JOB DESCRIPTIONS FOR CAMPAIGN ROLES

1 (OR MORE AS NEEDED OR AVAILABLE)

This responsibilities of this position depend on:

• the size and geography of the district (is the district large or have geographic distinctions that might make it more likely a volunteer will work in one specific region?) Also, if there is a region with higher voter-density, a single volunteer may want to be responsible for that particular area, while another volunteer might cover the remainder of the district.
• the person’s footprint in the community (are they only facilitating events which are organized by others, or are they also helping to do host-outreach).
  • It’s vital that there be clarity on role-responsibilities and deadlines.
    (It’s recommended that the Event Coordinator(s) have been responsible
    for event production before.)

TASKS:

• Coordinate between host (and/or venue) and campaign team — use checklists provided in this manual
• Ensure that all deadlines are met
• Help coordinate set-up/break-down & external signage when necessary
• Ensure that adequate quantities of remit envelopes, volunteer forms and campaign materials (and any other appropriate materials) are available (see notes in manual)
• Coordinate “special guest” recognition (make sure someone keeps a running list of electeds, sponsors and special guests to thank during the program; list of sponsors printed out and posted in the venue)
• Work with campaign team on event program
• Responsible for post-event follow-up
  • make sure thank you notes are sent
  • make sure that all financial responsibilities are met (outstanding invoices, appropriate ate information sent to the campaign treasurer, photos available for posting, etc.)

TASKS (OPTIONAL):

• Pursue additional hosts, event opportunities and dates (coordinate with Campaign Team)
• Given the wide variety of campaigns, the Campaign Coordinator and Candidate must define these perimeters and assign tasks as they fit.

1 (OR MORE)

If the campaign or geography are sufficient to justify more than one Coordinator, it’s recommended that the team structure consistent communication between all Walk Coordinators and the Campaign Coordinator.

Sometimes we might suggest a “Day of Action” or “Walk Day” event. At that point, if there are different walk regions, we will need to decide if these are localized or congruent (there might be reasons for either).

Both walking and phoning provide the campaign with the best real-time campaign feedback possible. In addition to the mechanics of organizing, it’s useful for these positions to have the ability to provide regular feedback to the team (whether that means they join the regular team call, or another regular opportunity is provided).

A NOTE ON USING MULTIPLE COORDINATORS
Pair Coordinators if it’s necessary to make the job manageable. Again, clear, consistent communication is crucial. Ways to divide responsibilities:

• Regional Coverage: one to focus on a voter-intensive or priority region and another to cover the remaining regions
• Tasks by time: one to work weekdays/another to cover the weekends; or days and evenings
• Regional Accessibility: cover areas where they live)

Caveat: A simpler system is more likely to succeed, and we cannot overstate the need for clarity on roles, responsibilities and deadlines.

TASKS:

• Set-up walk team calendar (working with Campaign Team)
• Confirm with walk team members twice before their scheduled walk shift (at least once via phone)
• Work with Campaign Team to assign walk areas (based on voter database, feedback to date, number/vigor of walkers, type of terrain, targeting, etc.)
• Dispatch walkers on-site, and check them back in after their shift **
  **This may include training which we will provide.
• Make sure there are refreshments (and snacks if appropriate)

1 (or more)

See section above: Using Multiple Coordinators

If the campaign or geography are sufficient to justify more than one Coordinator, it’s recommended that there be regular communication between all Phone Coordinators and the Campaign Coordinator.

Phone banks can be done en masse as a group, as part of a unique event or login information can be provided for individuals to call at their convenience. The Phone Coordinator is responsible for the organizing and follow-up of all phone call commitments.

Both walking and phoning provide the campaign with the best real-time campaign feedback possible. In addition to the mechanics of organizing, it’s useful for these positions to have the ability to provide regular feedback to the team (whether that means they join the regular team call, or another regular opportunity is provided).

TASKS:

• Set-up phone team calendar
• Set-up phone banks
• Confirm with phone team members twice before their scheduled walk shift (at least once via phone)
• Provide campaign team with feedback
• Follow-up on potential volunteers to increase the pool of phoners
• Make sure there are refreshments (and snacks if appropriate)

FINANCE COUNCIL MEMBERS

The Finance Council is there to help the candidate reach their financial target. This can be done in a variety of ways, and every supporter will be more comfortable or have the experience to help in their own way.

Additionally, campaigns have a range of fundraising options and limitations (depending on local ordinances, the kind of race and likely contributors). These constraints need to be taken into consideration when assembling a fundraising strategy.

