OCS AND OUR MISSION
Oxford Climate Society is the largest environmental society within the University of Oxford and one of the leading student-run climate societies in the world. Our purpose is to develop the next generation of informed climate leaders. We do this through a variety of initiatives including speaker events with world-leading climate experts, educational programmes including our award winning School of Climate Change which is now teaching over 1,400 people from all over the world. We also run the world’s largest student-run climate journal, Anthroposphere and we are currently running a Decarbonise Oxford campaign. We are also working with the university to develop net-zero policies and to incorporate climate into the Oxford curriculum.
We create and bring together networks current students and alumni with academic, corporate and policy professionals. Through our portfolio of events, projects, and media, we inspire, educate and empower the student body to use their intellectual resources with us to drive progress towards zero-carbon futures within and beyond the university.
While protesting is beneficial for raising awareness of the appetite for change, understanding how to actually deliver the demands of a just transition is a huge challenge, requiring leadership and significant intellectual application.
This is where you come in.
Join us to lead and grow a network of climate education and action emanating from Oxford University. Design and deliver educational and artistic projects, work alongside high-profile stakeholders to de-carbonise the university and upgrade the curricula, build networks of alum to coordinate achieving net-zero in their work sectors, build engagement with and communicate perspectives on the risk and opportunities of climate change by coordinating our media teams, collaborate on inter-sectional projects, and much more. OCS can provide the platform and resources for you to implement your ideas and motivation for climate action, and we can’t wait to work with you over the coming years.
For more information about what we do please click here.
We create and bring together networks current students and alumni with academic, corporate and policy professionals. Through our portfolio of events, projects, and media, we inspire, educate and empower the student body to use their intellectual resources with us to drive progress towards zero-carbon futures within and beyond the university.
While protesting is beneficial for raising awareness of the appetite for change, understanding how to actually deliver the demands of a just transition is a huge challenge, requiring leadership and significant intellectual application.
This is where you come in.
Join us to lead and grow a network of climate education and action emanating from Oxford University. Design and deliver educational and artistic projects, work alongside high-profile stakeholders to de-carbonise the university and upgrade the curricula, build networks of alum to coordinate achieving net-zero in their work sectors, build engagement with and communicate perspectives on the risk and opportunities of climate change by coordinating our media teams, collaborate on inter-sectional projects, and much more. OCS can provide the platform and resources for you to implement your ideas and motivation for climate action, and we can’t wait to work with you over the coming years.
For more information about what we do please click here.
ABOUT THE ELECTIONS
For more information on any of our teams and roles, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any of our current committee members! If you want to get involved but aren’t sure what would be the best fit for you, then please feel free to contact us - we’d love to chat about the best way for you to get the most out of OCS.
Please note that:
Format for application:
Please note that:
- All these roles run from the end of Hilary 2021 to the end of Hilary 2022, with handovers and actionable steps starting from Hilary 2021 Week 8.
- All members of Oxford University are welcome to run for a position!
- Only current Oxford University OCS team members and School of Climate Change participants can attend and vote in the elections
- We actively encourage applications from all backgrounds and experience levels. While OCS has expanded significantly over the last year, please don't let this put you off if you haven't been involved before, or have little/no prior experience! For many of us on the core committee, this was our first major engagement with environmental action (in the widest sense) or an Oxford society, and we have grown alongside the society. What we're really looking for is enthusiastic, motivated, passionate, friendly people who are willing to learn from and work with others, and are looking for a way to take best advantage of the great opportunities that OCS can give you! Experience beyond that is just a useful bonus, and with the right mindset can be gained /augmented along the way.
- If you apply for a role on OCS’ core committee but are unsuccessful, there may be availability for you to join one OCS at a sub-committee level on one of our teams.
Format for application:
- Please make sure you have read the role positions clearly, and familiarise yourself with the scope of OCS’ teams and work.
- Fill out the application form below before the deadline (11:59pm Wednesday 24th February, 6th week HT 2021).
- Election hustings will happen at our AGM meeting, Wednesday 3rd March 7th week HT 2021. Event format:
- We will open the AGM with a short presentation about OCS' progress over the last year.
- We will then have hustings for each role, one at a time, in the order President, Vice-President, (etc through other roles).
- For each role the candidates will sequentially give a short speech of around 3 minutes.
