Intern, Legislative Advocacy
Location: Remote
Compensation: $15.00 per hour
Time Commitment: 10-29 hours per week (flexible depending on candidate availability and needs) for 5-6 months (May 8th – November 3rd, 2023)
CLICK HERE TO APPLY - APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED THROUGH HANDSHAKE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED
ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION: Best Friends Animal Society is a national non-profit focused on ending the killing of cats and dogs in America's shelters by 2025. Best Friends is leading the no-kill movement by running lifesaving community programs for dogs and cats, providing support and training for animal shelters and rescue groups, and mobilizing community members on behalf of pets in need across the country. The communities we partner with are diverse and multicultural – and we want that to be reflected within our organization. We welcome our employees’ unique wisdom, special skills, passion, and whole self to the workplace. We believe that our differences are pivotal to uniting the movement and achieving our mission.
Our hiring practices are based on kindness and treating all living things, people, animals and the planet, as we would like to be treated. We encourage candidates who can enhance and thrive within our culture, as well as use their unique strengths and experiences to help us Save Them All.
POSITION DESCRIPTION: Best Friends legislative work occurs in diverse communities; we value diversity of all kinds on our staff, including our interns. Legislative interns will assist in monitoring and researching legislation related to current animal welfare issues. Legislative interns will have the opportunity to practice and improve their research and writing skills, strengthen their communication skills, meet and network with other professionals in the animal welfare field, and address regulatory and legislative issues as they relate to reducing the number of dogs and cats killed in America’s animal shelters. Legislative interns will attend internal and external meetings where legal and political strategy is discussed, solutions are crafted, and campaigns to end the killing of healthy and treatable pets are developed and launched.
Legislative Advocacy Interns report to Kelsey Gilmore-Futeral, Esq. and will receive weekly supervision and regular feedback. The minimum time commitment for the Legislative Internship is ten hours and the maximum is 29 hours; interns will have the ability to flex time and assignments based on other life commitments, such as exams or travel. Compensation is $15.00 an hour for approximately 6 months. This is a remote internship. Students seeking college credit are welcome to apply.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Monitor, track, and analyze legislation;
- Conduct legal research and writing;
- Attend hearings, briefings, and meetings;
- Prepare reports for staff;
- Assist staff in mobilizing membership on key legislative initiatives; and
- Assist with administrative tasks such as updating and preparing Excel spreadsheets, proofreading, assembling folders for lobby visits, preparing mailings, etc.
- Treat people around you with Kindness and Compassion, build trust by demonstrating authenticity and following through on your commitments, prioritize your well-being, and work to build strong inclusive relationships with your colleagues by participating in communication loops to share and receive honest feedback.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Become knowledgeable about the local and state legislative processes.
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of legal issues resulting in the killing of dogs and cats in shelters and the impact those laws have on animals, people, and communities.
- Learn how successful grassroots advocacy strategies are implemented and methods for mobilizing membership.
- Improve research, writing, communication, and networking skills.
- Build and strengthen professional relationships with influential members of the animal welfare movement both inside and outside Best Friends.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Must be a student and matriculated in an ABA-accredited law school seeking a juris doctorate degree or LLM degree or in a master's level program with an emphasis on public policy or public affairs
- Preference will be given to students who have completed one calendar year of graduate-level schooling
- Strong interpersonal communication skills
- Excellent writing abilities (clear, professional, error-free writing)
- Analytical and research skills, especially in summarizing and presenting complex information more simply
- Professional work ethic and independent time management skills in a home-office environment
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
- Interest in learning about public policy and the legislative process
- Prior political experience or political science background is not necessary
Thank you for your interest in pursuing a career at Best Friends Animal Society. Best Friends Animal Society is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, or domestic partner status.
Applicants for employment in the US must have valid work authorization that does not now and/or will not in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the US by Best Friends Animal Society.
Best Friends employees may only hold one compensated position at any time. Current employees are not allowed to hold another position and this internship position at the same time. If a current employee would like to apply for this internship, the employee would be required to resign from their primary position, with no guarantee of re-employment, if the employee wanted to accept this position.