Work With Us

Employment
Internships
Volunteer Opportunities

Employment

COMMUNICATIONS TRAINER

Description of Position
The Opportunity Agenda seeks an experienced Communications Trainer for its New York City office. The position will emphasize field training on messaging and media communications for allies in the social justice field around the country, with an initial focus on human rights advocates working on immigration issues in the American South. Working under the Director of Communications, responsibilities will include:

  • Identifying and working with partners in the field to determine communications needs and promote training opportunities.
  • Collaborating with colleagues in designing, conducting, and evaluating trainings on messaging, media readiness, oral presentation, and other communications skills with a wide range of advocates, policymakers, artists, and other social justice leaders.
  • Coordinating the logistics of on-the-ground trainings and convenings.
  • Writing and editing training materials, including presentations, interactive activities, publications, and web content.
  • Understanding, and integrating into trainings, The Opportunity Agenda’s opinion research, media analysis, framing, and messaging recommendations.
  • Providing input and editing to partners’ news releases, media advisories, and other materials.
  • Assisting key partners in outreach to journalists, editors, and producers.
  • Contributing to The Opportunity Agenda’s progress reports, briefings, proposals, and blog.
  • Participating in NY staff calls and meetings, as well as periodic external convenings.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

  • A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in journalism, communications, or related field.
  • A minimum of 7 years relevant experience, including in the development and delivery of effective communications training. Direct experience on social justice campaigns preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

  • Demonstrated commitment to social justice and to The Opportunity Agenda’s mission.
  • Excellent writing, public speaking, and analytical skills.
  • Experience working with ethnically and culturally diverse audiences and trainees.
  • Ability to clearly and respectfully edit partner materials and provide feedback.
  • Willingness to travel extensively throughout the nation, with an initial focus on the Southeastern United States. (Availability on evenings and weekends occasionally required).
  • Ability to work well with limited day-to-day supervision.
  • Familiarity with PowerPoint or Keynote and other office software.
  • Knowledge of the immigration field and its priority issues is strongly preferred.
  • Ability to speak Spanish fluently is preferred.
  • A sense of humor, modesty, and a collaborative spirit.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:
The salary range for this position will be determined based on experience and skills. Medical and dental insurance provided as well as short-term disability, flexible spending, and 403(b) accounts. Generous vacation package is also provided.

LOCATION: New York, NY

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Applicants should send a letter of interest, resume, and writing sample to jobs@opportunityagenda.org. No phone calls please.

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY AGENDA:
The Opportunity Agenda was founded in 2004 with the mission of building the national will to expand opportunity in America. Focused on moving hearts, minds and policy over time, the organization works with social justice groups, leaders, and movements to advance solutions that expand opportunity for everyone. Through active partnerships, The Opportunity Agenda synthesizes and translates research on barriers to opportunity and corresponding solutions; uses communications and media to understand and influence public opinion; and identifies and advocates for policies that improve people’s lives. To learn more about The Opportunity Agenda, go to our website at www.opportunityagenda.org.

The Opportunity Agenda, a project of Tides Center, is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage and seek applications from women, people of color, including bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, medical condition (cancer-related) or conditions, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions (ARC). Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.

  
Internships

LAW AND ADVOCACY INTERNSHIP - FALL 2011

The Opportunity Agenda is seeking candidates with a demonstrated commitment to social justice and equal opportunity, strong research and writing skills, and the initiative to take on new and innovative assignments. A sense of humor and a dose of modesty are essential.

Law students will assist in legal research and writing to develop The Opportunity Agenda's Law and Advocacy campaigns. Past research topics have included the application of international human rights laws to state constitutional and statutory jurisprudence, analysis of existing state and federal policies that require service irrespective of race, gender, income, or other characteristics; new approaches to addressing subconscious and structural bias in the law; and promising policies for promoting health care equity. The work will address racial justice, women's rights and reproductive justice, immigrant rights, and economic justice themes. The work will be supervised by The Opportunity Agenda's Associate Counsels and Director of Law & Advocacy.

Terms: Our part-time fall internships are 12 weeks in length and are located in New York City; interns are expected to commit to a minimum of eight hours per week. Interns participate in the full range of activities of the staff of The Opportunity Agenda during the course of the semester, and work with leading members of the social justice advocates community. This is an unpaid internship; students are encouraged to seek public interest grants or fellowships from their home institutions. The Opportunity Agenda values a diverse workplace and encourages students with non-traditional experiences and from historically underrepresented groups to apply.

