Join Epigram’s Business Team and gain practical business experience at the heart of student life!

Epigram Business Team is hiring for the 2022/23 academic year. Being part of our team is a fantastic opportunity if you'd like to develop your skills in leadership, marketing, accounting, event management, logistics, and more. Note that this is not an editorial team opportunity, for which applications open next month.

This year, we will be holding elections at our AGM on 2nd May at 3PM, where we'll also be reviewing how Epigram has progressed over the last year.

What is the Epigram Business Team? Epigram comprises two major teams, Business and Editorial. The Editorial team writes, edits, designs, and publishes our digital and print news. The Business Team keeps things running by handling the advertising and financial accounts, marketing campaigns, alumni community, and more (see positions below).

What skills will I develop? Further details are provided in each role description, but you’ll gain practical experience and valuable connections within a large, diverse team. Business team members frequently work with one another on projects and develop a broad range of skills and experience.

Do I have to be a journalist? You don’t have to write for Epigram to be on the Business Team, although an interest in journalism and our product is definitely a plus!

The roles that we'll be electing are as follows:

President

General Secretary

Treasurer

Social Secretary and Equalities Officer

Head of Advertisements and Sales

Head of Marketing

Head of Alumni

Managing Director (President)

About you

• Highly organised
• Experience leading a team
• Strategic and creative thinker
• Good communicator‌‌

About the role

• Collaborate with stakeholders (Senior Editorial, the SU, third-party suppliers) to develop the society’s strategic plans and operationalise them throughout the year
• Break down long-term goals into realistic short-term tasks for each team and provide support for tasks as needed
• Ensure that work is appropriately and fairly delegated between Business and Editorial team members
• Regularly engage with individual business team members to help them innovate/improve their practices to better achieve their goals
• Alongside Editors-in-Chief, you are also a point of contact for any confidential support needed by members regarding any issues and should direct students to further wellbeing support as needed

Deputy Director (General Secretary)

About you

• Highly organised
• Good communicator
• Creative problem-solver
• Flexible and supportive‌‌

About the role

• Ensure the two Senior Editorial and Business teams communicate regularly and collaborate on decision-making and projects
• Oversee business functions to ensure they are on track with their tasks and that these tasks are achieving the society’s strategic goals
• Support Managing Director with managing the business team, resolving conflicts/roadblocks, and communicating with other stakeholders
• Organise distribution for each print run with facilities managers and team members for delivery
• Oversee achievement of the Bristol SU’s Balloon Accreditation Scheme

Head of Finance (Treasurer)

About you

• Detail-oriented
• Capable of communicating financial information as understandable recommendations
• Strategic planner‌‌

About the role

• The Society Treasurer works closely with other functions to inform their decisions from a financial point of view
• Create and manage finances with an annual budget tracker, cash flow statement, etc
• Inform strategic decisions for Senior Business and Editorial with key financial information/projections, ensuring the sustainability of our operations
• Communicate with the Bristol SU Finance team to pay and receive invoices to and from suppliers into our account
• Determine KPIs to motivate, benchmark, and track the performance of Ads & Sales, Marketing, and Socials teams
• Draw up and process invoices with clients to support sales

Social Secretary and Equalities Officer

About you

• Empathetic
• People person
• Good listener and communicator
• Interested in events and creatively minded‌‌

About the role

• Collaborate with Managing/Deputy Director to advise on individual members’ skills when launching new projects
• Carry out annual inclusivity report with BME Editor to understand if any groups are underrepresented in our journalism and amongst our society members and generate key recommendations for the Senior team
• Work with Senior Editorial to ensure that internal communications (e.g. Epigram Newsletter, Slack announcements, awards ceremonies) are celebrating the contributions of all teams

Head of Advertisements and Sales

About you

• People person
• Creative innovator and collaborator
• Good at managing others
• Interested in sales, marketing, or entrepreneurship
  

About the role

• Support and manage a team of Ads & Sales Executives to offer promotional opportunities to local and national businesses (e.g. digital/print newspaper adverts, on-campus digital screen slots, sponsored articles, social media stories...)
• Refine your and your team’s sales pitches to potential clients, finding good fits between our offerings and their needs
• Manage CRM (customer relationship management) database to track sales outreach efforts across teams
• Create incentives for clients and our sales team collaboratively with the Treasurer, e.g. bundle discounts for our clients or sales commissions for our team
• Learn to negotiate with clients, collaborate with other functions, and manage a team to successfully carry out sales campaigns

Head of Marketing

About you

• People person
• Creatively minded
• Good at spotting opportunities to collaborate with others in mutually-beneficial ways
• Eye for good design
  

About the role

• Marketing takes charge of our social media strategy and campaigns (e.g. our seasonal competitions, offering prizes to students from local businesses)
• Create, plan, and run engaging social media campaigns
• Design and coordinate creative on-campus promotional campaigns to engage students with Epigram’s brand in person
• Collaborate with and support Editorial by creating campaigns that highlight the value of Epigram to our students and readers
• Explore partnerships with local and national brands to support Epigram and deliver value to our readers

Head of Alumni

About you

• People person
• Excellent communicator (representing Epigram’s current team to former members)
• Interested in networking opportunities
• Good at collaborating with other members to create events and opportunities for current and former staff members to network and support one another
  

About the role

• Work to involve our alumni with the current team, garner financial and mentorship support, and keep them connected with the University
• Builds and maintains relationships with former members of Epigram
• Creates and runs quarterly newsletter for Epigram alumni
• Promotes subscription offer to UK resident alumni and manages postage of print issues to subscribers
• Works with DARO (Development and Alumni Relations Office) for ideas and outreach support
• Helps create a larger sense of community around Epigram and offer career/mentorship support between current and former members

How do I apply? ‌‌

The following positions are currently open for applications until 23:59 Sunday 1st May, 2022. Please use this application form to register your interest in joining the team next year. We will send over the Zoom link for the AGM in response. Candidates should prepare a short speech on why they are fit for the role and voting will be held on the day.

We look forward to receiving your applications!