What it means to be a Director
Content
The Content Team’s key task is the selection and preparation of all speakers. This role would be suitable for you if you are an excellent researcher and are confident and committed to the ethos of TED. Other responsibilities include speaker preparation and speaker hospitality, working closely with all speakers to make sure all arrangements are met and content is rehearsed to ensure speakers give the best talk of their life.
Content is responsible for suggesting and contacting potential speakers for the main TEDxWarwick conference and for the two TEDxWarwick salon events. The team is therefore looking for candidates with the following qualities:
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Excellent intuition and research skills
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Excellent communication skills
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Ability to remain committed and focused in the face of regular disappointment
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Due to the high profile nature of the speakers we contact, a high level of professionalism and competency with the English language is required for this position
Corporate Relations
The Corporate Relations Team focuses on creating and maintaining strong partnership relations with sponsors and with the press. This is an ongoing process throughout the year and requires applicants who are committed to working intimately with our sponsors and press contacts. The team is therefore looking for applicants who:
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Are professional, persuasive and confident in their interactions with the companies that we deal with
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Have strong written and verbal communication skills and flawless attention to detail when it comes to writing to external contacts
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Have a holistic understanding and interest in what drives TEDxWarwick and what makes it valuable to sponsors and the press
The Corporate Relations Team is an excellent opportunity to explore negotiation, salesman and partnership skills. Much of the learning with TEDx comes on the job and so enthusiasm comes before experience.
Creative
The Creative Team focuses on creating all graphical and visual elements for upcoming TEDxWarwick events. There are various aspects covered within the Creative Team, which include, but are not limited to digital photography, shooting and editing video footage, creating posters and flyers for marketing, stage and magazine design, and TEDxWarwick merchandise creation to a professional standard.
On the one hand, we are looking for team members who:
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Have experience in at least one of the following programs: Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign
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Are willing to dedicate a fair portion of their time throughout the year towards creating visual elements for the TEDxWarwick brand
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We are looking for directors with an eye for detail, and the ability to curate visual elements as means to promote our events. If either (or both) of these descriptions are a match for your skill sets, we want to hear from you.
Marketing
The Marketing team works towards moulding the public perception and the branding of TEDxWarwick, in and around the Warwick community, through the promotion of our event as well as the TED ethos. The framework and focus of our outreach effort binds us closely with the rest of the team, in particular Media and Creative. The Marketing team are looking for members who:
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Preferably have previous experience in marketing.
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Can creatively and effectively communicate core ideas (both verbally and in writing)
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Understand the audience they are trying to reach
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And ideally (but not necessarily) have some experience working with social media and blogging
Most importantly, however, the Marketing Team values a genuine drive to overcome uncertainties and instinctive passion for learning, as well as organisation skills and an ability to work under pressure.
Operations
The Operations Team is responsible for the flawless execution of TEDxWarwick 2021. This includes, and is not limited to organising the venue, catering, ticketing and volunteer management. You will be working closely with the other TEDxWarwick teams to ensure that all logistics and operations are in order, and all our events run smoothly.
An Operations Director must be able to communicate effectively with service providers, have a great attention to detail and be able to deal with unexpected problems. Due to the nature of the work, team members must be able to dedicate large amounts of time in the weeks leading up to the event. We are looking for Directors who:
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Have strong organisational skills, preferably with previous experience in organising events.
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Have excellent attention to detail.
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Have strong communication skills.
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Are flexible, passionate, conscientious, and are willing to take the initiative.
Publications
We successfully introduced the TEDxWarwick Magazine in 2014 and have issued it every year since. Therefore, we are looking forPublication Directors that will lead our publications team, which is responsible for editing and curating the content of the TEDxWarwick 2021 magazine and blog. They include information and articles about the main event, history of the society, salon events, past and future speakers- basically anything that might be relevant to TEDxWarwick. We are looking for someone who:
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Has a strong understanding of the TED ethos and a vision for TEDxWarwick Magazine
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Has strong writing skills and passion for blogging
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Has excellent time management skills and is able to work under pressure
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Has good communication skills for liaising with the Technical, Creative, Marketing and other teams in order to achieve great results
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Preferably (although not necessarily) has some previous experience in blogging, writing articles for a magazine or a newspaper
Technical
The Technical team is responsible for the design and maintenance of our website, as well as various technical aspects of the live events. We work closely with the Creative and Marketing teams, and in particular liaise with departments of the University and the Warwick Arts Centre in the run-up to our main event.
The following skills are preferable but not essential; anyone with an interest in technology and the desire to learn will be considered.
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Some web development experience. We love modern web features from HTML5, CSS3 and ES6, but don’t worry if you just know the classics. For the curious, our website is built with Jekyll and hosted on GitHub Pages. It’s also open source.
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A basic understanding of the technical aspects of live events, including live sound; event photo/videography, and vision mixing.
In addition, the technical team is also looking for camera operators for all of our events who are either experienced, or otherwise confident in their abilities.
Treasurer
At TEDxWarwick, the Treasurer is a combined administrative and treasurer role. Our Treasurer is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the administrative side of the event organising process. Duties include strict budget management, scheduling meetings, aiding Corporate Relations with sponsorship, taking detailed and accurate minutes, ensuring deadlines are kept to and liaising with the Warwick SU on administrative and financial matters. As an individual role, you will act as the first point of contact for everyone in the society regarding society funds and must be to make executive decisions for the financial security of the conference.
We are therefore looking for an applicant who:
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Has excellent organisational skills
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Has proficiency in financial administration
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Is reliable and punctual
It is preferred, although not essential, to be familiar with Warwick SU’s finance and administration system.