About the role
About AAFA
The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) is the national trade association representing apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies, and their suppliers, which compete in the global market. Representing more than 1,100 world famous name brands, AAFA is the trusted public policy and political voice of the apparel and footwear industry, its management and shareholders, its more than 3.6 million U.S. workers, and its contribution of more than $523 billion in annual U.S. retail sales. The AAFA team – including Membership, Policy, Events & Programming, Communications & Marketing, and Finance - is primarily based in Washington, D.C. with varying hybrid schedules.
Benefits
- Bonus potential
- Medical/Dental/Vision insurance
- Short- and long-term disability insurance
- Life insurance
- 401(K) Plan with profit sharing
- Generous PTO and holiday time
About Our Internship Program
AAFA's year-round internships are competitive, combining academic experience to real world situations that advance the apparel and footwear industry.
About This Job
AAFA is seeking an intern to support policy and advocacy work within the Brand Protection (BP) portfolio. The colleague will report directly to AAFA's Sr. Director of Brand Protection to support AAFA's Policy Department's advocacy initiatives to promote strong protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR); increase awareness of the dangers of counterfeits to businesses, consumers, workers, and the environment; and educate the industry on how to overcome shared challenges that cause lost sales and irreparable damage to brand reputation.
Key Responsibilities
- Joining meetings with AAFA staff, AAFA member companies, external cross-industry partners, and others on BP policy-related matters.
- Participate in occasional external meetings with government agencies, Congressional staff, and others as appropriate.
- Creating or updating of AAFA internal resources to help members address IPR concerns; this could include updating a directory of POCs for IPR issues withing e-commerce and/or social media platforms or developing new databases to track issues across such platforms.
- Helping to draft AAFA work product, including: comments to government initiatives (including USTR's annual Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy), regular member notes, advocacy letters, meeting agendas, legislative/regulatory summaries and more.
- Tracking Congressional and other events to monitor priorities and draft summaries of key legislative/regulatory developments when appropriate.
- Maintain a relentless focus on the needs of AAFA members.
- Other supportive duties as determined based on AAFA's strategic plan and developments.
Personal Characteristics and Qualifications
- Demonstrated interest in brand protection, intellectual property and advocacy.
- Detail-oriented, ability to conduct research, and well-organized.
- Good communicator and able to work independently.
- Law or graduate students are preferred; however, all qualified and motivated candidates are encouraged to apply.
- Experience with advocacy, brand protection, or a campaign-oriented mindset is a plus.
- Must be located in the United States and authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future employer-sponsored work.
- Must be able to set a work schedule (at least 20-30 hours per week) around a class schedule; with heavy work slated from the end of September to the middle of November during core AAFA business hours.
Location
Virtual or Washington, D.C. (if in DC, a mix of telework and in-person office days)
Application Process
Deadline is 5pm ET on Friday, July 10. Please send your resume and a short email about your interest in the position to jscogginshanks@aafaglobal.org with the subject line: "AAFA Brand Protection Internship - (your name)."