Spring 2025 Paid Graduate Intern, National Knowledge & Learning

The ACLU seeks a Graduate Intern in the Business Operations & Support Services Department, National Knowledge & Learning Program, of the ACLU’s National office in New York,NY.   

The Team: 

The Business Operations and Support Services department, in the office of the Chief Operating Officer, works to enable organizational and operational effectiveness by partnering with ACLU staff across the enterprise to develop core business operations, training programs, and support services needed to maximize resources, evaluate and mitigate risk, and achieve the organization’s strategic goals.    

The ACLU National Knowledge & Learning Program prides itself on offering quality learning experiences to ACLU staff, and creating systems that allow for consistency, collaboration and community within a decentralized training program.  We are a small team working to lead an exciting cross-functional partnership within the organization that is still growing and expanding. 

What You’ll Do: 

Reporting to the Associate Director of National Knowledge & Learning, the National Knowledge & Learning intern will participate in both instructional design projects as well as ongoing operations in the ACLU’s learning management system.  This will include collaborating with subject matter experts to design and create e-learning, supporting our LMS through answering of learner questions and participating in ongoing Knowledge and Learning projects such as employee onboarding, accessible learning practices and creation of LMS admin focused resources. This internship provides a unique opportunity to participate across learning functions, on both the instructional design and operations side.  The ideal candidate for this position is ideas-driven, passionate about organizational learning and has an interest in both instructional design and learning technology.         

Your Day to Day 

• In partnership with the National Knowledge & Learning team, create e-learning modules to support the development and ongoing education of our National staff members.    

• Support the organization’s mission to provide accessible and inclusive training by completing content reviews, documenting existing practices and creating support guides.   

• Provide technical and administrative support for Nationwide staff via our Zendesk queue.   

• Center principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in all work, embedding the values in program development, policy application, and organizational practices and processes. 

• Demonstrate a commitment to diversity within the office using a personal approach that values all individuals and respects differences in regards to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, disability and socio-economic circumstance.    

• Demonstrate a commitment to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and/or conflicts.   

What You’ll Bring: 

• Background in creating educational experiences either in e-learning, classroom, or a live training environment.  

• Experience with a learning management system, either as an admin or a learner.  

• Ability to think critically, problem solve independently and collaborate effectively.      

• Interest in gaining experience or building skillsets with learning technology, including Articulate.    

• Comfortable working independently on projects in a positive team environment with high performance standards.  

• Commitment to the mission and goals of the ACLU. 

Future ACLU-ers Will: 

• Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU 

• Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives 

• Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflict 

Internship Logistics: 

• Location: Our internship program offers a limited number of remote or hybrid intern positions. This internship is remote based out of our National office in New York, NY. 

• Time Commitment: Term-time internships may be completed on a part-time basis (20 hours/week) or full-time (35 hours/week). Summer internships require a full-time commitment.  

• Internship Duration: Full-time internships span 10 consecutive weeks and part-time 12 weeks. 

• Stipend: A stipend is available for students who are lawfully authorized to work and do not receive compensation from other sources. Students with external funding may receive a partial stipend to bring their total funding up to the level of the ACLU’s stipend amount for that term. Arrangements can be made with educational institutions for work/study or course credit. Below are the stipend rates: 

• $20/hour for undergraduate students or equivalent experience  

• $24/hour for graduate and law students or equivalent experience 

Why the ACLU: 

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people. 

Our Commitment to Accessibility, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion  

Accessibility, equity, diversity, and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity and inclusion are not just check-the-box activities, but a chance for us to make long-term meaningful change. We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us. 

With this commitment in mind, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. 

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.