Rainforest Action Network (RAN) was founded with the belief that a sustainable and just world can and must be created in our lifetime, and that it will take individuals and communities standing together to confront corporate power to get us there. Through education, grassroots organizing and nonviolent direct action, RAN’s campaigns focus on catalyzing market and investment pressure to transform corporate and government policies and behavior in support of forests, the climate and human rights.
In our twenty-seven years of working to support forests and forest peoples, RAN has won major corporate policy changes that have transformed the home building, food product, automobile, oil, paper and banking industries. Through our two program areas, Forests, and Energy and Finance, RAN is currently working to change the policies of the global agribusinesses and pulp and paper industries in order to stop deforestation and the oppression of forest peoples, and is tackling the world’s dirtiest fossil fuels, coal and oil, and the leading banks that make their expansion possible, to address the root causes of climate change.
Rainforest Action Network is looking for two motivated, hard-working interns with a passion for protecting rainforests, endangered species and Indigenous rights to support our Rainforest Agribusiness Campaign. Would you like to put your skills to work with a dynamic team of campaigners to stop major international corporations from destroying the environment and violating human rights? If so, we want you to consider joining us as the next Rainforest Agribusiness intern at RAN – one of the most effective corporate campaigning organizations around.
We are looking for two interns to start in early March 2013 to engage activists across the country and help launch our national grassroots organizing platform. Working directly with our National Organizing Manager to run a pilot organizing model for our Rainforest Agribusiness secondary targets campaign focusing on the corporate food sector, you’ll engage supporters and activists across the country through phone, email and social media organizing, as well as a variety of creative online tools.
For more information on the nature of the campaign, you can visit www.ran.org and www.theproblemwithpalmoil.org.
This internship is unpaid. Commuter stipend provided.
Desired Qualifications:
- Campaigning and/or organizing experience
- Superior written and verbal communication skills, including writing and networking skills
- Familiarity with online organizing and a variety of online organizing tools such as Facebook and Twitter
- Interest and familiarity with issues including but not limited to nonviolent direct action, grassroots organizing, corporate social responsibility, climate change, biodiversity, tropical rainforests, human rights, commodity supply chains, sustainable agriculture, Indigenous rights
- Proficiency in English; conversation level language skills in either Indonesian or Malay are a plus
- Excellent prioritization and time management skills
Responsibilities:
- Work with the Rainforest Agribusiness campaign team to launch and help manage a national grassroots organizing program that engages existing RAN members and new activists across the country on a campaign to transform US food companies
- Support campaign strategies that challenge the main drivers of rainforest agribusiness including, but not limited to, a) the US consumption of palm oil from converted rainforests; b) U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill which is establishing palm oil operations in some of the planets’ most biodiverse forests and marketing those products around the globe
Through this internship, interns will develop or further strengthen the following competencies:
- Prioritization
- Strategic thinking
- Time management
- Campaign planning
- Work standards
- Database management
- Research skills
- Grassroots organizing
RAN's internships provide "hands-on-learning" about our brand of corporate campaigning for the forests, climate and human right as well as direct experience working in a non-profit office. Besides learning about the diverse aspects of the Agribusiness campaign, as an intern you will have the opportunity to participate in interdepartmental meetings that will give you insight into RAN as a whole.
In coalition with Indigenous communities and allies from around the world, RAN uses non-violent direct action, grassroots organizing, education, and strategic communications to challenge corporations to phase out destructive operations, respect human rights, and adopt comprehensive policies that mitigate their contributions to global warming. RAN values diversity, educates staff on issues including privilege and oppression, and integrates these values into all of our work. We are seeking candidates who have a commitment to engage in this process and work with us to create a just, inclusive, and sustainable work environment and world. RAN provides all people with equal employment and volunteer opportunities.
Please send a resume and cover letter in which you describe a project you have worked on that will help us understand your interest and qualifications. Applications can be emailed to ashley@ran.org. No phone calls please.