Each year, Cornwall Green Party elects a number of officer roles at our AGM. To stand for election for one of these roles you must be a member of the Green Party. Two candidates can propose to fulfil any role as a job-share. More information about how to put yourself forward for one of these roles is available here on the Green Party members website. For more information about any of these roles please email coordinator@cornwall.greenparty.org.uk
The following roles comprise Cornwall Green Party’s Executive Committee (select a role to read the description): Coordinator
The Co-ordinator’s role is to:
- Oversee the day to day business of the local party in a professional manner
- Ensure that decisions of the Executive Committee and the will of the membership are carried out in accordance with the Constitution
- Ensure members of the Executive Committee undertake the jobs they are elected to do
- Lead on the development and execution of the local party strategy
- Agree the agenda, venue & times of meetings
- Be the local party contact for regional and national information
- Be available to take press and public inquiries related to the Cornwall Green Party
- Ensure that the party is operating within a complete and agreed framework of operational policies and procedures
- Be responsible for disseminating information to membership
The Coordinator chairs the Executive Committee, members’ business meetings, and is part of the Getting Elected team. Secretary
The Secretary’s role is to:
- Assist the Coordinator/s in the strategic planning of decision-making, ensuring that relevant papers and discussion are tabled in good time for decisions to be made.
- Ensure that minutes are produced for all business meetings in a timely fashion
- Work with the Co-ordinator/s to ensure that the minutes, agenda and other documentation are available to members on the members website in good time for meetings
- Send out emails to members informing them of meeting times and agenda, and including meeting papers where provided
The Secretary is part of the Executive Committee Treasurer
The Treasurer’s role is to:
- Administer the CGP’s finances in a responsible and efficient manner
- Administer the bank account/s of the CGP
- Liaise with GPEW HQ to ensure capitations are received
- Coordinate annual budget planning within the Executive Committee
- Provide regular financial updates to the Executive Committee
- Produce election expenditure returns for national office
- Provide regular financial updates to CGP meetings and a written report on the annual income and expenditure of the CGP to the AGM
- Make quarterly returns to the GPEW, including donations and VAT, as well as a broad financial overview.
The Treasurer is part of the Executive Committee Communications Officer
The Communications Officer’s role is to:
- Develop and manage a communications strategy to implement CGP’s strategic messaging priorities.
- Manage a communications team, to include the Press Officer, and other roles as necessary, including those related to website management, social media management, and creative production, including newsletters.
- To develop internal policies relevant to Communications and ensure they are consistently implemented.
The Communications Officer is part of the Executive Committee and the Getting Elected team and chairs the Communication team. Policy Officer
The Policy Officer’s role is to:
- Facilitate members in developing local party policy.
- Steer the direction of policy development in line with information gathered by engagement with local people and communities.
- Provide or coordinate policy positions for candidates or communications team members.
- Monitor policy developments across the region and nationally to see if they can be applied by the CGP
- Ensure local party policy does not contravene national party policy
- Educate members on the mechanisms for creating policy for the national party
The Policy Officer is part of the Executive Committee and also part of the Getting Elected team. Elections Coordinator
The Elections Coordinator is responsible for:
- Coordinating the development, drafting and agreement of Cornwall Green Party’s election strategies, working with other CGP Officers and liaising with the Green Party of England and Wales and the South West regional party as necessary.
- Developing costed proposals for national elections, and local election campaigns at a Cornwall Council level.
- Keeping abreast of what elections are coming up, including by-elections.
- Planning ahead for the selection of prospective candidates well in advance of a given election and helping the ERO team carry out the selection processes.
- Helping to deliver election training and also using other methods to network best practice.
- Encouraging the fielding of increased numbers of candidates for Cornwall Council elections
- Assisting target and development candidates in recruiting their campaign teams and providing advice, support and oversight of the Campaign Organisers.
- Organising and chairing the CGP Getting Elected Team (GET) and ensuring that the team carries out the responsibilities detailed in its Terms of Reference
- Ensuring there is a Freepost Contact appointed for any relevant national election freepost scheme.
- Following each election, ensuring the delivery of a results analysis service.
- Signposting elected Councillors into the available support mechanisms.
- Facilitating linkage between electoral imperatives and other aspects of party activity such as membership recruitment and fundraising.
The Elections Co-ordinator should have a basic working knowledge of Election Law, in particular of:
– entitlements to electoral registers, postal voter lists and marked registers
– election period timetables (deadlines)
– qualifications and disqualifications for candidacy
– freepost regulations
– nomination and certification procedures
– imprint requirements
– candidate and ‘campaign’ expenditure
– postal voting
– verification and counting procedures and re-count rules
– calling by-elections
The Elections Co-ordinator should be conversant with national Green Party election strategy and the Target To Win methodology.
The Elections Coordinator is part of the Executive Committee and chairs the Getting Elected team.
Please note, the creation of the Elections Coordinator role is subject to approval by the Nov 2020 AGM.
These additional roles are elected positions which are vital to the successful operation of Cornwall Green Party: Nominating Officer
The Nominating Officer has a certificate from the National Green Party authorising them to nominate candidates. This is a legal responsibility.
The Nominating Officer also:
- ensures the local party operates within electoral law
- signs nomination forms to say that candidates are official Green Party candidates and authorises candidates to use the Green Party logo and name.
- is the recipient of the electoral register, postal voters register and marked register from the local authority and maintains these for the local party, including applying regular updates to the registers when these are provided by the local authority
- disseminates electoral register information to Campaign Managers for the purposes of running election campaigns
Membership Secretary
The Membership Secretary’s role is to:
- Be the first point of contact for new members
- Contact members who are ‘in-grace’ or whose membership has expired and ask for feedback
- Provide lists of members to constituency representatives/campaign managers as requested
- Maintain guidance for others on how to handle membership data
- Act as the Data Controller for the CGP
The Membership Secretary will occasionally provide updates to the Executive Committee on changes in membership numbers. Press Officer
The Press Officer’s role is to:
- Write press briefings/releases and support candidates with their press releases
- Maintain a register of press and broadcast media contacts and ensure these are regularly notified of CGP activities and opinions
- Check the content of letters and other publicity that is put out on behalf of the local party by other members
- Attempt wherever appropriate to gain media attention for the activities of CGP candidates
The Press Officer is part of the Communications team. Election Returning Officer
The GPEW constitution requires all local parties to have a democratic procedure for the selection of candidates and officers. The ERO should understand how to organise selections and should be willing to produce the paperwork to do this, including for postal voters and carrying out electronic voting as appropriate.
The Election Returning Officer will work with the Executive Committee from time to time as and when internal elections are required, as well as for the planned AGM. Disputes Resolution Officer
The Disputes Resolution Officer’s role is to:
- Be the first point of contact for party members who feel they are in dispute with others in the party
- Manage disputes between members according to the Disputes Resolution policy
- Maintain a Disputes Resolution policy in line with guidance from GPEW.
Constituency Representatives
The Constituency Representative’s role is to:
- Be the point of contact for new members in the constituency, when alerted by the Membership Secretary
- Arrange local events through which campaigning and election activities can be organised
- Keep the party appraised of activities in their constituency
- Share good practice/successes/lessons learnt with other constituency reps
There are six Constituency Reps, one for each of Cornwall’s parliamentary divisions. Young Greens Representative
The Young Greens Representative’s role is to:
- Lead on the development of a thriving and active Young Greens group which then contributes to the political activity, policy development, election campaigning and social activity of the local party.
- Help the local party to make party activities accessible, enjoyable and interesting for young people engaging with politics early in their lives.