Government Relations Intern

About The Wilderness Society

The Wilderness Society is a national conservation organization dedicated to protecting America’s wild places since 1935. Our mission is to unite people to protect America’s wild places. Through science, advocacy and partnerships with communities and policymakers, we champion the protection of wilderness, national parks, forests, and other public lands that provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat and the freedom to connect with nature. For more information, visit www.wilderness.org. 

General Description

The Government Relations team at The Wilderness Society (TWS) is seeking highly motivated students and post-graduates to join us for our summer internship sessions. Our team is dedicated and passionate about protecting public lands across the US and connecting people to the outdoors. We do the work behind TWS’s public advocacy and federal policy strategy. Our priority campaigns include work on defending public lands, designation of new wilderness areas, appropriating federal funds for conservation programs, ensuring equitable outdoor access, protecting cultural heritage stories and sites, responsible and renewable energy development, outdoor recreation, and telling a full and inclusive history of public lands. We work with numerous political players and partners, from Congress, to environmental coalitions, to the Department of the Interior, to the White House to set strategy and priorities across all of our issues. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Assist with defensive campaigns against efforts to overturn oil and gas conservation wins and advance energy development on public lands.
• Support government relations strategies to advance onshore oil and gas reform legislation.
• Tracking, compiling, and sending monthly updates to the Hill on the Trump Administration's energy dominance agenda, including oil and gas lease sales in the Western U.S., NPR-A, and Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge mandated by H.R. 1;
• Review, analyze and track Congressional reports and pending legislation and steps in the legislative process, attend Congressional hearings, and participate in advocacy events relevant to TWS mission and work;
• Conduct research on and writing about Members of Congress, Hill activities, and items that contribute to TWS’ advocacy strategy, including preparing advocacy letters and informing press releases;
• Assist in Congressional outreach through meetings, calls, and emails on priority legislation;
• Attend lobby meetings and coalition meetings and help with lobby days and training;
• Adhere to all policies and procedures set forth by TWS (including, but not limited to, finance, human resources and legal) to maintain a compliant and efficient work environment. 
• Perform general administrative duties in support of assigned policy project work.

QUALIFICATIONS

Experience, Competencies, and Education

• Currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate program or recent graduate (within 2 years) of an accredited college or university ideally with a focus on public policy.
• Strong desire to learn about and work on conservation, climate, equitable access to nature, and racial justice federal legislative and administrative policies.
• Must have excellent communication skills
• Must be motivated to learn new skills and issues
• Must be detailed oriented and and organized
• Must be self-driven and a critical thinker
• Must be a team player and willing to work in a collaborative environment
• Microsoft Office experience required

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of this position and it is not intended to be an exhaustive list of experience, skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities or working conditions associated with the position.

This position is located in Washington, DC.   The ​compensation for this position is $18/hour.  ​To apply, please submit resume and ​cover ​letter by March 15th through our online application portal.     

TWS is an equal opportunity employer and actively works to ensure fair treatment of our employees and constituents across culture, socioeconomic status, race, marital or family situation, gender, age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, physical ability, veteran status or sexual orientation. 

As an organization, we aspire to being inclusive in the work that we do, and in the kind of organization we are.  Internally, this means working as a team that listens to different points of view, recognizes the contributions of every employee and empowers each employee to bring their whole selves to work every day.  Externally, this means ensuring that public lands are inclusive and welcoming, so that our shared wildlands can help people and nature to thrive. We are committed to equity throughout our work, which we define as our commitment to realizing the promise of our public lands and ensuring that all can share in their universal benefits.

To learn more about our commitment, please see http://wilderness.org/our-commitment-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-wilderness-society 

Pursuant to applicable fair chance laws, TWS will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

TWS complies with federal and state disability laws and is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities. If you require accommodation to complete the application process or to perform the essential functions of the position, please contact careers@tws.org.  TWS only accepts resumes submitted for positions that are currently open. Unsolicited resumes or resumes for posted positions that are not submitted via the online application process (where applicable), will not be reviewed or retained.