Hello! My name is Kate and I am one of the new Director’s for Young People in the Arts. Before becoming Director of Partnerships and Finance, I volunteered on the YPIA committee for a year as a Marketing and Assistant Project Manager. 

I decided to go for this position (which I actually pitched to the previous YPIA Directors at my interview) because I had no experience of marketing so thought it would be a great opportunity to learn about it, whilst also developing my current skill set in project management.

In the marketing side of my role, I worked with the Director of Marketing and three Marketing Managers who had full time jobs in PR and Marketing. It was amazing to volunteer with young professionals who were at the top of their game and who were so willing to share their knowledge, time and and expertise with me.

I learnt how to:

• Create an effective marketing campaign for events
• Operate the backend of the YPIA website, updating the blog and event pages
• Proofread blogs written by young professionals
• Use Facebook advertising, Instagram and Twitter as part of a coherent social media strategy
• How to write an effective press release

For the Assistant Project Manager side of my volunteer role, I attended quarterly meetings with all of the Assistant Project Managers, Project Managers and Directors, where we pitched event ideas to the group and fleshed out event details. I also:

• Researched and pitched event ideas to the committee
• Liaised with venues and speakers, some of them pretty high-profile ones
• Liaised with the marketing team to develop an effective marketing campaign around the event
• Project managed the event “Minds Matter: The impact of the Arts on Mental Health”

I absolutely love volunteering on the YPIA committee; not only is it a really unique learning opportunity which has transformed my CV, but I have also met so many interesting, like-minded people who I will undoubtedly stay in touch with throughout my career in the arts.

We are currently recruiting for new Assistant Project Managers, Marketing Managers and an Administrative Manager to join the committee for our 2018/2019 season. The application deadline is Thursday 19 July. You can find out more  here but please do get in touch if you have any questions (kate@ypia.co.uk).

We look forward to receiving your application!