- After the speeches there will be an open round of questions from the current committee and event attendees. Questions should be directed to all candidates equally.
- Following the questions there will be a vote for the role, and the winner will be immediately announced before proceeding to the next position.
- If you are unsuccessful in applying for a role, you are allowed and encouraged to apply for another role later in the evening. Don't feel bad if this happens to you - this happens every year, and is very normal. Some of our best members joined OCS on their second choice application.
Please note: Your application must first be approved by the current committee before proceeding to elections via hustings. We advise all applicants to get in touch with the current committee member for the role they are applying for in advance of applying to find out more information about the role.
Available Roles:
President & secretary
The President is the head of the society and is in charge of ensuring the smooth running of the society as a whole. The president is responsible for dealing with any issues that may arise within the society, and is the first point of call for any large problems. They control the direction of the society and make sure that each of the constituent parts are working in synchrony towards the same overall goals. As they are the main representative and head of the society they should always be well presented and highly communicable, particularly when pitching the society to new audiences. They must be ambitious and have a strong idea of where they want the society to go and how they would like it to progress. They must be aligned with the OCS core values which centre around social justice and inclusion for all. They also work as the secretary for the society, controlling the communications with key sponsors, organisations and important groups. They will be working closely with the Vice-president to make decisions and manage the society so they should be able to work well in group dynamics. They should be relatively well read in the climate space, although this is not a requirement, it certainly helps to navigate the space within Oxford and the UK more broadly. Since the advent of Covid-19, OCS has greatly increased its online presence, attracting an ever increasing global and more diverse audience. The president must have clear goals of how they would like to leverage the online space to further increase OCS’s global reach and climate impact. It is also critical to realise that the role of President requires a significant time commitment.
Ideal candidates will:
If you are interested in applying for the role of President, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the current President at nathan.lawson@ox.ac.uk, or current Vice President at shobhan.dhir@stcatz.ox.ac.uk .
Ideal candidates will:
- Strong communication skills- both in writing and verbally, this is important for leading meetings and maintaining good relationships with other societies, advisory board members and sponsors.
- Highly organised - as the leader of the society, you must be well organised in order to demand the same from the rest of the committee.
- Confident- ability to talk to large audiences and pitch the society well at a range of events.
- Punctual - As the leader of the society it is important to set an example for the rest of the committee when representing the society to be on time and well prepared for every event.
- Ambitious - For a society to progress it must have a leader with ambitious but also practical goals.
- Comfortable speaking in front of large audiences – both the President and Vice President will need to represent the society so it is useful to have some experience in presenting
- Critically minded - good attention to detail, and a capacity to make decisions in the face of ambiguity – many major decisions require careful assessment, particularly regarding large initiatives, sponsorships, or unexpected problems. It is very important to be able to identify the risks involved and make appropriate decisions for OCS
- Strong sense of integrity – a critical part of the success of OCS is its academic impartiality and integrity. Both the President and Vice President must be able to protect this from corporate and other influences
If you are interested in applying for the role of President, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the current President at nathan.lawson@ox.ac.uk, or current Vice President at shobhan.dhir@stcatz.ox.ac.uk .
vice-president & treasurer
The role of Vice President is to work alongside the President in leading OCS, ensuring progress is made in informing both students and the public about climate change, and in having meaningful climate change mitigation impact. Together the President and Vice President develop the vision and direction for the society, and ensure that OCS activities align with its core values. It is essential for the President and Vice President to work closely together to lead, manage, and support the significant and broad workstreams of OCS. It is also critical to realise that the role of Vice President requires a significant time commitment.
In addition, the Vice President takes on the role of Treasurer, which involves managing the society’s finances and sponsorships.
The roles of Vice President & Treasurer calls for someone who is:
This position is challenging yet immensely rewarding. It presents the opportunity to be involved in all of OCS’s initiatives and to be at the heart of one of the most ambitious and impactful student climate organisations in the world. If you're interested in applying for this role, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the current Vice President at shobhan.dhir@stcatz.ox.ac.uk or the current President at nathan.lawson@jesus.ox.ac.uk.
In addition, the Vice President takes on the role of Treasurer, which involves managing the society’s finances and sponsorships.
