Community Council Intern

About IEC

The Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund (IECEF), and its affiliate, the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC), promote sound environmental laws and policies, provide a forum for environmentalists and facilitate a statewide activist network. IECEF engages in legislative monitoring and analysis; outreach, organizing, and coalition building; and communication and education. IEC performs legislative advocacy and builds power for people and the environment.

About the Position

The Community Council intern will work closely with IEC’s communications team, with their role mainly focused around research, organization & recruitment for IEC’s community council: a group of community based organizations from across Illinois. The role of this council is both to engender collaboration amongst the council as well as to give IEC better insight into the actual needs and priorities of Illinois’ diverse communities. The Community Council intern will research, recruit for & help grow engagement through tabling. This role reports to the Digital Engagement Manager and will also work closely with the Social Media Manager.

This role is part-time, in-person and will pay $16/hour. Please send your resume, cover letter and any questions about this position to paloma@ilenviro.org.

About You

We’re looking for a self-motivated individual who is excited by the challenge of addressing the biggest challenges facing Illinois. You should be a stellar communicator with excellent attention to detail with a passion for working with local activists and community-level organizations.

We are a small, dynamic team that rely on each other to produce high quality work.

We strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. Each new hire is an opportunity for us to bring in a different perspective, and we are always eager to further diversify our organization. IEC/IECEF is committed to building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do the best and most rewarding work of your career.

Responsibilities

Research & Outreach to Community and Student Organizations

• Identify local and community based organizations throughout the state, with particular attention to Downstate, Chicago’s South & West sides and Environmental Justice communities
• Support outreach to groups and assist in one on one meetings with them
• Attend community council meetings, which may fall outside of regular work hours

Support Coordination of IEC’s Tabling Program

• Support coordination of tabling for IEC, including researching opportunities and working with staff to organize outreach events
• Create promotional materials & procure giveaway items for schools to recruit students into Illinois’ Environmental movement
• Coordinate tabling to colleges & universities statewide

Support IEC’s Advocacy & Collaborative Communications

• Track IEC affiliates and community council partners on social media
• Research & track local news throughout the state, with attention to environmental issues that IEC can uplift in communications 
• Work with Social Media Manager to create communications uplifting local issues and campaigns
• Research & track youth and student organizations with a strong social media presence

Qualifications

Basic skills:

• Meet deadlines as assigned and accepts responsibility
• Has basic knowledge of how to operate Google docs and sheets
• Conscientiousness to attendance and punctuality
• Produce a typical volume of work under normal circumstances
• Can effectively manage workload and self administrative tasks 

Collaboration:

• Work in person at IEC’s Chicago or Springfield offices
• Work as part of a team and collaborate with colleagues
• Establish work relationships with co-workers, community council and affiliate members, and other stakeholders

Self Management:

• Perform effectively in environments with frequent workload changes and competing demands.
• Ask appropriate questions of supervisors to supplement onboarding
• Set priorities which accurately reflect the relative importance of job responsibilities and complete work in a timely manner
• Work independently and follow through on assignments with minimal direction

Communication:

• Return communications on all platforms in a timely manner
• Write concise, logical, grammatically correct routine business correspondence
• Speak on a one-to-one basis using appropriate vocabulary and grammar to obtain information and explain policies, procedures, etc
• Speak with persons of various social, cultural, economic and educational backgrounds.
• Discuss job-related topics on short or no notice to a large variety of audiences while handling rapid changes or difficult questions in conversation
• Listen perceptively and convey awareness

Equal Opportunity Employer

IEC/IECEF is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, gender expression or identity, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, marital status, protective order status, veteran status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, genetic information, ancestry, religion, pregnancy, certain arrest or criminal history records, homelessness and use of lawful products outside of work during non-working hours or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

Equity, Allyship, and Powerbuilding Values

IEC/IECEF is always working to ensure that everyone on our team feels engaged and supported in all areas of the organization’s operations as we work to become a fully inclusive, multicultural, and anti-racist organization.

We are only as powerful as the people in our movement and those we serve. Building power for people and our environment in Illinois requires us to actively combat social and political power dynamics that disenfranchise marginalized communities across a broad range of issues beyond those that fall squarely within traditional environmental policy. When marginalized communities are empowered, environmental protections become more possible. Thus we are called to stand in solidarity as allies with those fighting for justice and to strengthen our democratic institutions where power drives policy change.

How to Apply

Introduce yourself to us as a colleague. Show us your future here! We value great writers, so be yourself, be creative, and take your time with the application. There’s no prize for being the first to submit! Stock cover letters won’t do. Tell us why you want this job.

Applications must be received by September 1, 2023.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to:

Paloma Campillo by email: paloma@ilenviro.org

Please direct all questions to Paloma via email.

IEC/IECEF is an equal-opportunity employer.