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About the Role

The Civil Service LGBT+ Network’s Local Organisers (Regional Leads) are a vital part of the Network. They coordinate between departmental networks in their regions, help organise socials and deliver events close to you.

Thanks to their hard work, our regional teams are growing from strength to strength. We now have dedicated teams of volunteers covering all nations of the UK, including Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and large parts of England. We have an ambitious plan to grow our teams to cover all parts of the UK in 2022. We want to expand our local presence and enhance our national influence to help make the Civil Service the most inclusive and diverse employer in the UK. You can be a part of this exciting journey!

You can read our Regional Plan at Local presence. National influence.

Who can become a Local Organiser?

The Civil Service LGBT+ Network is run entirely by volunteers. Our volunteers give up their spare time to help to make the Civil Service a great place to be for an LGBT+ civil servant. Members from this Network and / or any Civil Service departmental LGBT+ networks can volunteer to become a Local Organiser. You can review a list of our current Local Organisers, read about their stories and find out about our current vacancies at Our team.

What does a Local Organiser do?

There is no set agenda. All our Local Organisers are volunteers. Any time and help you can offer to the Network will be appreciated.

Some activities that our Local Organisers arrange include:

• Organising monthly (or regular) socials: o Finding the venues. o Setting up the time and date. o Informing the Network (by emailing info@civilservice.lgbt) about your events so that they can be published on our website and newsletters. o These socials are reoccurring events and not hard to set up, for examples, socials in Birmingham are currently held on the first Thursday evening of each month. You can review a list of our current socials at Events.

• Supporting the delivery of annual Pride activities in your region: o Working with the Network to plan Pride activities for your city / area. o Coordinating between your local departmental networks. o Helping distribute items, such as lanyards, t-shirts and banners. o Leading a group at the Pride parade.

• Planning events for the LGBT+ History Month, such as: o Organising an online panel discussion session. o Giving a presentation / talk to Network members on LGBT+ history. o Publishing a blog on LGBT+ history.

• Organising other social (face-to-face or online) activities, such as: o Quiz sessions o Film night o Picnic o Outdoor walking o Sporting activities

• Many departmental LGBT+ networks in your region will also organise events on a regular basis. One of your tasks could be reaching out and coordinating with these networks and helping advertise their events (if they are open to the wider Civil Service) on our website and newsletters.

How do I organise an event?

The Network has developed many useful tools and templates which can help you organise events. As a part of Our work and programmes, we are also developing a toolkit and training session which will help our volunteers deliver local events and activities.

How much time do I need to become a Local Organiser?

The role can be very flexible. The only “fixed” item is the half-an-hour monthly regional meeting, which is held during the first week of each month. Some of our Local Organisers typically spend two to three hours a week to help the Network, although, again, it can be very flexible. We are also trying to recruit at least two Local Organisers for each region, so that there will be someone to share your workload.

Will there be any reward / recognition?

The role is on a voluntary basis, although we will ensure your hard work and contribution is formally recognised.

We are working very closely with the Civil Service D&I team, our Civil Service LGB&TI Champion, Jim Harra (First Permanent Secretary of HMRC), and his team.

There will be a formal recognition letter from the Civil Service LGB&TI Champion to highlight the work you do and the contributions you are bringing to the Network and the wider Civil Service. This letter can be addressed directly to your Line Manager or to yourself.

Your work can also contribute to your departmental D&I objective.

Where do I start?

If you are interested, please email us at Ed@civilservice.lgbt quoting “Local Organisers + Your Region”. We will then arrange an informal chat with you to talk you through the role. You can also review a list of our current Local Organisers, read about their stories and find out about our current vacancies at Our team.

Come and join us for this exciting journey!