Deadlines: Please forward an electronic resume, one-page cover letter, and short writing sample (5-10 pp.) to Megan Haberle, Associate Counsel, at mhaberle@opportunityagenda.org. In the email subject line, please state "2011 Law and Advocacy Internship,". Please, no phone calls. All applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

 

PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATIONS PART-TIME INTERNSHIP - FALL/WINTER 2011 

The Opportunity Agenda is dedicated to building the national will to expand opportunity for all in America through communications, research, and advocacy. We are seeking a fall summer intern with a demonstrated commitment to social justice and equal opportunity, good research skills and understanding of communications, and the initiative to take on new and innovative assignments. A sense of humor and a dose of modesty are essential. The internship is open to graduate students with a specific interest in public opinion research and media content analysis around social justice issues including immigration, health care, racial justice, poverty, and human rights in general. The intern will work under the supervision of the Public Opinion and Media Research Coordinator in the communications department of the organization. 

The precise nature of the work varies by project and is based on the office's needs, but examples of work include:

  • Monitoring and archiving public opinion research;
  • Assisting in collecting and analyzing existing public opinion research;
  • Assisting in coordinating logistics of public opinion research projects (polling and focus groups); 
  • Creating visual presentations of data (charts, table, graphics);
  • Blogging on public opinion topics;
  • Assisting with survey development, implementation and analysis of results for feedback on workshops, presentations or events;
  • Writing a literature review of academic research on a relevant topic;
  • Data analysis using SPSS;
  • Assisting in media content analysis including using LexisNexis and other databases to identify appropriate articles; 
  • Working with the communications team and highly acclaimed research consultants; 
  • Creating power point presentations of public opinion data; 
  • Assisting in communications projects based on the department’s team;
  • Assorted administrative duties

Qualifications: Candidates for this position should have a strong desire to work in public opinion research and public policy. The ideal candidate will have some experience working in a professional environment and therefore bring to the position analytical, organizational, and general office skills along with strong verbal, written, and interpersonal skills. Good statistical skills and strong Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel and PowerPoint are required. Experience with SPSS is preferred. The candidate must be comfortable taking initiative and is a detail-oriented, energetic and quick learner possessing strong writing, editing and research skills. Applicants with previous political or consumer opinion research experience will be given preference.

The intern must be able to commit to 20 hours weekly for a minimum of 20 weeks dependent upon their availability. The hours are flexible, and some work may be completed off-site. The internship will begin the week of August 22nd. School credit or a stipend are available.

About The Opportunity Agenda:

The Opportunity Agenda was founded in 2004 with the mission of building the national will to expand opportunity in America. Focused on moving hearts, minds and policy over time, the organization works with social justice groups, leaders, and movements to advance solutions that expand opportunity for everyone. Through active partnerships, The Opportunity Agenda synthesizes and translates research on barriers to opportunity and corresponding solutions; uses communications and media to understand and influence public opinion; and identifies and advocates for policies that improve people’s lives. To learn more about The Opportunity Agenda, go to our website at http://www.opportunityagenda.org.

The Opportunity Agenda, a project of Tides Center, values a diverse workplace and encourages students with non-traditional experiences and from historically underrepresented groups to apply.

To apply, please send a cover letter (necessary to be considered) and resume to jmizell@opportunityagenda.org with “Fall Internship 2011” as the e-mail subject. No phone calls please.

 

 

Volunteer Opportunities

Pro Bono Legal Assistance

The Opportunity Agenda strives to bring our unique communications, research, and advocacy strategy to multiple issues.  As part of The Opportunity Agenda’s goal to marshal the public will to demand equal access to the American Dream, we provide our local partners with legal and policy support that connects our research and communications efforts to specific policy solutions.  Our work focuses on identifying the policies and practices that will address the diverse needs of the community, that embody the values of opportunity that we seek to promote in all public policies and that will, in turn, fuel further demand for expanding opportunity in other sectors.  Our aim is to provide information and analysis regarding effective solutions to community leaders, advocates, and institutions seeking to implement promising practices.

We are also researching ways of integrating human rights standards into U.S. law.  In collaboration with experts in the field and pro bono law firm partners, we will pursue other potential policy levers designed to build public dialogue and political will to address human rights as a cornerstone of opportunity. 

We are grateful to our current and past law firm partners including:  Schulte Roth & Zabel; Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP; DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary; Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP.  Our legal work is chaired by Bill Lann Lee, former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Clinton administration and shareholder at Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, P.C. in Oakland, California, and by Juhu Thukral, Director of Law and Advocacy at The Opportunity Agenda. 

If you are interested in learning more about pro bono opportunities for research on opportunity, human rights, and the law, please e-mail your resume to Megan Haberle, Associate Counsel, at mhaberle@opportunityagenda.org.