Internship Opportunity with The Aspen Institute's FIELD Initiative

The Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also maintains offices in New York City and has an international network of partners.

Economic Opportunities Program
The Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) supports fields of practice that make economic opportunity more accessible to those who are struggling in the changing economy. EOP is composed of three related initiatives: the Microenterprise Fund for Innovation, Effectiveness, Learning and Dissemination (FIELD), Skills for America's Future, and the Workforce Strategies Initiative (WSI).

FIELD's mission is to build the effectiveness, scale and impact of microenterprise as an economic opportunity strategy. To do so, FIELD engages deeply with practitioners and funders and provides them with tools - research and evaluation, peer-learning and leadership development programs - that build knowledge and practice.

Summary
FIELD at the Aspen Institute seeks a creative, highly motivated, and organized intern for the summer/fall of 2015 to join our team and focus on outreach and communications, as well as data quality work. The work will focus primarily on our two major data collection initiatives: the U.S. Microenterprise Census, and the EntrepreneurTracker client outcomes survey. In addition, the intern may provide support for other FIELD communications efforts or projects.

As an intern for FIELD you will help implement a strategic outreach campaign to solicit data from microenterprise programs across the country, manage and update contact databases and outreach tracking, and contribute to FIELD's overall communications efforts. You will be on the front lines of maintaining FIELD's high data quality standards by applying rigorous data cleaning protocols to collected data.

You will have an interest in domestic microenterprise and experience with implementing complex outreach campaigns. You will also be skilled at and energized by outreach, especially on the phone. You will have excellent professional communication and writing skills and enjoy working on detailed projects. You will have basic familiarity with data collection and research tools and data quality practices. You will report to the program manager responsible for data collection initiatives.


Essential Duties and Responsibilities
In coordination with FIELD staff:
Communications and Outreach

• Draft key messaging and identify appropriate channels to promote FIELD's data collection initiatives.
• Draft industry-wide e-blasts and communications segmented to specific recipients designed to raise awareness about the U.S. Microenterprise Census and solicit data.
• Conduct phone outreach to promote participation in the U.S. Microenterprise Census. Calls may include providing technical assistance to support organizations with data submission process.
• Coordinate with programs conducting the EntrepreneurTracker outcomes survey. This includes contacting organizations via phone and email, tracking their progress, and providing assistance while they are collecting data.
• Update and improve resources provided by FIELD to aid programs in submitting high-quality data.
• As necessary, provide support for other FIELD communications activities. This may include drafting e-communications promoting webinars, publications, or other projects.

Data Quality

• Review submitted survey data and flag potential data quality issues by applying detailed cleaning protocols to the survey data.
• Draft and send communications to microenterprise programs to specify cleaning issues identified with submitted survey data.
• Manage pipeline of data cleaning follow-up communication. Upon receipt of program response, propose actions to resolve cleaning issues and prepare data to be finalized.

Database Management

• Organize existing, and if necessary, create new mechanisms for tracking and understanding the efficacy of outreach activities.
• Update FIELD contact lists as needed and make recommendations for efficient processes for keeping contact lists up to date.

Principal Interactions
Works with FIELD team and routinely interacts with microenterprise practitioners.

Knowledge, Education and Experience

• Undergraduate or graduate student in relevant field (e.g. economics, public policy, public or business administration, planning, communications or related fields).
• Demonstrated interest in economic opportunity and the U.S. microenterprise field.
• Experience with marketing communications and social media campaigns helpful.
• Excellent communication skills and telephone etiquette.
• Excellent writing skills, including the ability to compose professional, clear, and accurate routine email correspondence.
• Outstanding organizational skills, with emphasis on time management, attention to detail and the ability to plan, organize, and carry out multiple activities.
• Knowledge of and adherence to professional ethics.
• Excellent computer skills including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and database skills.
• Ability to work both autonomously and as part of a remote, but close-knit team.

Employer: The Aspen Institute

Location: Washington, DC

Closes: April 9, 2015

For more information and to apply click here