Invitation to Tender:

Praxis Recruitment & Membership Mapping Project

PDF version: invitation to tender_praxis recruitment & membership mapping project

Praxis: the Artists’ Union of Ireland, was founded in 2020 to organise artists to take power in their places of work, with their employers, commissioners and funders.

Since then, we have grown to over 250 members, we have organised working groups and campaigns and have negotiated wins for our members in disputes with employers and commissioners.

We are now joining forces with SIPTU, while maintaining our distinctive identity, structure and emphasis on organising artists for power. We’ll benefit from SIPTU’s expertise, the solidarity of their 180,000 members, and the legal protections afforded by their negotiating licence.

But the work of Praxis is just beginning. There are 9000+ professional artists in Ireland, across all disciplines, and we intend to organise a majority of us to join forces to achieve decent pay and working conditions. 

Those who hold power in the arts in Ireland are not artists. We are changing that. 

The Contract

As the Praxis Council focuses on the logistics of the merger, we are looking to contract an individual, or team, to:

1. Develop and implement an organising plan to migrate the current Praxis membership to SIPTU
2. Organise new members into Praxis/SIPTU
3. Map out Praxis’ potential membership and plan a route to majority membership in Ireland.

We are offering:

• A budget of €14,000 to include your fee(s) 
• A one-year contract for services
• Training and strategy formation in conjunction with SIPTU organisers
• A group of dedicated volunteer Praxis members for you to motivate and direct

The Application

This is a two part application process. The first part of the process is an open invitation for expressions of interest. From the expressions of interest received, Praxis will create a shortlist of candidates who will be invited to submit more detailed tender proposals.

Part 1: Expressions of interest

To apply, please send a one-page cover letter to info@praxisunion.ie with the subject line “Expression of Interest”

In your 1 – 2 page cover letter, outline your relevant experience to-date and your vision for the contract:

• What do you think is achievable within the time and budget?
• How will you go about achieving that?
• Why are you the person (or team) to lead on this project?

This is a deliberately short expression of interest that should outline your experience, suitability, and high-level strategy for success.

Part 2: Shortlisted applicants submit tender proposals

We will compile a shortlist of applicants and invite them to give a more detailed presentation of their tender proposals. This should include target numbers for new membership, budget breakdown and timelines. 

Shortlisted applications will receive an honorarium equivalent to the living wage for their time preparing the tender proposal.

Important Dates

The deadline for submitting an expression of interest is 12th January 2024 at 11.59pm.

Following this date, Praxis will shortlist the selected applicants who will be invited to create tender proposals. The shortlisted applicants will be notified by 26th January 2024.

The shortlisted applicants will then have until 16th February 2024 to submit their proposals, and will be paid the honorarium on submission. 

Interviews with the shortlisted applicants will take place the week commencing 19th February 2024. 

The successful applicant will be notified week commencing 26th February 2024.

The successful applicant’s tender period will begin from Monday 4th March 2024. 

Important Information 

• Praxis is a company limited by guarantee (CLG) in the process of transitioning to be a Section of SIPTU
• This will be a fixed term contract of one-year with Praxis CLG, although we will accept shorter timelines if your proposal warrants it.
• We intend to use this contract as a model for longer term organising work with Praxis Section of SIPTU
• The total budget is €14,000 which must include all of your costs including your own fees.
• People working on this contract must be paid at least the living wage for their work, but we would prefer if they were paid more, commensurate with their experience.
• You may count on the volunteer hours of Praxis council members (10 x 4 hour a week) to help map and recruit new members.
• We will accept applications from one person, or a group of people working together.
• Please consider our objectives, strategy and principles in the Praxis Rule book when developing your proposal.

Timeline: