PRAXIS: THE ARTISTS’ UNION OF IRELAND
Election Information for Candidates
About Praxis and the Election
Praxis: The Artists’ Union of Ireland is a trade union established in 2021 by artists for artists and arts workers across all disciplines in Ireland. We define artist in the widest sense of the word. The union is committed to giving artists and arts workers strategic power in their places of work and to improve their living and working conditions. As of 2024, Praxis is an official branch within the Services Division of SIPTU (Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union).
Praxis is currently seeking candidates for election to the Praxis Union Council, in four roles detailed below. The Praxis Union Council is a body democratically elected by members that oversees the day-to-day running of the Union. Elected Officers are responsible for implementing Praxis Union policy, working with the Council on day-to-day Union matters, and carrying out duties specific to their role. Officers serve the membership, acting in their best interest and working to deliver upon the goals set by members at the AGMs. All members of Praxis are entitled to nominate themselves for election to Council.
The terms of the position are as follows:
- The term for Officers is three years.
- This is a voluntary, unpaid position, with expenses covered.
- Officers are expected to contribute max. 5hrs of voluntary work per week to Union activities.
- Officers may work remotely from any location.
- Periods of temporary leave can be arranged for Officers upon agreement with the Council.
- The Council takes at least two-week breaks at Christmas and during the summer.
The expected start date for elected Officers is January 2025.
Members can nominate themselves for an Officer position in Council by emailing their name and the position they are running for to info@praxisunion.ie with subject header ‘ELECTION NOMINATION 2024.’ The deadline for nominations is Friday, 29nd November 2024.
After their nomination, election candidates will be asked to submit a 200-word election statement that will be distributed to members.Voting will take place from December 6th 2024.
For more information about the duties and responsibilities of Officers, and Union election procedures, please see Rule 4 of the Union Rule Book or contact info@praxisunion.ie.
Visions Objectives Strategy and Principles of the union can be found here.
OFFICER ROLE DESCRIPTIONS
1. Disputes Officer (1 vacancy)
Praxis’ two Disputes Officers are the first port of call for members experiencing issues and disputes in their workplace. The Disputes Officer will support members to develop and implement a strategy to resolve these issues or disputes. In doing so, they will work closely with other members of the Praxis Council as required. The Disputes Officer will also work with the Council to oversee the day-to-day running of the union.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Be the first port of call for all disputes and issues reported to the union by members.
- Support members to resolve these disputes by establishing goals, undertaking a power analysis, developing a step-by-step action plan, and implementing these actions.
- Keep official records of disputes and actions taken.
- Work with the Recruitment Officers to organise workplaces experiencing disputes.
- Work with the Legal Officer to protect the legal rights and responsibilities of the union and its members when handling disputes.
- Work with the Communications Officer to develop and implement communications strategies for disputes.
- Work with the Welfare Officer to resolve particularly sensitive cases.
- Work with the Equality and Accessibility Officer to resolve cases pertaining to an equality or accessibility issue.
- Follow up with members who have reported issues and disputes.
- Attend monthly Council meetings and report to Council.
- Assist in the day-to-day running of the Union.
Desirable Skills and Experience
- Detail oriented and good record keeper.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Ability to think strategically and negotiate delicate power relations
- Ability to plan and prioritise effectively
- Experience in trade union activity, political organising, or activism.
2. Equality & Accessibility Officer
The Equality & Accessibility Officer is responsible for monitoring and advancing equality and accessibility within the Union, advising on members’ cases where inequality and inaccessibility is a factor, and advocating on behalf of the Union for greater equality and accessibility in the arts and society overall.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Work with affected members to develops and implement equality, accessibility, and diversity policies for the Union
- Works with the other Officers to monitor the implementation of these policies in all areas of union activity.