The roles of Vice President & Treasurer calls for someone who is:
- Highly organised and can manage their time very well – given the significant number and range of projects which need to be coordinated, supported and spearheaded
- Critically minded, good attention to detail, and a capacity to make decisions in the face of ambiguity – many major decisions require careful assessment, particularly regarding large initiatives, sponsorships, or unexpected problems. It is very important to be able to identify the risks involved and make appropriate decisions for OCS
- Able to work well with different people – leading the society, managing the committee and coordinating with large groups of people inside and outside of OCS requires someone who is good at working with others
- Strong communication skills – both in writing and verbally, this is important for leading meetings and maintaining good relationships with other societies, advisory board members and sponsors.
- Educated in the climate space – it is very useful, though not essential, to have a good understanding of climate change. This facilitates the shaping of relevant new initiatives
- Comfortable speaking in front of large audiences – both the President and Vice President will need to represent the society so it is useful to have some experience in presenting
- Competent with basic analysis – Important for managing finances
- Strong sense of integrity – a critical part of the success of OCS is its academic impartiality and integrity. Both the President and Vice President must be able to protect this from corporate and other influences
This position is challenging yet immensely rewarding. It presents the opportunity to be involved in all of OCS’s initiatives and to be at the heart of one of the most ambitious and impactful student climate organisations in the world. If you're interested in applying for this role, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the current Vice President at shobhan.dhir@stcatz.ox.ac.uk or the current President at nathan.lawson@jesus.ox.ac.uk.
events director
The Events Director leads the work in managing, organising and running the weekly OCS events. This involves:
Due to Covid-19, OCS events have moved online for the foreseeable future, enabling us to host leaders in the climate change field from all around the world! So this is a great role if you enjoy engaging with world leading experts and activists! We are always looking to further develop and diversify our range of event themes and formats, so this role also gives you many opportunities to realise your own ideas.
Given the unprecedented situation, this role will involve working very closely with the President and Vice-President to both shape and manage the events in their new online format.
We are looking for someone who can dedicate significant time and energy to this role. The ideal skills we are looking for are:
If you would like to discuss this role further, please email the current Events Director Safaa at safaa.loukiliidrissi@stx.ox.ac.uk
- Researching topics and speakers
- Considering diverse ranges of types of events: seminars, debates, workshops, panel discussions
- Coordinating collaborations with other societies and other OCS sub-teams
- Ensuring speakers invites are sent and confirmed in time
- Creating events posters and descriptions
- Leading events promotion
- Logistical planning and management of the events themselves
Due to Covid-19, OCS events have moved online for the foreseeable future, enabling us to host leaders in the climate change field from all around the world! So this is a great role if you enjoy engaging with world leading experts and activists! We are always looking to further develop and diversify our range of event themes and formats, so this role also gives you many opportunities to realise your own ideas.
Given the unprecedented situation, this role will involve working very closely with the President and Vice-President to both shape and manage the events in their new online format.
We are looking for someone who can dedicate significant time and energy to this role. The ideal skills we are looking for are:
- Strong organisational skills, particularly in managing communications and logistics of multiple events
- Excellent communication and writing skills in contacting speakers and writing event descriptions
- Great events promotion skills - creating and managing facebook and eventbrite events, sharing events through OCS networks, increasing the global reach of our events
- Good speaking ability - opportunities to moderate live events
- Basic design skills to make events posters, some Canva experience is desirable (look at past OCS events posters for reference)
- Ability to work very well in a team towards a collective goal, and ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. Things often change last minute!
If you would like to discuss this role further, please email the current Events Director Safaa at safaa.loukiliidrissi@stx.ox.ac.uk
action director
The role of Action Director is to mobilize Oxford in the direction of urgent climate action. In the past, this has meant working closely with both students and staff to work toward Decarbonising Oxford Colleges by campaigning for more ambitious carbon and biodiversity targets and action plans, as well as running information workshops for staff. This largely involves:
b) Organising and chairing meetings
c) Providing resources for campaigners in colleges
◦ Writing carbon targets
◦ Sustainable food
◦ Sustainable Buildings
- Managing the OCS Action Team with whom you can organise events and workshops and plan the Decarbonise Oxford Campaign.
- Overseeing the Decarbonise Oxford Campaign whose aim is for colleges to have carbon and biodiversity targets which are at least as ambitious as those of the new University Strategy (net zero carbon and biodiversity net gain by 2035). This involves:
b) Organising and chairing meetings
c) Providing resources for campaigners in colleges
- In the past, this role has also involved organising College workshops: These are a series of workshops for bursars, students, and other staff which provide information and resources to implement concrete sustainable changes in colleges. Examples include:
◦ Writing carbon targets
◦ Sustainable food
◦ Sustainable Buildings
- At previous points in time, the Action Team has also worked on a campaign for more climate education in the Oxford curriculum.