One final note about fundraising in general: We strongly believe that fundraising itself is an important contribution to building campaign momentum. We would highly discourage solely prioritizing contributions from a small group of high-end contributors. While soliciting contributions may be uncomfortable for some candidates, it’s a necessary component for success.

VARIABLE TASKS (ANY/ALL):

• Personal pledge
• Host fundraising events (with financial targets). A fundraiser is an event specific to the goal of raising money. It is not a “meet and greet” which are generally open events without a financial target.
• Meet a specific specific overall commitment (in whatever variety or combination of ways they are comfortable)
• Assist in identifying additional potential contributors
• Help to secure candidate face-time with potential additional contributors and help to make successful introductions (for instance, active Chamber members might help secure support and contributions from other Chambers members and/or the Chamber itself).

As you will know by now, we strongly recommend a paid professional treasurer be hired to file your regular reports. But there are other tasks that should be done by a volunteer to keep costs down and information timely. (For instance, your paid Treasurer will not record any of the information received on a “remit” envelope, except for the contribution itself.)

The Assistant Treasurer should be a conscience person, with an excellent attention to detail. This is likely to be a fairly comprehensive position so we recommend that it not be coupled with any of the other team tasks.
We are here to help… so if any of your volunteers needs additional training, we are glad to be of service.

TASKS:

• • • Collect remittance (“remit”) envelopes from the mailbox
      • pull checks from the envelops, log contributions, copy checks for campaign reference, forward to paid treasurer
      • reconcile bank statements with income/expenses
      • collect additional information provided on the remit forms and add to Supporters/Contributors system
    • Track outstanding invoices
      • Campaign mail programs require some pre-payments; in most cases these must be paid before the mail is sent and have very short windows
      • Work with Event Coordinator (if/when necessary)
      • Assist in meeting time-sensitive financial commitments (generally it will be up to the paid treasurer, who holds the check book, to meet these deadlines but the Assistant Treasure can help facilitate and free the Campaign Coordinator up to focus on other tasks — obviously this must be clarified in advance of tight deadlines).

• TIP: Every jurisdiction has it’s own regulations for putting signs up, sign placement, and taking signs down. A team member should check with the city or county/counties that cover your district and get clarity on all of the rules before the campaign begins placing signs.

Campaign signs only have a specific window of time for when they can be legally displayed. This position should be responsible not only for making sure the signs are put up, but also for making sure they are taken down within the legally required 10-day post-election window.
The sign coordinator should:

TASKS:

• Work with Campaign Team to identify effective locations for signage
• Help to facilitate signage delivery and storage (if possible)
• Coordinate additional sign volunteers for delivery
• Coordinate with supporters who’ve asked for signs, to make sure all requests are responded to in a timely way (maximum 24-hour response rate), dates are set for delivery and delivery is successful
• Help Campaign Team to collect photos of supporters with their signs
  (for social media)
• Know what kind of signs are being used and ensure they have:
• Check with City/Count Clerks to clarify sign regulations.
  • proper tools for posting (for instance road signs need to be on wind-resistant structures like fence posts or 2×4’s)
  • volunteers to fold/add “wires” to yard signs (when necessary)
  • proper equipment (a truck if necessary, for delivery; post-pounders, etc.)

Letter writers are often folks who are no longer willing to walk. We can create a list of talking points and some sample paragraphs, but your team needs the skills to be able to take these as a foundation for creating unique letters of their own. “Cookie cutter” letters are not helpful.

This team can have it’s own coordinator or be coordinated by the Campaign Coordinator
(based on campaign size, geography, skill set, etc.)

Each campaign needs to identify:

• Regional publications
• Publication deadlines and cycles
• Submission methods and word counts
• What issues are most pertinent to which publication areas
• The teams may want to break out by:
• Publication coverage (which publications focus where)
• Issue(s)
• Geography (City, Town, “side of the mountain”, etc.)
• Timelines/Time availability
• Skill set (ie. authors, editors, recruiters)

TASKS:

• Recruit/cultivate a team of authors, throughout/across the district
• Make sure letters are posted to all/each publications regularly
• Read letters to the editors from publications (and provide aggregated feedback)
• Maintain message alignment with the campaign priority messages and focus
• Ensure that letters reflect positively on the campaign and candidate and don’t align the campaign or candidate with issues, priorities, directions, opinions or pursuits outside of the campaign focus (**some prolific online-authors come with their own personal history and passion.**)