Start Date: May 2025 – October 2025 (26 weeks, start date is flexible).
Compensation: $680 per week, housing available (if needed), assistance with travel costs to site, and ability to qualify for Public Lands Corp non-competitive hiring authority upon completion of the internship.
Application Due: Applications reviewed as received
Environment for the Americas' Internship Program seeks to engage young professionals in natural resource careers. Additional requirements:
A valid driver’s license to drive a government vehicle.
Be authorized to work in the U.S
Be able to pass a federal background check.
*A personal vehicle is required for this position
Position Description:
The person in this position will work with staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Services program and Office of Communications to develop stories and communication materials to showcase our work and people.
We are looking for a motivated individual who is interested in communicating conservation ecology stories to a wide variety of audiences.
The intern will have a supervisor who will advise and support the intern in accomplishing tasks and assignments. The intern will also have a dedicated peer mentor who will meet on an agreed-upon (weekly or bi-weekly) basis. The intern will work with biologists from across Fish and Wildlife Service’s Midwest Region Field Offices; will attend weekly staff meetings at the intern’s duty stations; and will attend weekly staff meetings our Office of Communications has.
Learning Goals:
Yes, the intern will work fairly independently to produce the stories and other work products. This will require the intern to demonstrate integrity, continual learning, interpersonal skills, as well as written and verbal communication skills.
Work Products: The final work products will include:
1-2 stories/month covering a variety of topics (e.g., project work, outreach events, staff) and targeting a variety of audiences through different media platforms (e.g., internal newsletter, local papers, partner newsletters, social media outlets)
One social media item per month
A draft two-year communication plan for Midwest ES (will be based on using an existing plan as a template)
Qualifications:
Experience in the field of environmental, ecological, or conservation biology
Experience in the field of outreach, communications, or media relations or demonstrated writing skills
Physical/Natural Environment:
The potential position locations are all in small to mid-sized Midwest cities with a university or community college.
Work Environment:
Work Environment: The majority (75%) of the position will be in an office where the intern will have a dedicated desk/office. Office sizes vary between 12-40 people. The intern will also travel to gather information to develop and write the stories they will produce. The intern will also have the opportunity to do fieldwork with other staff.
Public Land Corps Non-Competitive Hiring Authority (PLC)
The Public Land Corps Non-Competitive Hiring Authority is a special hiring authority available to qualifying interns. The intern must be between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, inclusive, or a veteran up to age 35 and complete 640 hours of work on an appropriate conservation project to be eligible for this hiring authority. Upon successful completion of the PLC project(s), the intern is eligible for two years to be hired non-competitively into a federal seasonal, term, or permanent position. The applicant must apply to a PLC-eligible position advertised on USAJobs.govand be selected off a non-competitive certificate of eligibility. For more information, see DOI Personnel Bulletins 11-02, 12-13, and 17-03.
EEO Statement
Environment for the Americas provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.