Advocacy Intern

Company Description

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is the nation’s first and largest organization dedicated to serving the 2.5 million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, from their first day home to the rest of their lives. IAVA strives to build an empowered generation of veterans through programs in four key impact areas: Health, Education, Employment and Community.

• Health - IAVA makes it a priority to ensure that both mental and physical health needs are being effectively addressed in our community, and has provided support to over 20,000 returning veterans nationwide.
• Education - With nearly a million new veterans headed back to school under the New GI Bill, IAVA has provided over 500,000 with the tools and support needed to make informed decisions about their education.
• Employment - No veteran should come home from Iraq or Afghanistan to an unemployment check. To fight shockingly high joblessness rates, IAVA’s Combat to Career initiative helped over 270,000 veterans in their transition to civilian careers in 2011.
• Community - Less than 1% of the country served in Iraq and Afghanistan – a stark contrast to the 12% that served during WWII. Building community, both online and on the ground, is a critical factor in fulfilling IAVA’s mission, which means bridging geographical divides to create a united, supported and proud movement of new veterans

Job Description

IAVA’s Policy Department is the face and voice of veterans on Capitol Hill. This team has been instrumental in the most significant veterans’ advocacy victories, winning major battles in Congress (like the GI Bill), helping thousands of veterans nationwide, and making national headlines daily. The Advocacy intern will have the opportunity to assist the legislative team in building relationships with Congressional offices and coordinate with allied advocacy organizations. The Advocacy Intern will report to the Political Director.

The Advocacy Intern will:

Obtain an understanding of how policy is formed and practiced.

Learn how to track and analyze new legislation.

Learn how to study, draft, and (possibly) publish briefs, blogs and papers on current issues facing veterans.

Have an opportunity to attend meetings on Capitol Hill, illustrating firsthand how Congressional hearings, events and conferences work.

Receive overviews of IAVA’s internal systems in order to effectively learn how to maintain database and data input.

Help represent IAVA to the public and policy community.

Qualifications

The Advocacy Intern should possess:

Excellent organization and leadership skills

Clear, thoughtful, precise, and quick writing skills

A strong interest in public speaking and media

Knowledge of veterans’ affairs or related issues

A strong desire for experience in advocacy, on Capitol Hill, or with/within the federal government

Flexibility, dedication to mission, and a robust sense of humor - we are a rapidly growing organization, and one that is presented with many unique, interesting and exciting opportunities on a regular basis.

Additional Information

To Apply: Please send a resume, cover letter, salary history and three professional references to [email protected], with “Salesforce Coordinator” in the subject line. Include a cover letter that concisely explains how your campaign experience could be applied to IAVA. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. No phone calls, please.

IAVA is an equal opportunity employer. VETERANS OF THE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN CONFLICTS ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.