a solid web presence including but not limited to
    1. Wordpress sites
    2. Google Apps (mail, calendar, etc)

This is the first time that anything like this will have been attempted. It will require tenacity and innovation but provides a critical opportunity to lay the groundwork for the growth of the Young Dems and the 2012 campaign cycle.

 

Creative Director

Branding and marketing assets are crucial to the recognition and promotion of the Young Democrats brand. The Creative Director will be responsible for developing the look and feel of the Downstate Region and aiding chapters in building their brands.

The role of the creative director for the downstate region will be to

  1. Aid chapters in developing logos and other marketing materials including flyers and web design.
  2. Develop graphics and other collateral for the Downstate region.
  3. Work to maintain a cohesive brand for the Downstate region while allowing individuality amongst the chapters.
  4. Work with the communications and new media directors to develop assets for and run ad campaigns.

This is the first time that anything like this will have been attempted. It will require tenacity and innovation but, if done well, provides an opportunity to be a mouth piece for an increasingly relevant and powerful constituency in democratic politics.