ACLU-NC Communications Spring Intern 2027

ACLU of North Carolina; Durham (NC); Hybrid; USD 21,000 - 29,000; Part time

Job summary

ACLU of North Carolina is seeking a Communications Intern to contribute to multi-media communications and public relations addressing civil rights issues, including immigrants’ rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and criminal justice reform.

Reporting to the Communications Director, you will gain hands-on experience in digital advocacy strategy, rapid-response messaging, and statewide social media engagement while working remotely up to 20 hours per week, with occasional in-person meetings at the Durham

Qualifications

• Excellent research, writing and communications skills.
• Attention to detail, organization and time-management.
• Experience creating content for social platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok).
• Familiarity with design tools (Adobe Express, Canva, Pally) is a plus.
• Creativity and ability to manage projects with guidance.

Responsibilities

• Monitor social media trends and identify opportunities to engage conversations.
• Create engaging content for social media platforms and respond to current events.
• Suggest ideas for and help produce TikTok videos to raise engagement.
• Keep track of and promote advocacy and legal work by the ACLU-NC.
• Assist with tracking basic social media performance metrics and identifying trends.
• Support additional communications projects as needed.

Skills

Research writing

Social media management

Content creation

Attention to detail

Time management

Civic engagement

Education

Undergraduate or Graduate student in communications or related field

Tools

Adobe Express

Canva

Pally

Job description

Whether it’s achieving full equality for LGBTQ+ people, fighting to achieve racial justice, pushing to eradicate our broken and racially biased criminal legal system, defending freedom of speech, religion, and the right to protest, 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 from government abuse and overreach.

Two critical components of our work areupliftingthe voicesand leadershipof impacted people and applying an anti-racist lens to all aspects of our internal and external functions including but not limited to our issue campaigns, recruitment and human resources, strategic planning, donor and volunteer relations,Boardand committee processes, and deciding what cases to litigate. We are looking for candidates who share our commitment to our values.

The ACLU-NC brings together litigation, legislative advocacy, communications, and organizing strategies to empower communities and achieve ourobjectivesin major issue areas including criminal law reform, racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive freedom, and the rights of immigrants. With over 40,000members and supporters across the state, the ACLU-NC has a staff of more than 25 people with an office in Durham.

To learn more aboutourwork, please visitwww.acluofnorthcarolina.org andwww.aclu.org.

INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW

The ACLU of North Carolina is seeking a Communications Internto join us.A communications internship at the ACLU of North Carolina providesundergraduate/graduatestudents with an opportunity to actively work on multi-media communications and public relations projects addressing a wide variety of civil rights and liberties, including immigrants’ rights, LGBTQ rights, First Amendment, reproductive freedom, and criminal justice reform.Reporting to the Communications Director, the Communications Intern willgain valuable skills frommembers ofthe Communications department, supporting and uplifting our work through integrated advocacy.The Communications Intern will gain hands-on experience in digital advocacy strategy, rapid-response messaging, and values-aligned social media engagement within a statewide civil liberties organization.TheCommunications Internwillbe expected toworkremotely up to 20 hoursperweek, from January 19th through April 30th,butmay be asked to occasionally meet in person at our Durham office.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Internsgain valuable experience byworking with theCommunicationsteam on a variety of issues. Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to the following:

Monitor social media trends andidentifyopportunities to engagewithrelevant conversations

Create engaging content for social media platforms (e.g., Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok), sometimes responding rapidly to current events

Suggest ideas for and help produce TikTok videos to raise engagement on the platform

Keep track of and help promote advocacy and legal work advanced by the ACLU-NC

Assistwith tracking basic social media performance metrics (e.g., engagement, reach) andidentifyingtrends to inform future content

Support additional communications projects as needed

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

Thisinternship is opentoundergraduate and graduatestudents studyingcommunications, digital media, marketing,or other relevant subjects.Candidatesmust bea resident ofNorth Carolina and shouldpossessthe following:

Excellentresearch, writing and communications skills

Attention to detail, excellent organization, and time-management skills

Experiencecreating content for a wide variety of social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok,etc.)

Familiarity with social media management or design tools (e.g., Adobe Express, Canva, Pally,etc) is a plus

Creativity, initiative,and the ability to manage projects independently with appropriate guidance

Interest in civic engagement or public policy

Interest in and commitment to civil right and civil liberties

Commitmentto ACLU-NC's mission to advance and protect civil rights and liberties

Preferred candidates will have experience or demonstrated interest in one or more of the ACLU of North Carolina's issue areas: voting rights, immigrants’ rights, criminal law reform, reproductive freedom, or LGBTQ+ rights.

COMPENSATION

The salary range for the Communications Intern is $15 per hour for an undergraduate student, or $21per hour for a graduate student, subject to applicable income tax. This position is non-exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The ACLU-NC/LF is a unionized employer. The Communications Intern is a temporary position and is not part of the union bargaining unit.

The ACLU-NCis an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture.Recognizing that strict minimum requirements tend to disproportionately discouragewomen and peopleof color from applying for jobs for which they would otherwise be competitive, we encourage all qualified individuals to apply – especially people of color;women; people from low-income backgrounds; people with disabilities; people who identify as LGBTQ+; and people who are formerlyincarceratedor otherwise directly impacted by the criminal legal system.