The Yale Politics Initiative (YPI) is a student-run program cosponsored by the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS) and the Department of Political Science at Yale University. YPI offers one-time, off-the-record seminars on political practice taught by politicians, operatives, and activists.  

The YPI Program Co-Coordinators work collaboratively with other program co-coordinators to ensure the success of the seminar series each academic year. Each seminar is capped at 15 students and lasts for two hours. Coordinators are expected to attend regularly scheduled planning meetings, as well as all seminars and share the role of seminar facilitator. Attendance at every seminar is mandatory for this position unless extenuating circumstances are demonstrated. 

In addition to recruiting speakers and arranging their visit (to include transportation to/from campus, lodging during stay, day-of schedule), coordinators must finalize the scheduling of all guest-related activities, including coordinating meeting times with the speaker. Coordinators must be reachable by phone or other means in case any issues arise with the speaker during the day of the seminar. They are also responsible for reserving locations on campus, screening seminar applicants, facilitating seminar conversations and communicating with participants post-seminar. Since the coordinators prepare for the upcoming semester, there is an expectation of outreach and preparation over the summer and occasionally over winter recess.

Additional shared duties include but are not limited to drafting promotional materials, monitoring social media platforms, maintaining databases and archival systems, and tracking YPI merchandise stock and reorders. Each coordinator works closely with ISPS administration to accomplish many of these tasks, so clear and frequent communication is a critical expectation of the role.