- Provides advice, guidance and support on equality and diversity cases or reaches out to organisation, communities or people who can provide same
- Works with the Recruitment Officer to create statistics about the make-up of the Union’s membership
- Works with the Recruitment Officer to recruit and organise social classes and identities that are under-represented in the Irish arts or in the union
- Works with the Education Officer to develop equality, diversity, and accessibility training for members, Officers, and staff
- Works with the Education Officer to carry out research related to Equality and Accessibility in the Irish arts
- Presents Equality and Accessibility reports and recommendations to organisations working with artists
- Works with the Outreach Officer to develop alliances with organisations and groups advocating for greater equality and accessibility in Ireland
- Develops systems for reporting any incidents of discrimination and works with the Welfare officer to implement the Union’s policy of Restorative Justice
- Attends council meetings
- Assists in the day-to-day running of the Union
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Desirable Skills & Experience
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to relate to a wide range of people and to make and maintain key relationships
- Experience working in the areas of equality and accessibility, especially in the contexts of the arts, trade union activity, political organising or activism
- Broad knowledge of the equality and accessibility issues facing the arts in Ireland
- Problem-solving skills
- A sensitive, patient, open-minded, and deep listening approach to communication, with a willingness to continuously learn from the experiences of members
- Good formal writing skills, with experience in writing policy or regulatory documents
- Ability to represent minority groups within the Union membership and communicate their needs and interests effectively
3. Communications Officer
The Communications Officer is responsible for developing and implementing the Communications Strategy of the Union. They appoint and oversee the work of Communications staff such as graphic designers, web developers, and social media managers. They also act as the official spokesperson of the Union in public relations.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Develops and implements the Union’s communication strategy for both online and offline media
- Acts as the official spokesperson of the Union
- Appoints and oversees the work of Communications staff such as website developers, social media managers, graphic designers, photographers and videographers
- Responsible for keeping the Union’s website and social media channels updated with content
- Creates guidelines for the use of the Union’s identity and monitors this use, ensuring consistency across the union.
- Creates visual assets for the Union
- Oversees the production, sales and distribution of Union merchandise
- Attends council meetings
- Works closely with the Recruitment Officers and other Officers as needed to develop Communications strategies and assets for these areas
- Assists in the day-to-day running of the Union
- Works closely with campaigns officers on publicising Praxis campaigns
Relevant Skills and Experience
- Excellent communication skills both orally and in writing
- Good IT skills, including platforms such as Hootsuite, WordPress, Mailchimp, and Adobe Suite
- Basic design experience
- Experience in communicating with the media, in newspapers, television, radio, podcasts etc.
- Copywriting skills
- Strategic thinking
- Creativity, visual skills, and an eye for detail
- Ability to prioritise and plan effectively
- Experience in trade union activity, political organising or activism
4. Regional Recruitment Officer (Ulster)
The Regional Recruitment Officers are responsible for continuously growing Union membership and maintaining records related to membership. The Recruitment Officer for Ulster will work alongside the other Regional Recruitment Officers to grow Praxis’ membership around Ireland, with their emphasis being on the Ulster region. As Praxis completes its merger with SIPTU, the Regional Recruitment Officer for Ulster will support the Recruitment and Membership Mapping Project Coordinator in this transition period. As Praxis is an all-Ireland union, the Ulster Recruitment Officer should have knowledge of working within both a Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland context.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Liaise with the other recruitment officers to develop and implement the recruitment strategy of the Union
- Support the Recruitment and Membership Mapping Project coordinator as they map out Praxis’ potential membership and plan a route to majority membership in Ireland.
- Sets membership targets for their region
- Maintains secure and organised membership records
- Monitors member retention rate
- Identifies and resolves gaps in membership
- Appoints Union Organisers and oversees their recruitment duties
- Travels across their region to meet and recruit artists (all travel costs remunerated by the union)
- Manages membership applications
- Deals with new member queries
- Provides inductions for new members
- Reports to the Council and membership on trends in membership.
- Attends council meetings.
- Works closely with the Communication Officer to promote Union membership
- Works closely with the Equality and Accessity Officer to achieve a diverse membership
- Assists in the day-to-day running of the Union
Desired Skills and Experience
- Excellent communication skills, with a strong ability to represent the Union and to communicate the benefits of Union membership to a diverse range of artists
- Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to make and maintain key relationships
- Strategic thinking, and an ability to prioritise and plan effectively
- A broad knowledge of the diversity of practices in Irish art; being familiar with practices located across the island of Ireland, across a wide range of disciplines, and across a number of approaches such as the D.I.Y., applied arts, and the fine arts.
- Experience in trade union activity, political organising or activism
