You may not have heard, but – for the first time ever! - the One Woman Project (OWP) is recruiting for two new people to take on the role of National Co-Directors of the organisation! In light of this, we sat down with our current National Director, Madeline Price (she/they) to talk about what the role entails, the best part about the role, and why you should apply!

[Alt text: A baby pink graphic with ‘You may not have heard, but - for the first time ever! - the One Woman Project (OWP) is recruiting for two new people to take on the role of National Co-Directors of the organisation! In light of this, we sat dow…

First thing is first: why are you leaving this role?

When I first founded the One Woman Project (lovingly known as OWP), there was nothing like it in Australia (or in most parts of the world), and there were very few individuals passionate about driving the feminist movement forward through the power of education. Now, it is different – in part due to the incredible work done by the OWP team, and a myriad of other individuals – more people are passionate about and inspired by the power of education, intersectional feminism is an everyday topic of discussion, and we are seeing great leaps and bounds in feminist thought and practice around the world.

The organisation, and the feminist movement in (so-called) Australia does not need me at the forefront – it is time for some new energy, passion and direction to take this movement forwards.

We know this role leads the organisation – but what does that actually mean, and what does this role do?

The National Director is responsible for overseeing and managing the organisation as a whole: from ensuring the legal reporting and requirements are kept up to date, to facilitating the expansion of OWP nationally and internationally, to strategic planning, and monitoring and evaluation. Over the course of a calendar year, I am responsible for:

Meeting fortnightly with our phenomenal OWP team;
Producing our Annual Report;
Reporting (every three months) on the implementation of our Strategic Plan to the Board of Directors;
Meeting every two months with the Board of Directors;
Hosting the Annual General Meeting;
Supporting the National Team in the development of the strategic direction of the organisation;
Management, support and training of the National Team; and
Monitoring and evaluating the impact of the organisation within the broader feminist movement.

On occasion, I might dip my toe into managing partnerships and collaborations with other organisations, developing and delivering trainings to the team, managing the stocktake of assets and merchandise (including our OWP lapel pins and RARA Magazine) and acting in vacant National Director roles, as needed.

It sounds like a big role, but it is a role that can be as big or as small as one wants to make it, and at its core is this: this role is responsible for growing the intersectional feminist movement across (so-called) Australia.

[Alt text: A powder blue graphic with the quote, ‘It sounds like a big role, but it is a role that can be as big or as small as one wants to make it, and at its core is this: this role is responsible for growing the intersectional feminism movement …

Talk to us about a day in the life of the National Director:

A day in the life of the National Director can vary dramatically! Somedays will be pretty chill and quiet, and others I’ll be run off my feet!

I work full-time alongside my role as National Director, so 99.99% of my role is done outside of standard office hours (before work or after work, depending on if I have a sleep in!). But let’s take the example of last Tuesday:

7.30AM - I log onto my computer (after spending the morning watching Michael and Lisa on ABC News Breakfast) and answer a handful of emails. There’s a bit in my inbox: I’m currently organising a training with Democracy in Colour for the team, so reply to a time for a phone call with them to chat; there’s a couple of emails from our Seminar Series team asking to get their promotions up on our website; and I forward an enquiry about one of our available roles to our People & Culture team.

7.45AM - Since it’s a Tuesday, I jump onto Zoom for a 15 minute, optional ‘coffee & chat’ with the team. We host these on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, so when I have time I make sure to pop along and say hi!

8.00AM - Before I sign on for my paid work, I send out a couple of emails to the wider OWP team. Each Monday I send out the National Director’s Update (NDU), which details all of our achievements in the past week, our focuses for next week, and our upcoming events, trainings and activities – I was a bit slow this week, so it goes out on Tuesday instead! I also send out an email reminding the team of our training on Systems of Power & Climate Justice that is being hosted, and our optional online social for Friday night (an online Paint & Sip, BYO beverage of choice!). My final task is to double check our Masterlist is updated – this is where we track all of our trainings, events and activities, the number of people who attended, and any key achievements! Luckily, I have a phenomenal team, and they have all updated their relevant pieces – so there’s nothing for me to do!

8.15AM - I start my full-time job for the day!

