About the Australian Conservation Foundation

The Australian Conservation Foundation is Australia’s national environment organisation – over 700,000 people who speak out for the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the places and wildlife we love.

A handful of people formed ACF 55 years ago when oil drilling and mining first threatened the Great Barrier Reef. Since then, the ACF community has grown into a powerful force for nature, over half a million people speaking out for the places we love, protecting the web of life right across our continent, from the Kimberley to the reef, down the Great Dividing Range to Tasmania’s forests.

We bring together people from community, government and business. Our community advocates against pollution and destruction, and for our living world. We hold decision makers to account. We champion big ideas and find common ground with unlikely partners.

People power our campaigns and always have. We are proudly independent, non-partisan and funded by donations from our community.

About the volunteer role:

Social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter allow ACF to reach thousands of people a day, with hundreds of people commenting on our content. It is important to engage with audiences who comment on posts for several reasons. Responsive and meaningful communication with online community members works to facilitate a positive culture within ACF’s online communities as well as providing an opportunity to educate, inform and shift the way issues are understood.

The Social Media Moderator will be responsible for:

1. Replying to comments
2. Answering genuine questions
3. Monitoring user activity and taking appropriate action on content that does not adhere to our social media guidelines.

The main tasks of the volunteer will include:

• Maintaining a positive culture in ACF’s social media communities through active and friendly moderation. This includes hiding trolls, reinforcing positive comments and responding to genuine questions.
• Attending an ACF induction and moderating training prior to commencing as a volunteer
• Attending a monthly phone call with the Social Media Moderator Team Leader.
• Following ACF message boards and narrative guides.

Volunteer Skills:

The volunteer should be able to demonstrate:

• Excellent writing skills with experience in developing written communications for different mediums and audiences. 

• Ability to identify the core information in a complex issue and convey it in a clear, simple, and persuasive way. 

• Be self-motivated and demonstrate initiative to work autonomously.
• Be creative and original.
• Ability to manage and communicate priorities effectively.
• Ability to perform under pressure and work to deadlines.


Hours:

The volunteer will be required to undertake two to five hours of comment moderation a week. The specific time of this shift and exact hours is flexible and can be arranged between the volunteer and the Social Media Moderator Team Leader

Location:

This volunteer role is remote. The normal place of volunteering will be from the volunteer’s home.

Resources and Support:

The volunteer will be given a handbook to help guide them in monitoring and answering comments, as well as other ACF resources. The volunteer will be part of a larger team of moderators and supported in this role by other members of the ACF community.

Duration:

The volunteer position is for an initial period of six months. There may be opportunity to extend the volunteer role.

Volunteer program:

The program will include:

• Intensive skills training in ACF’s Change the Story narrative
• An ACF induction
• Regular peer-mentoring and feedback via monthly phone calls

Why does this role matter?

ACF has a huge following on social media and reaches thousands of people a day through organic content and ads. A strong presence on social media allows ACF to amplify its impact during key moments and to recruit new supporters, growing our community. Meaningful engagement with online community members is invaluable, and the work done by volunteer moderators can often be the key factor in building a dedicated community of passionate, environmentally-aware social media users.

It is important to note...

This is a volunteer placement. ACF does not offer employment following the program. By signing up to this program, you agree to ACF’s policies and procedures.

Direction and Contact:

The volunteer will be asked to carry out work on the direction of and report to the Social Media Moderator Team Leader.

KEY SELECTION CRITERIA

Placements to the program will be offered to candidates who demonstrate:

• Passion for our living world and addressing climate change
• Paid or volunteer experience in social change and/or an awareness of ACF’s key campaigns

• Clear concise professional written skills; understands the target audience and the objectives of the communication; uses feedback to refine communication.
• Experience using Facebook and Instagram for personal or business use
• An ability to work independently and efficiently
• Ideally, experience in previous social media moderation or communication.

ACF acknowledges the structural barriers that make gaining experience in any field of work more difficult for many communities in Australia. We highly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from CALD backgrounds, LGBTIQA+ people and others who may face structural barriers in our society to apply for this opportunity.