National Peace Corps Association Internships

Interns work closely with department heads and can expect to have a high level of collaboration with all NPCA staff and other interns. NPCA internships are unpaid positions, which can either be full- or part-time (20-30 hours a week).

Applications

Applications for NPCA’s internships are accepted on a rolling basis, but please consider our review process, which can take several weeks. 

Deadlines

• Spring Internship: December 15th
• Summer Internship: April 15th
• Fall Internship: August 30th

Please submit a cover letter and resume to internships@peacecorpsconnect.org with the desired internship in the subject title. In your cover letter, please note your availability and if you are interested in being considering for more than one position. No phone calls please.

NOTE: The National Peace Corps Association is NOT the U.S. Peace Corps, which is a separate, U.S. government agency.

Internships

Special Assistant to Executive Leadership

An exciting opportunity to be involved in the core activities of NPCA as a vital member of the support staff. Lead special projects, serve as liaison between executive leadership and key stakeholders such as the Peace Corps, affiliate groups, and strategic partners; provide administrative/logistical assistance to NPCA team, and promote the values of the Peace Corps community.

A successful fellow will be well organized to handle multiple tasks, attentive to detail and an articulate communicator. S/he will be highly motivated, resourceful and creative, thriving on the opportunity to contribute to the Peace Corps community. The fellow will be proactive – presenting new ideas, proposing solutions and promoting innovation.

Interest and/or experience in community development, organizational management, international affairs, peace building and other similar areas.  

Advocacy Intern

This intern is responsible for supporting and building the network of NPCA advocates, assisting with Capitol Hill advocacy actions, and general advocacy campaigning. This intern can expect a wide variety of work project that will include activities on Capitol Hill and advocacy-related meetings.

This intern must have extensive writing and communication skills and attention to detail as they will assist the Advocacy Director by preparing support materials, scheduling, and participating in advocacy meetings on Capitol Hill, and assisting with videos, Twitter updates and news articles.

Interest and/or experience in advocacy or government/ political related work. 

What You Will Learn:

• How to liaise with a diverse network of individuals in the Peace Corps community
• Responsible for supporting and building NPCA's advocacy network across the country
• Assist in preparations for National Day of Action
• Assisting with Capitol Hill advocacy actions and general advocacy campaigning
• Helping to launch NPCA initiatives to better support Returned Peace Corps Volunteers facing health challenges stemming from their Peace Corps service
• Support of other research, writing, and posting responsibilities will also be part of this assignment
• Act as a liaison and representative of the National Peace Corps Association to community members, group representatives, and stakeholders
• Assist in daily operational tasks as needed

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and via email
• Ability to communicate clearly, both in person and by phone
• Ability to be both consistent and flexible as circumstances warrant
• Ability to build relationships with other staff, volunteers, and interns

Special Events Intern

This intern primarily assists in the planning and organizing of Peace Corps Connect, NPCA’s annual gathering of the Peace Corps community. The location changes every year, rotating through different regions of the country. Peace Corps Connect serves to unite and energize the Peace Corps community and presents an opportunity to share experiences and ideas to build on the commitment to lifelong service. This intern is highly involved in planning and management from start to finish. Key tasks include (but are not limited to): venue research; developing marketing materials; assisting with registration; researching, securing, and coordinating exhibitors; local area research; and preparing event materials. This intern is able to (but not required) to travel with NPCA staff for the event in order to assist with onsite logistics, registration, and other organizational tasks as needed.

This intern is well organized, attentive to detail, customer service oriented, and able to handle multiple tasks in a timely manner. S/he is dependable, creative, and always willing to lend a hand where it’s needed.

Interest and/or experience in events planning and management, non-profits, marketing and operations.                                              

What You Will Learn:

• How to liaise with a diverse network of individuals in the Peace Corps community
• Assist with planning and logistics for Shriver Leadership Summit in Washington, DC and Peace Corps Connect Annual Conference
• Serve as a liaison for session leaders, affiliate group leaders, and help in conference sponsorship recruitment
• Monitor event registration and provide troubleshooting as necessary
• Help in administrative and logistical details leading up to the conference
• Attend meetings and site visits as appropriate
• Act as a liaison and representative of the National Peace Corps Association to community members, group representatives, and stakeholders
• Assist in daily operational tasks as needed

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and via email
• Ability to communicate clearly, both in person and by telephone
• Ability to be both consistent and flexible as circumstances warrant
• Ability to build relationships with other staff, volunteers and interns

Partnerships & Fundraising Intern

This individual will help coordinate potential and existing partnerships and execute the implementation plans for various partner promotions. This individual will also play an integral role in fundraising through prospect research and learn fundraising techniques used in the nonprofit industry.  

