Intern, Grassroots 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: The Grassroots Advocacy Intern will assist with national grassroots advocacy efforts including action team recruitment in key markets, digital and campaign strategy around key issues, and action team member cultivation. During this internship, interns will have the opportunity to strengthen communication and networking skills, learn building blocks of community organizing, and use their skills to address real-world issues involving pets and people at the local level as they relate to the field of animal welfare and advocacy issues.
Grassroots Advocacy Interns report to the Manager of Grassroots Advocacy, and will receive weekly supervision and regular trainings on relevant career topics. The Grassroots Advocacy Internship requires a minimum commitment of 10 hours per week but can offer up to 29 hours per week depending on the intern’s interests and availability. Compensation is $15.00 an hour for approximately 6 months. This is a remote internship. Students seeking college credit are welcome to apply.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of various key legislative priority issues at Best Friends including keeping pets with families and how this issue impacts animals, people, and communities and how grassroots tactics can be utilized to advocate around this issue.
- Improve research, writing, communication, and networking skills.
- Learn a variety of methods used to build awareness around key issues including petition efforts, social media (Instagram/Facebook focus), canvassing, and stakeholder and business engagement.
- Learn how to prepare and implement a successful, comprehensive grassroots strategy that mobilizes membership and increases awareness and action-taking around our key issues with a focus on the issue of keeping pets with families.
- Develop a deep understanding of Best Friends’ mission and the breadth of communities that engage in issues central to the mission (both communities that are already part of the no-kill movement and those that are not).
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Create a plan to increase recruitment through various social channels.
- Become familiar with current content and messaging around digital and social organizing and work with grassroots team to build out the digital and social strategy around our grassroots work.
- Research new and innovative ways to engage the Best Friends community around keeping pets with families.
- Attend hearings, briefings, and meetings as appropriate.
- Assist staff in mobilizing membership on key initiatives.
- 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.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Strategic and analytical thinking skills; strong problem-solving skills; and a deep commitment to feedback, learning, and improvement
- Careful attention to detail, as well as project-management and organizational skills for complex projects and competing deadlines, whether working independently or collaboratively
- Experience using digital tools and social media platforms or the ability to learn new software quickly and independently. Specifically, Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram for social media and Control Shift, Action Network, or Phone to Action for digital organizing.
- Experience (including volunteer or academic) in grassroots advocacy, volunteer engagement, or political campaigns.
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.