12.30PM - I always like to spend my lunchtimes catching up on the latest feminist news across the globe – I chomp down some leftover curry whilst reading the latest e-newsletters from Mama Cash, FRIDA, The Feminist News Digest and Bitch Media.

5.00PM - I finish my full-time job for the day!

5.05PM - This afternoon, I’m supporting our People & Culture team with conducting some interviews for some roles in the organisation – so I jump onto Zoom and interview a new candidate for a State Facilitator (QLD) role. I love this part of my role, because it is so exciting hearing from people as to why they want to be involved in the organisation!

5.30PM - We have a meeting with our Board of Directors coming up soon, so I put together an agenda and powerpoint slides for that – just an update on what the team have been up to, and our priorities for the next two months. I also check the applications through our OWP Wealth Redistribution Fund, to see if we need to plug it more to our volunteers for this month (the Fund is a financial support system for our volunteers to apply for!).

6.00PM - I have a quick Zoom meeting with one of our team members to chat about the direction they see their team going in 2021 – just to brainstorm our key priorities and strategies – before logging off for the day, and settling in for some Netflix and dinner!

We notice that you are recruiting for two roles to replace the one of you – why is that?

One reason is that we understand the privilege that comes with being able to spend time volunteering, and want to make this role – the leader of the organisation – more accessible to more people. By breaking it into two roles, it is less of a time commitment, and more accessible to those of us with less privilege to be able to take time off paid work to volunteer.

Another reason is that there should not be one voice of a movement – a movement should be leader-ful (as in, filled with leaders). By making this a co-director role, we are shifting to having a movement directed, supported and voiced by more people!

Finally, the role can very easily be split up to suit the interests, strengths and focuses of two people – one person who loves people, and one who loves data! Whilst we would love to recruit two people who love both of these things, we are also flexible in our recruitment – when the role was created, it was developed to play to my own strengths, and it is unreasonable to expect we will find someone with those exact same strengths. We would rather mould the role to fit the strengths of new folk, than crush people to fit into the role itself.

What is your favourite part about this role?

Hands down, my favourite part of this role is the team meetings! The opportunity to hear what the team have been working on, their successes and achievements, the collection of stories they have from their workshops and events, and a bit about their personal lives, is the highlight of my week!

It is the people that make this organisation, and what better way to interact with these phenomenal humans, than through our fortnightly team meetings.

Who would be the ideal candidate or fit for this role?

I don’t think there is necessarily one ideal candidate for this role, but rather a collection of interests, passions and values that a person could bring to this role.

Whilst skills like communication, team management, self-management and an interest in nonprofit organisational leadership and development are useful, they are not vital.

Instead, what we are looking for is:

A practicing intersectional feminist (as in, someone who practices what they preach!);
Who is passionate about ending global gender injustices and building a strong feminist movement across so-called Australia; and
Is strong in their values and beliefs;
But also willing to learn, grow, be challenged and change their mind.

We aren’t looking for the right skills for the role, but the right person. We value youth, energy and innovation over degrees, and years of experience. We value your feminism, and your alignment with OWP’s values and beliefs, over your skills with an excel spreadsheet. Skills can be taught (and that’s what the extensive support and training is for!), but you need to bring the passion.

What support would there be for this candidate?

Given the unique nature of the role, there would be plenty of support, training and assistance available, including:

A comprehensive handover with the current National Director (that’s me!);
1:1 mentorship (both internal and external mentors provided);
The opportunity to shadow and work alongside the current National Director for at least three months;
Training in: monitoring & evaluation; organisational development; nonprofit management; legal reporting requirements; managing a Board of Directors; managing remote teams; strategic planning; and more;
Broader support from the National Team and Executive Team; and
A comprehensive handover and introduction to all of OWP’s systems and processes.

In addition, the role itself offers a multitude of opportunities, including:

Public speaking on behalf of a large organisation (there’s heaps of opportunities to speak publicly about intersectional feminism);
Developing your skills in strategic development and organisational management;
The ability to grow the intersectional feminist movement in Australia;
The opportunity to network and connect with key feminists, changemakers and shapers across so-called Australia (and internationally); and
The chance to make a tangible impact globally.

How do we apply?

That’s simple!