Spring 2025 Paid Graduate Intern, Strategy

The ACLU seeks a Graduate Intern, Strategy in the Executive Department of the ACLU’s National office in New York, NY.   

THE TEAM: 

The ACLU works on some of the most pressing civil rights and civil liberties issues facing American society today. In any given year, the ACLU selects 3-5 issue areas (reproductive rights, transgender justice, etc.) as priorities for our cross-functional, nationwide work; the Strategy Office focuses on those Priority Issues while also supporting the ACLU’s work in our other core issue areas (disability rights, privacy, etc.). This work requires strategic alignment and coordinates execution across many departments within the organization.    

The Strategy Office is charged with ensuring that the ACLU works in a coordinated way to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties in the United States. The office resides within the Executive Department, the visionary center of leadership of the nation’s primary defender of civil liberties. The Executive Department manages the strategy and mission driving the ACLU’s 600+ employees and $350M+ plus operating budget.    

WHAT YOU'LL DO: 

The intern will be joining the Strategy Office at a pivotal time. The intern will be responsible for supporting the team in coordinating the organization's work around the next 100 days of the future administration, as well as developing a multi-year strategy to protect and advance Civil Liberties and Civil Rights. The intern will provide additional capacity throughout the process to harmonize activities across departments toward a shared set of goals around safeguarding the election, influencing electoral outcomes, preparing for electoral outcomes, and institutional readiness. The intern will also provide additional strategic support to experts and teams working on priority issue areas to ensure integrated strategic planning, operational coordination, and organizational readiness.  

YOUR DAY TO DAY: 

• Work with Strategy Office team to ensure strategic alignment across the nationwide organization including project and program management   

• Support the implementation of systems for continued alignment, rapid response, and internal communications, including close collaboration with colleagues across the organization     

• Draft templates, tools, and processes to harmonize election planning, strategic planning and budgeting    

• Draft memos, emails, documents and presentations in support of Strategy Office initiatives    

• Provide additional support including agenda setting, note-taking, project planning and more to the Strategy Office    

• Engage in special projects and other duties as assigned   

WHAT YOU'LL BRING: 

• Exceptional organizational, planning and project management skills with demonstrated ability to manage large, complex projects and coordinate collaborative work processes involving multiple stakeholders preferred    

• Demonstrated ability to speak and write in a clear, succinct and persuasive manner, such that expectations and timelines are clearly defined preferred    

• Flexibility to manage multiple priorities from a variety of sources; organizing and prioritizing effectively to impact areas of greatest need    

• Ability to work proactively in an ambiguous, yet dynamic and fast-paced environment    

• Strong interpersonal skills that contribute to a collegial working environment   

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 in-person, remote, or hybrid intern positions. This internship is remote or hybrid from our New York National Office. 

• Time Commitment: This term-time internship requires a part-time commitment of 20 hours per week. 

• Internship Duration: Part-time internships span 12 consecutive weeks beginning either January 13 or January 27, 2025. 

• 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 and $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.