Society for the Study of French History, ‘Power, Protest and Resistance’, Annual Conference 2021

The SSFH is offering a £5,000 bursary for a Conference Assistant to help with the organisation and delivery of its 2021 annual conference, which will take place online from Monday 28 June to Sunday 4 July. This position offers an exciting opportunity to gain experience of longer-term organisation and shorter-term delivery of an important online programme of international events. As the annual conference has never been organised online before, we hope that this bursary will contribute to an emerging conversation about the impact of the current Covid-19 pandemic on academic life and the academic gatherings.  

The bursary will cover work between 1 April and 9 July 2021, in close cooperation with the local organisers Dr. Ludivine Broch and Dr. Itay Lotem (University of Westminster), the SSFH Conference Officer and members of the H-France editorial team.

The award is expected to cover a total time commitment of c. 330 hours across the period. These hours will vary according to need, increasing in the run-up to the conference. The schedule of work will be managed in liaison with the local organisers and we will do everything we can to be as flexible as possible. However, the successful candidate will need to ensure they can be available on a full-time basis (with communication taking place in GMT zone) between 10 and 30 May and 21 June to 4 July.

The £5,000 honorarium will be paid in four equal instalments at the ends of April, May, June and July 2021. 

Informal enquiries may be made to Dr. Ludivine Broch and Dr. Itay Lotem via the email address ssfh2020@westminster.ac.uk

Applications should be sent via email to: ssfh2020@westminster.ac.uk

Closing Date: 23h59 (GMT) on Thursday 4 March

What does conference assistance entail?
The post-holder will be required to contribute to the planning, organisation, implementation and review of the programme, working in conjunction with the local organisers. Key responsibilities may include, but may not be limited to:

1. Drafting of administrative details for conference participants (e.g. instructions for recording papers; joining Instructions; instructions for panel chairs etc);
2. Liaison with plenary speakers and conference delegates regarding the administrative arrangements for their participation;
3. Collating, editing and making available pre-recorded conference papers;
4. Maintenance of any online presence both prior to and during the conference;
5. Appropriate attention to relevant security and GDPR considerations at all times;
6. Professional and timely liaison with key partners/facilitators (e.g. local organisers, the SSFH Committee, the H-France editorial team, and others as required);
7. Support for the local organisers as necessary;

What will you bring to the role?
You should include evidence in your application of how you meet the criteria outlined below:

1. Postgraduate, postdoc or early-career researcher with expertise in some aspect of French History;
2. Experience of administration and management of academic or public-facing events;
3. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
4. Excellent written and spoken French;
5. Excellent IT skills, including good familiarity with email, Microsoft Office packages, and Zoom;
6. Experience creating, editing and posting video content online;
7. Attention to detail, strong organisational skills and high-level proof-reading skills;
8. Ability to work under pressure, if necessary to short deadlines, and to manage time and workload effectively;
9. Capacity to take responsibility and work under own initiative as appropriate;
10. Ability to tailor communications to different audiences, and to communicate in a sensitive and timely fashion with different stakeholders;

How to apply:
Applications should be submitted via email to ssfh2020@westminster.ac.uk by 23:59 (GMT) on Thursday 4 March

Please provide a CV (maximum 3 pages) and a statement outlining how you meet the criteria listed under ‘What you will bring to the role’ (maximum 1000 words)

To download this infrmation as a PDF, please click here.