About RepresentWomen:

RepresentWomen is a nonpartisan nonprofit and research-based action tank that seeks to build support for systemic change so that more women run, win, serve, and lead at all levels of government in the United States. We champion and advance the adoption of evidence-based solutions that break down structural barriers to women’s political leadership and mobilize changemakers to support these reforms.

RepresentWomen was founded in 2012/2013 as a fiscally-sponsored project of FairVote, a nonprofit that advocates for the adoption of ranked choice voting in the United States. In 2018,

RepresentWomen formed a board of its own and became an independent organization. In 2021, the organization underwent a strategic planning process and identified three signature solutions to research and share information about:

1. Gender-targets for PACs and donors, so more women run,

2. Ranked choice voting and the Fair Representation Act, so more women win, and

3. Gender-balanced appointments, so more women lead.

RepresentWomen’s US-based research is complemented by resource-sharing and coalition-building activities with subject matter experts around the world who advocate for advancing women’s representation and leadership.

RepresentWomen Structure:

RepresentWomen is a national organization located in Takoma Park, MD with staff members who work virtually all over the country and world. As an organization we:

● Identify the most transformative, viable, and scalable structural reforms

● Conduct research to determine the best practices to implement those reform

● Identify and help stakeholders apply this knowledge to make real-world change

RepresentWomen is on a fast growth trajectory and expects to onboard new staff in the coming year. Our current team consists of seven full-time and three part-time staff. Interns will need to maintain positive, collaborative relationships with staff, board members, consultants, and allies.

Summary/Description:

Development interns are undergraduate and graduate students with a dedicated interest in advancing women’s political representation and leadership through structural solutions like gender-targets and ranked choice voting. They have strong writing and analytical skills, are attentive to detail, and have the ability to craft language that is appropriate for a variety of audiences.

Since RepresentWomen is a small and evolving team, successful interns tend to be both self-starters and team players who are comfortable shifting between self-motivated and collaborative work.

Development interns primarily report to the Development Director, but may have opportunities to shadow or assist the other department heads, including the Executive Director. All interns are paired with at least one member of our staff to discuss their professional goals and related progress on work assignments over a course of 9-13 weeks, for a minimum of 15-20 hours per week.

Development intern applicants should familiarize themselves with our work to ensure that they are matched with projects that fit their academic, personal, and professional experience and interests.

Responsibilities Include

Supporting the Development Director and department heads by:

● Monitoring news outlets for stories covering the organization’s work, or the work of our close partners and allies; writing blogs and op-eds on these topics and others, while drawing the appropriate connections to our research.

● Coordinating between the Executive Director, Development Director, and Communications Team to manage the organization’s presence on LinkedIn, while keeping an eye out for unique opportunities to engage with prospective partners and donors.

● Researching potential funding sources, including foundations, corporations, and individual donors; providing summaries of each for the Executive Director.

● Drafting letters of inquiry, giving appeals, and acknowledgment letters to donors.

● Drafting, proofreading, and fact-checking materials for potential donors and executive-level partners; deliverables may range from one-page memos to multi-slide presentations.

● Providing administrative support as needed; these duties may include event support, database management, and digital filing.

Ideal Candidates

● Have a strong interest in learning more about the systems and practices used to advance women’s representation and leadership in the United States and abroad

● Are committed to finding and communicating the best practices for increasing women's representation across the ideological, racial, and geographic spectrum of the U.S.

● Have strong writing and analytical skills, are attentive to detail, and have the ability to craft language that is appropriate for a variety of audiences

● Have experience using Google Suite and NationBuilder (or similar software)

● Are self-starters and team-players who are comfortable adapting between self-motivated and collaborative work

● Are available to work a minimum of 15 - 20 hours a week*

*Recent graduates and summer interns are welcome to intern full-time for one season. Flexible accommodations are available for current students, volunteer interns, and those with additional part-time responsibilities.

Benefits and Opportunities:

RepresentWomen interns work directly with full-time staff to develop a work plan that coordinates our project goals with the individual goals of each member of our team. Over the course of the first week of the internship, our team meets one-on-one with each intern to assess what projects will best suit their experience and interests, while also providing them with the support and opportunities they need to make their time with us both productive and meaningful.

Additional benefits:

● Opportunities to connect with our partners and RepresentWomen alumni

● Professional development opportunities may include, but are not limited to:

• Canva, Infogram, and NationBuilder training
• Staff-supported research and writing opportunities
• Staff-supported communications and event-planning opportunities
• Staff-supported training on how to manage web content and write grants

*Start and end dates are flexible, but we expect most fall interns to begin in September. Interns who are current students are welcome to tailor their weekly hours to accommodate any academic commitments they may have. Recent graduates and summer interns are welcome to work full-time (40 hours) for up to one season. Qualifying interns may apply to extend their internships for up to one season.

**All internships at RepresentWomen are completed on a voluntary basis, but we are more than happy to work with candidates who are seeking third-party sponsorship (i.e. research grants) or academic credit. If you are interested in interning with our team but have concerns about how compatible our program is with your university’s requirements to receive credit, please contact the RepresentWomen team at internships@representwomen.org.

How to apply:

To apply, please submit PDFs of your resume, cover letter, and a work sample to our team at internships@representwomen.org and cc the Development Director, Nicole Bailey, at nicolebailey@representwomen.org. The subject line of your email should clearly state the internship role(s) that you are interested in, i.e. Fall 2022 Development Internship. If you are applying for more than one role, you only need to send one application. However, you should address why you are interested in each role in your cover letter.

Work Sample Guidelines: if you are interested in the communications internship, please submit a portfolio of your work with your application. Research, partnership, and development intern candidates are required to prepare a written sample. We accept writing samples of any length and strongly encourage applicants to submit materials that they feel best represent their work.

Request from the Hiring Manager: if possible, please make sure that the font used throughout your application is easy to read and no smaller than size 10 (size 12 is preferable). Creative resume formats are welcome, but not required.

Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination Notice: RepresentWomen is committed to equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and nondiscrimination on the basis of race, color, national or regional origin, gender, age, religion, political affiliation, marital status, and veteran status. This commitment includes equal opportunity and nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the workplace.

Advice for First-Year Applicants: if you are worried that your academic and/or work experience doesn't line up with what we are looking for, consider telling us more about the skills you want to learn and what it is about our work that interests you most in your cover letter. While many interns will benefit from having previous work experience, our team strives to create learning and professional development opportunities for students of all backgrounds to learn from us and one another through our program.

Not your dream role? Try democracyjobs.org or theascendfund.org, where our partners are hiring!