What You Will Do:

• Collect data and research needed to implement projects
• Work on grant and proposal research for major gifts fundraising
• Work on grassroots outreach and strategy in increasing donations
• Gain a greater understanding of communications and promotional tools used in non-profit sector for advocacy and fundraising
• Participate in team meetings, brainstorm sessions, and relevant trainings
• Other duties as discussed with supervisor and candidate's interests
• Liaise with a diverse network of individuals in the Peace Corps community
• Work across departments and cross-cutting initiatives as pertains to improving the image and increasing the visibility of NPCA
• Other duties may be assigned in support of our communications efforts.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and via email
• Ability to communicate clearly, both in person and by telephone
• Ability to be both consistent and flexible as circumstances warrant
• Ability to build relationships with other staff, volunteers and interns

Finance and Operations Intern

The Finance and Operations internship is open to those students interested in gaining experience with financial administration in non-profit organizations and engaging in public service. In this internship, you will work with the finance and operations/administration team to help the department develop resources for the ongoing monitoring of the NPCA’s financial and organizational health. This position reports directly to the Finance and Administrative office. 

Key Focuses and Activities:

• Assisting with the analysis of financial statements
• Preparing and analyzing non-profit annual financial reporting for Board of Directors adoption, as well as public and IRS reporting
• Coordinating with external partners on special projects to develop
• Presenting key findings to administration on feasibility studies and cost-benefit analysis for special projects
• Assisting in utilizing and creating innovative tools in non-profit financial reporting
• Assisting in daily operational tasks as needed
• Assisting in weekly invoicing of clients for globally distributed magazine and other advertising venues

Knowledge, Skills and, Abilities:

• Understanding of basic accounting, excel, and standard analysis functions is preferred but not required
• Must have an interest in learning about non-profits.
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and via email
• Ability to communicate clearly, both in person and by phone
• Ability to be both consistent and flexible as circumstances warrant
• Ability to build relationships with other staff, volunteers, and interns

Database Management Intern

Enhance your resume by learning and practicing skills that all organizations require! The Database Management Intern will work closely with NPCA’s Community Technology Systems Coordinator to determine and write organizational de-duping procedures and guidelines and will be primarily responsible for finding, matching, and merging duplicate member accounts in NPCA’s online Association Management Software (AMS). The intern will also use the system to create and pull reports for NPCA staff as well as fulfill affiliate group data sharing requests. Sometimes these reports may require the download of several different reports that then need to be combined skillfully in Excel. Finally, although the system is largely automated, the intern may occasionally need to update member, group, and company contact information.

Ideal candidates will have some experience creating and/or managing databases (spreadsheet or otherwise). The intern must be able to problem solve and implement creative solutions, pay great attention to detail, and willing to take directions. 

What You Will Learn:

• Management of a large database (130k+ records)
• Best practices for managing data
• Writing organizational procedures and guidelines
• Implementing organizational procedures and following organizational guidelines
• Finding, matching, and merging duplicate accounts
• Updating accounts
• Creating simple and complex reports

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to search, read, and interpret data
• Ability to use Microsoft Excel (or equivalent software)
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and via email
• Ability to communicate clearly, both in person and by phone
• Ability to be both consistent and flexible as circumstances warrant
• Ability to build relationships with other staff, volunteers, and interns

Web Design Intern

Build your portfolio by helping NPCA and its affiliate groups create and update their websites. Working closely with NPCA’s Community Technology Systems Coordinator, the Web Design Intern will meet with group leaders to determine the vision and goals for the groups’ website, develop implementation plans, and assist groups by formatting the written and visual content on their websites. The intern will review the websites of groups that are ready to publish their websites and provide feedback for any final changes that may need to be made. The intern will also help answer group leaders’ questions and train them on how to design, update, and manage their websites. Finally, the Web Design Intern will also assist NPCA staff with updating NPCA’s website, when needed.

The ideal candidate will have experience using CMSs to build a website as well as some knowledge of HTML and CSS. Familiarity with image editing software is a big plus. Because the Web Design Intern will be frequently working with affiliate group leaders, excellent communication, collaboration, and customer service skills are required. 

What You Will Learn:

• Creating, updating, and managing a CMS website
• Front-end design using HTML and CSS
• Back-end configuration using an AMS
• Developing implementation plans
• Photo editing for web publishing
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Customer service skills
• Training skills

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to quickly learn and use a new AMS and CMS
• Ability to code using HTML and CSS
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and via email
• Ability to communicate clearly, both in person and by phone
• Ability to be both consistent and flexible as circumstances warrant
• Ability to build relationships with other staff, volunteers, and interns