2014 LEGISLATIVE AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

USAID’s Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs (LPA) serves as the liaison between the Agency and the American people, Congress, media, and other key constituencies. Interning at LPA provides a broad overview of the functions of all of USAID’s bureaus.    

Interns should specify their preference to work in one of the five areas:LPA is responsible for the Agency’s external affairs and provides overall communications coordination for all aspects of legislative and public affairs matters. LPA directs the Agency's communications strategy and policies; is responsible for communicating and positioning, messaging and branding; develops outreach and education programs; leads the Agency’s online marketing strategy and manages the external website; and produces events and promotional products to generate support for USAID’s mission.

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  Legislative Affairs: Process and transmit reports to Capitol Hill, attend Congressional hearings, research and analyze federal legislation, prepare senior USAID staff to brief and/or testify before members of Congress, outreach to members of Congress and their respective staffs.
• Press: Assist in strategic communications for large events and announcements, research and target select journalists for outreach, maintain USAID Press Twitter handles, draft and send press releases and media advisories. 
• Public Engagement: Assist in strategic communications with think tanks, NGOs, and other agencies of government to advance USAID goals and initiatives; facilitate and attend events and conferences as a representative of USAID.
• Digital Communications: Support external digital communications of USAID initiatives and events through online communications platforms, update the web pages, assist in managing social media accounts, including Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and Youtube, and draft social media engagement plans.
• Administrative Management: Administers and supports LPA programs and priorities through program management and budget operations, a broad range of administrative management functions (human resources, administrative services, security, organizational management), and procurement and contracting efforts.

Selection criteria:In addition to these employment aspects, LPA interns have unique opportunities to participate in and/or assist with a variety of high-level events such as escorting members of the United Nations and former Prime Ministers to meetings with the USAID Administrator and meeting a former Nobel Peace Prize Winner.

• Be a U.S. citizen (without dual nationality)
• Be currently enrolled in a college or university
• Have a minimum grade point average of 3.0
• Be able to obtain a U.S. Government security clearance at the “Secret” level by passing a background check.
• Possess a general knowledge about U.S. Government agencies and USAID policies, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and computer proficiency.
• Be available full-time with a minimum requirement of 4 days a week, 8 hours per day.

Applying and timeline for the process:Note: Internships are unpaid and housing assistance is not provided.

Submit a cover letter (indicate approximate date availability in your cover letter) and resume tolpainternships@usaid.gov during the dates indicated below. 

Session	Program Dates	Application Opens	Deadline
Fall 2014	August - December	March 1st	April 1st (closed)
Spring 2015	January - May	August 1st	September 1st
Summer 2015	May/June - August	December 1st	January 1st

Note: Due to the high number of applicants, only selected intern candidates will be contacted for an interview and may be asked to submit a writing sample.