The Outdoor Swimming Society (OSS) is a groundbreaking not for profit organisation that has been a key player in the establishment and explosion of the wild swimming movement since 2006. Using the media (radio, TV and print) and social media the OSS has changed public perception of swimming in rivers, lakes and seas, and founded a thriving subculture of wild swimmers.

We are now looking for a few talented and inspiring media interns to work with us in 2012/2013 to take the movement on to the next level, and help inspire and inform swimmers worldwide through our various platforms, such as www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com, www.wildswim.com and our facebook group.

This is a strong opportunity for students and graduates to use their developing skills in writing, news reporting, marketing, and using social media, and to fill their CV with good solid achievements that will contribute to their wider job searching.

We are looking for talented people who want to further develop their passion for writing and the media. Depending on the project we are looking for a 6 to 12 month commitment for each project, and will happily work with colleges and tutors if this counts towards coursework.

The areas covered by these projects are:

• The creation and daily/weekly maintenance of a media newsfeed of swimming related stories on the OSS website and OSS Facebook site.
• Monthly contribution of highly readable news stories and interviews to the OSS website and newsletter. Our readership has a broad and varied interest in all things related to water, so this may include investigative news stories (for example on inland access and ecology), interviews (for example, with swimmers), book and culture reviews, and fitness and training information pertinent to swimmers.
• Developing the wildswim map in terms of content, profile and worldwide use. There are various roles within this project: writing up existing content and putting it online, working with selected swimmers to put their information online, and a more proactive and marketing role: using social and other media to increase worldwide use.

This is a great opportunity for graduates to get some hands on experience and to fill their CV with good solid achievements that will contribute to their wider job searching.

For more information please email Jamie Cross, Volunteer Manager at Jamie.cross.oss@gmail.com.

November 2012

We are looking for a talented individual to promote lidos and help them stay open.  You would provide a central point of contact for struggling lidos to come for information on how to stay open and the role would include the following:

- Researching lidos that have successfully avoided closure, and using their experience to develop a blueprint strategy for others to follow.
-  Working with community groups to preserve the nation's lidos.
- Maintaining a contact database of lido groups to enable cross-communication.
-  Working with our media team to produce press releases and other campaign documents to raise awareness of lidos.

Key skills:

- marketing
- copywriting
- public engagement
- sponsorship/ funding
- networking
- budgets

If you have the skills to tackle this role, we would love to hear from you.

The OSS has become a very sponsorable body, and needs someone with the motivation, contacts, drive, enthusiasm and belief in it to bring an injection of funds into what we do.

Anyone applying for this role can do so on a commission-only basis, for a contract of no less than one year.

You would have a wide range of very popular and unusual products to gain sponsorship for, from an organisation that gains considerable and sustainable press.

At any one time we have both ongoing projects that could gain sponsorship (the website, the newsletter, the map, events such as the Dart10k, the Big Jump, the December Dip and the Midsummer Party) as well as campaigns and ideas that need funding to get off the ground. We also do ongoing good work to support inland access and lidos, that we would love to ramp up a gear if we had any funds to support a campaign officer and publicity.

Experience has shown we can gain an audience with a large range of commercial entitites that are interested in sponsoring the OSS, and also are regularly approached by companies and organisations who would like to work with us. However, we lack a dedicated individual who knows the worth of what we do, and how to package and sell us and get people to sign on the bottom line.

If this is you, please get in touch. An understanding of the OSS brand and it's value is paramount.

April 2011

The OSS has a range of projects that require graphic designers. If you like the OSS and are interested in helping us develop any of the following please write to us and include details of your OSS ideas and examples of your work.

We fully appreciate the huge boost great design gives any campaign idea or piece of merchandise, and how it changes people's understanding of our messages, however we are a volunteer group with no reliable income. For saleable items, there is a possibility of negotiating a % on any goods created by you, but please note this is likely to remain a token fee, rather than help you achieve your normal commercial rates.

Current ideas that need design:

• CAMPAIGNS We need a talented graphic designer to interpret our summer campaign into a poster/postcard that can be spread nationwide, to get more people swimming. 
• T-SHIRTS & MERCHANDISE: If you also had some wonderful T-shirt ideas up your sleeve, we are sure our members would buy them. A sizeable proportion of Surfers Against Sewage campaigning income came from tshirt sales.
• CALENDAR & CARDS: Annual OSS calendar & christmas cards

Most recent update: April 2011

The central aim of the OSS is to get more people swimming outdoors. One of the ways we do this is by running 'social swims' (free member only swims coordinated via Facebook) and having a series of regional reps that act as central points of focus in their area.