- Think creatively about campaign strategy
- Manage contacting and networking with staff and students across the University about campaign issues
- Take over administrative work of running meetings both within the team, and organising larger workshops and events for bigger groups
education director
The role of the Education Director is to make climate education accessible to people in and beyond Oxford, primarily through the School of Climate Change but also potentially through the Climate on the Curriculum campaign (which more recently has fallen under the remit of other OCS members).
School of Climate Change: You will work very closely with staff in Oxford who teach on the course, the Smith School who manages our Finance and Greencoat Capital, our corporate sponsor.
Climate on the Curriculum: You will work with the Oxford SU and the University, as well as Department Leads, to ensure that the reading lists and materials for each subject related to climate are disseminated and used.
The role of Education Director involves coordinating the following parts of the School of Climate Change:
a) Coordinating with Professors and PhD students to create a cohesive timetable for the term
b) Managing promotion through social media, reaching out to international education initiatives etc.
c) Managing applications and acceptances
d) Managing payments for the course, as well as financial hardship exemptions
e) Managing our relationship with Greencoat Capital and the Smith School, providing regular updates on the School
f) Running the capstone exercise, which involves randomly creating groups, making sure groups have adequate guidance etc
g) After each session, coordinating the follow up of key messages and learnings
h) Managing the SoCC community through the online Slack space, the weekend discussion groups and the LinkedIn community
As we transition into this new online world, the role also involves making sure that we are promoting the School far beyond our normal reach and to making the climate education as accessible as possible for as many people as possible.
Together, the responsibilities of this role call for someone who is able to:
School of Climate Change: You will work very closely with staff in Oxford who teach on the course, the Smith School who manages our Finance and Greencoat Capital, our corporate sponsor.
Climate on the Curriculum: You will work with the Oxford SU and the University, as well as Department Leads, to ensure that the reading lists and materials for each subject related to climate are disseminated and used.
The role of Education Director involves coordinating the following parts of the School of Climate Change:
- Managing the Education Team, who fall under the following roles:
- Finance and Admissions Officer
- Technical Delivery Officer
- Comms Officer
- Capstone Officer (Mentor Focus)
- Capstone Officer (Group Focus)
a) Coordinating with Professors and PhD students to create a cohesive timetable for the term
b) Managing promotion through social media, reaching out to international education initiatives etc.
c) Managing applications and acceptances
d) Managing payments for the course, as well as financial hardship exemptions
e) Managing our relationship with Greencoat Capital and the Smith School, providing regular updates on the School
f) Running the capstone exercise, which involves randomly creating groups, making sure groups have adequate guidance etc
g) After each session, coordinating the follow up of key messages and learnings
h) Managing the SoCC community through the online Slack space, the weekend discussion groups and the LinkedIn community
As we transition into this new online world, the role also involves making sure that we are promoting the School far beyond our normal reach and to making the climate education as accessible as possible for as many people as possible.
