Communications Internship — Full-Time (Remote, US)

Job Title

Spring and/or Summer 2023

Job Location

Remote (Anywhere within the U.S.)

Job Overview

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is seeking spring and summer interns to support our Composting for Community (C4C) initiative. We are advancing home, community, and on-farm composting as part of our mission to build healthy and equitable communities. Composting reduces food waste, cuts pollution, protects the climate, supports local food systems, and creates local jobs. It is an integral part of moving toward a circular, zero-waste economy and replacing the burn-and-bury wasting paradigm which disproportionately harms communities of color. Our strength is sharing best practices and elevating model programs and policies. We provide workshops, training, guides, outreach materials, webinars, networking opportunities, and more. See the initiative page for the team’s recent work.

The ideal candidate will have a passion for storytelling, making sometimes complex information accessible to diverse audiences, and supporting equitable sustainability solutions that benefit marginalized communities as well as farmers and other locally rooted businesses.

Compensation

This internship pays $16/hour.

Responsibilities

The Composting for Community Communications Intern will be responsible for contributing to and executing a communications strategy for the C4C Initiative. This will entail coordinating with the ILSR’s Communications and Composting teams to support the following:

• Posting engaging web and social media as well as email communications
• Maintaining website (such as updating tags and posts, supporting a website reorganization)
• Designing and implementing targeted outreach campaigns to disseminate our training and policy resources
• Composting for Community podcast (such as conducting background research, scheduling interviews, reviewing audio and transcripts, drafting web posts, pushing out posts)
• A regular email newsletter that highlights the Initiative’s recent work, upcoming events, and relevant news
• Workshops and webinars (such as registration, outreach, managing virtual platform)
• Community Composter Coalition (such as recruiting new members, supporting transition to a new networking platform, note taking)
• Tracking a calendar of events (C4C events, Food Waste Prevention Week, Earth Day, ICAW, World Soil Day)
• Researching and recommending best practices for communications strategies on different outreach platforms
• Other projects as assigned

Requirements

To be successful in this job, you will excel in the following areas:

• An effective storyteller: A good communicator in both written and visual formats. Able to synthesize and convey complex ideas and policies in a clear and compelling way. Experience with social media with a firm grasp of available tools and platforms.
• Highly organized, motivated, and detail-oriented: Strong sense of ownership over goals. Able to juggle competing demands and prioritize without sacrificing quality. Flexible and able to adapt to shifting priorities. Leave things better than you found them.
• Reliable and collaborative: Follow through on commitments. Welcome feedback and able to adapt to new ideas and priorities. Respect diverse cultures and working styles.
• Strong communicator: Pride in providing clear, helpful information. Effective writing and speaking skills and comfortable with email communications. Attention to detail.
• Committed to racial equity and social justice: Recognize ways that race, income, and other identities intersect in shaping societal disparities. Interest in joining a team who are working to recognize how our own identities show up in the work, and welcome, reflect on, and act on feedback with an eye toward continuous learning about race, ability, and other lines of intersection.
• Computer proficient and able to work remotely: Comfortable with computers with proficiency ideally in WordPress, Mailchimp, Canva, and Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, Meet and more). Prepared to participate in virtual meetings and spend long hours on a computer.

Graphic design skills and prior communications experience are preferred but not required. Knowledge of systems thinking and environmental issues is a plus.

We're excited for you to apply!