At the start of Spring 2011, we had about 20 regional reps, from the South West to Argyll. More are always welcome.

As a regional rep you will:

• Act as a focal point in your area, coordinating at least 3 social swims a year
• Contribute swims in your area to the OSS map
• Maintain a presence on OSS facebook, signposting swimmers in the right direction for the regular queries and posting your events
• Operate under the terms of our Swim Responsibility Statement, which protects you and us legally from assuming responsibility for any swimmers
• Add to the sum total of human fun
• Be part of a movement which aims to establish more inland beaches, greater access to free swimming in rivers and lakes, and more riverbank clubs

All regional reps become part of a team, and part of a fast-expanding network of swimmers. We will provide you with advice on organising a social swim, and help you advertise and promote your event through Facebook and the OSS newsletter, and in return rely on you to maintain the good reputation of the OSS. 

Reps need initiative, enthusiasm, swimming common sense and sociability.  If you're interested in helping more people discover their local wild swimming spot, please get in touch and let us know where you live and swim, and how you would get more people involved.

Last updated: April 2011

From training tips to the media feed and interesting news stories, we are always looking for keen volunteer writers who can write to brief and deadline and who would like to contribute to the open water movement in this country.

Your stories will reach an audience of 3-10,000 readers a week, and be part of a newsletter which goes to 11,000 swimmers every month (April 2011 figures).

We need writers with different skills - so whether your interest in writing and swimming is historical, literary, narrative, nature-based or technique, fitness or training based, please get in touch.

If you are interested, please file 500 words on a swimming related story you'd like to see in the next newsletter, or - just to show us your writing - about your last swim or why you love swimming. If your news story requires more research than you are able to do, please file a brief, introductory paragraph, and research plans.

Last updated: April 2011

We have the campaigns, the ideas, the enthusiasm and a huge grassroots following... but everything we do could be reach a far bigger audience, and achieve a far bigger platform if we had someone on the team with time and talent for marketing.

We need a talented individual to promote our (very exciting) summer campaign to swimmers nationwide, including an online and poster campaign, as well as promoting OSS events such as the Big Jump (a European wide river swimming day in July) and fundraisers (the OSS December Dip).

You will work with our other team members and graphic designer, sourcing quotes for posters and postcards, driving marketing, and spreading the word.

This is a great job for an aquatic missionary who can use a database, charm an open water swimming venue, write a decent email to a wetsuit supplier, and otherwise connect us to clubs and swimming holes around the country.

This could be a 6 month volunteer position, if you just want to help out for the summer, but we would of course love you to stay for longer.

You can limit the number of campaigns that you work on, depending on the time you have to give to the role - for example, you might want to work on inland access and the Big Jump alone, or lidos or the summer campaign. As with all positions what is vital is that once you commit to a project, you see your role through.

Most often all your marketing channels will need to be achieved through a quid pro quo or free. We have a lot of uncalled on favours to exercise in swimming, as we do market practically every swim event, lido and triathlon training venue in the land via our site, for free. If you want to generate an income for yourself to complete this role by charging for OSS advertising, that could be something that you work towards after a trial period as a volunteer of at least 3-6 months but realistically your heart needs to be in it predominately as a volunteer.

Advertised: April 2011

The OSS is a volunteer run not for profit with a clear programme of events for 2011 and beyond that we are currently seeking funding for.

We have a strong public health brief, increasing peoples health and happiness by engaging them in physical activity and the outdoors, and running projects such as the 'Big Jump'.

We work on inland access and in support of community facilities such as lidos.

All of these projects need and would benefit from any increase in funds. Can you help? We need someone to take charge of writing funding applications for campaigns, trusts and grants for events and salaried positions within the OSS. Experience of the field, and success within it, will be prized highly.

First advertised: 2009

Got a love of the cinema - and swimming? We have a blueprint idea for running swim film nights at a West London cinema, which we're hoping someone will pick up and run with, turning it into a great night out and a fundraiser for the OSS.

You would have freedom to market and craft the night(s) anyway you want, including film choice. If this inspires to your inner director/party thrower/ event organizer, please get in touch with details of why you would like to do it and any relevant experience or contacts that would help make it a success.

You will be able to pay yourself for running it out of the proceeds, with an agreed % of all ticket sales going towards the OSS.

First advertised: Spring 2010