Together, the responsibilities of this role call for someone who is able to:
- Think outside the box and make sure we are making the School as accessible, understandable and enjoyable as possible;
- Has a keen eye for detail and able to juggle several different components of the project at once
- Can manage the large workflow for your team and make sure that everyone understands what they need to do (and isn’t overworked), as well as having an eye to the future of what may present as problems or wrinkles over the course of the School and afterwards
- Be comfortable hosting the School and being the “face” of the early weeks as you explain the roles and objective of the School;
outreach director
The Outreach Director is in charge of growing OCS’s reach outside of the direct student body in Oxford and globally. With Covid-19 the reach of OCS has grown considerably with over 75% of the most recent School of Climate Change 1400 participants being from outside of Oxford and from all over the world The aim of the Outreach team to build a network to mobilise for climate action and to increase the global reach of OCS initiatives. Activities will involve:
To this end, we are looking for someone who can:
If you have any questions, please contact nathan.lawson@jesus.ox.ac.uk or shobhan.dhir@stcatz.ox.ac.uk
- Working closely with Oxford Climate Alumni Network (OxCAN)
- Increasing the global reach of OCS activities, events and initiatives
- Collaborating with environmental groups and departments in Oxforrd
- Engaging with current students to help benefit their future careers by providing networking and mentoring opportunities with alumni
- Developing a campaign to redirect university donations towards pro-climate goals and use this as a leverage for change
- Communicating relevant work of OCS to platforms to promote the profile of OCS’ and its members’ work on climate solutions
To this end, we are looking for someone who can:
- Coordinate and organise relevant meetings with the various departments and OxCAN
- Reach out to climate organisations and institutions across the world
- Mobilise their own networks within Oxford
- Ensure further outreach ideas and projects reach their potential
- Coordinate with the other OCS teams
If you have any questions, please contact nathan.lawson@jesus.ox.ac.uk or shobhan.dhir@stcatz.ox.ac.uk
media director
We’re pretty much all agreed on the facts of climate change. Now more than ever, what counts is how we communicate those facts--that’s why the role of Media Director is and will increasingly become such an important one for OCS! This role will be largely managerial and involve running the various teams that work on different arts and media-related projects including:
- The OCS blog
- Social media - Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
- Links with ‘Anthroposphere’, our climate magazine
ARTS COORDINATOR (Within Media Team)
Overview
RISE
This is the main responsibility of the arts co-ordinator. We collaborate with InTandem Publications, a local Oxford non-profit, to produce a climate zine, with each edition based around a specific theme. You will be responsible for the production and marketing of the zine on the OCS side
** You’ll have support from InTandem throughout the process; all these tasks will be done in collaboration with them
Production responsibilities
Other projects
The Flute and the Bowl
In-person launch events
Your own projects!
If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch via emily.passmore@balliol.ox.ac.uk!
- Oversee the creative output of OCS
- Produce the OCS zine, RISE, in collaboration with InTandem Publications
- Market the OCS zine, finding digital and physical spaces in which to sell it
- Continue OCS’s collaboration with Oxfordshire CAG, producing a piece of work (currently planned as a zine) for their Autumn 2021 20 Stories exhibition
- Monitor the possibility of resuming or adapting OCS’s pre-Covid arts projects, most pressingly The Flute and The Bowl workshops facilitating collaborations between scientific researchers and
RISE
This is the main responsibility of the arts co-ordinator. We collaborate with InTandem Publications, a local Oxford non-profit, to produce a climate zine, with each edition based around a specific theme. You will be responsible for the production and marketing of the zine on the OCS side
** You’ll have support from InTandem throughout the process; all these tasks will be done in collaboration with them
Production responsibilities
- Brainstorm a theme
- Send out a call for submissions; produce publicity materials to promote this
- Collate submissions, deciding which pieces will be included, and communicating any changes needed with people who have submitted
- Organise a cut and stick session, either virtually or physically
- Organise printing with Oxford Greenprint
- Manage the budget throughout the process, determining appropriate contributions from OCS and InTandem depending on their respective financial states
- Manage the digital publicity of the zine; produce social media materials to share
- Find physical spaces in which to sell the zine, for example selling a few copies to a café or workspace around Oxford
- Manage the stock of previous editions of RISE
- CAG Oxfordshire are holding an exhibition in Autumn 2021 showcasing the climate stories of 20 local organisations; and OCS and InTandem will be producing one of the pieces for this exhibition, currently planned as a special edition zine
- Attend meetings with the CAG Oxfordshire group to plan the exhibition piece
- Produce the exhibition piece
Other projects
The Flute and the Bowl
- The Flute and the Bowl is a series of workshops bringing together artists and scientists to produce a joint piece of work; we run them alongside The Flute and the Bowl society
- These have not been able to go ahead due to Covid restrictions; however, you will be responsible for running them if restrictions lift and The Flute and the Bowl society wish to collaborate again
In-person launch events
- In previous years, the arts co-ordinator has organised physical launch events for both our zine, RISE, and Anthroposphere, a journal produced by our sister society, as social events, publicity events and a source of revenue. You may wish to bring these back once Covid restrictions.
Your own projects!
- You may well wish to run your own artistic projects alongside these – that’s great!
- You’ll be responsible for pitching these projects to the OCS committee, and seeing them through.
If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch via emily.passmore@balliol.ox.ac.uk!
Please see this (hopefully) helpful diagram to see where these roles fit into OCS!
