Forced Evictions & Digital Engagement Internship FALL 2013- Employment, career opportunity in USA

Job Title:  Forced Evictions & Digital Engagement Internship FALL 2013 – PROGRAM DEPARTMENT
Organization: WITNESS
Country: United States of America
Deadline: 14th Oct 2013

Organization

WITNESS uses video to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. WITNESS empowers people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change. Founded 20 years ago by musician and activist Peter Gabriel, WITNESS partners with NGOs, community groups, and grassroots organizations around the globe. witness.org

Internships at WITNESS offer a unique, hands-on opportunity to enhance their educational objectives through practical, real-world experience under the guidance and mentoring of experienced professionals in the areas of human rights, video advocacy, communications, media operations, fundraising, IT, human resources, and nonprofit administration. Interns participate in an array of activities depending on the department and projects to which they apply.

Description

WITNESS’ Global Campaign on Forced Evictions works to protect underrepresented communities’ rights to housing, land and livelihood by fighting Forced Evictions conducted in the name of development. Over the past few years, the campaign has trained activists and supported communities in Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, India, and Mexico to use video in their advocacy against forced evictions and to leverage the voices of those affected at the regional and international levels. More here.

Now, as the campaign seeks to reach more activists and communities affected by forced evictions worldwide, we’re looking for a smart, savvy and dedicated intern to help. Key responsibility would be to work with the campaigning and engagement teams to devise and implement a global outreach strategy aimed at getting crucial “video-for-change” educational materials into more hands, thus helping more people use video safely, effectively and ethically in the fight against forced evictions.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the internship, the intern will learn how to:

 Devise and implement a global outreach strategy for distribution of human rights how-to materials;
Create and leverage digital content and social media strategies to reach target audiences and amplify messaging;
Map and reach out to activists, communities and movements fighting human rights violations around the world;
Track and monitor indicators of progress, including social media metrics and other quantitative data;
Develop strategies for supporting and fostering advocacy networks in different countries and contexts.

Qualifications

Currently we are seeking interns enrolled in a 4 year or graduate program related to human rights, social justice or new media. We’re also open to considering applications of recent graduates or other candidates who may be seeking the same type of mentorship and educational focus to enhance their career choice or educational background. Specifically, we’re looking for the following super powers and special skills:

 Strong writers, content creators and effective communicators with experience writing and producing for online publications;
Creative thinkers and do-ers that can help us brainstorm impactful ways of reaching out to grassroots movements, activists and organizations fighting forced evictions around the world to offer key WITNESS materials that can help strengthen local advocacy (see a sample of our materials here);
Social media addicts, connoisseurs and strategists that would be intrigued by the challenge of implementing a multi-lingual outreach and distribution plan to advance human rights campaigns focusing on land and housing rights;
People with a love and knack for organizing, tracking, and monitoring results and indicators to help measure progress;
Fluency in any of the following languages a plus: Arabic, Spanish, French, Khmer or Portuguese.

All interns are expected to spend between 20-30% of their time engaged in administrative support.

General Information

We require a minimum of two months commitment, for at least 15 hours a week. Internships are unpaid. Our offices are located in Brooklyn, NY, convenient to the Atlantic Terminal (2, 3, 4, 5, B, D, Q, N and R trains) and C (Lafayette) and G (Fulton) trains.

How to apply:

Application Instructions: No phone inquiries please. We strongly prefer applications by email to internship@witness.org including a resume and cover letter with “Forced Evictions” in the Subject. Please read the Forced Evictions section on WITNESS’ blog before applying for this position.

Early application encouraged. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until filled.