Field Intern - Jacksonville

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida (ACLU of Florida or ACLU-FL) seeks a Field Intern that works within the Field Department to achieve the organization’s goal of protecting the liberties that define our democracy. This position is based in Jacksonville, FL requiring transportation for in-person community events. 

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida is an affiliate of the national ACLU, a national public interest organization devoted to the defense of the Bill of Rights.  For over 100 years, the ACLU has served as the nation’s primary protector of the liberties that define our democracy.  The organization implements its vital civil liberties mission in all 50 states in large part through affiliate entities such as the ACLU of Florida. 

The ACLU of Florida, the state’s largest civil rights and civil liberties organization, employs litigation, public policy advocacy & organizing, and public education to protect and promote a broad range of constitutional values and individual rights, such as freedom of speech, racial justice, right to privacy, religious liberty, criminal justice reform, voting rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, disability rights, and immigrants’ rights.   The ACLU of Florida litigates a broad range of constitutional cases in federal and state courts through direct representation, amicus briefs, and by submitting administrative complaints to state and federal agencies.

ORGANIZING APPROACH

The ACLU of Florida has adopted a “campaign” approach for its work.  Work is focused on pursuing specific integrated advocacy campaigns to achieve measurable objectives that will expand civil liberties and civil rights, while building the long-term power of the ACLU and the civil liberties movement.  

 At the moment, the ACLU of Florida is focused on four campaigns: voting rights, reproductive justice, free speech, and immigrants’ rights. The campaigns in which the organization engages are about integrated advocacy, and include lobbying, communications, and litigation in addition to grassroots organizing. 

 As a result of this campaign approach, the ACLU of Florida’s organizing model focuses on developing volunteer leaders for the civil liberties movement, mobilizing grassroots support for campaign objectives, and educating Florida residents about campaign objectives through person-to-person field contact. The ACLU of Florida organizing is intended to engage both existing ACLU members/supporters/volunteers in the movement, as well as to reach out to new constituencies. Organizing at the ACLU of Florida centers on the experiences and leadership of directly impacted people and engages directly impacted people in the work, while also ensuring that non-impacted allies engage in effective and substantive action.

The Field team works with Florida residents to influence decision-makers through direct contact of decision-makers by residents and by holding events/actions. The Field Department focuses on identifying and supporting volunteer leaders willing to work to mobilize contacts with their own networks, in order to expand the size, reach, and power of the movement. 

Organizing at the ACLU of Florida is intended to complement the approaches used by other groups—especially those that connect individuals to resources, build community/social capital, primarily react to unanticipated or emerging community concerns, or educate the public about important issues—but not to replicate those approaches.  Organizing at the ACLU of Florida is instead oriented towards systemic change and policy action—moving people to take strategic actions that lead to decision-makers making different decisions, ones that result in the advancement of specific campaign objectives.  These strategic actions can take place in the electoral, legislative, legal, and community education contexts.  Organizing at the ACLU of Florida is also designed to build long-term political and community power for the civil liberties movement, so that civil liberties and civil rights are better protected and strengthened. 

INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW

Under the direction and supervision of the Senior Organizer, and in collaboration with the ACLU-FL organizing team, the Field Intern will work with organizers across all four campaigns (Voting Rights, Reproductive Justice, Free Speech, and Immigrant Rights) to support volunteer engagement and recruitment by hosting team meetings and events, having a presence at community events and college campuses, building relationships with volunteer leaders, phone banking, text banking, canvassing, inputting data, and designing flyers and presentations. While this position entails work in a range of tools/softwares, we do not expect the Field Intern to have previous training on these and will train them accordingly. 

● Time Commitment: The internship requires a part-time commitment of no more than 20 hours per week.

● Internship Duration: 8 weeks 

● Compensation: $15 per hour for those students who do not receive course credit. Arrangements can be made with educational institutions for work/study or course credit.

● Additional Information: Interns will be reimbursed for any mileage incurred for approved travel. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

● Organize and conduct volunteer trainings and events under the direction of an Organizer. 

● Participate in community events to reach new supporters and volunteers. 

● Develop and maintain relationships with ACLU-FL volunteers and activist leaders.  

● Support the growth of our ACLU of FL College Initiative  

● Phone bank and text bank volunteers and voters on different campaign goals and objectives. 

● Input data into NGPVAN as needed.      

● Work with NGPVAN, Scale to Win/SPOKE, Google Suite, Outlook, Asana, Slack, Mobilize, Canva and the suite of ACLU Florida tools.

● Design flyers and training materials in support of Field team events and trainings as needed. 

● Support organizers with community research projects like power mapping within different communities. 

● Center the voices and leadership of directly impacted people in all organizing programs. 

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

While no one person will have all the qualities enumerated below, the successful candidate will bring many of the following qualifications and attributes: 

 ● Willingness to learn and think creatively. 

● Experience managing multiple projects and ability to adapt to changing circumstances. 

● A history of working collaboratively and successfully with people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and a broad range of ideological positions and religious views. 

● A flexible team player who works collaboratively and shares responsibility and credit.

● Excellent communication skills. A willingness and ability to speak in public and to facilitate meetings and trainings.

● Fluency in another language is a plus but not required. 

● Unwavering commitment to the mission and goals of the ACLU of FL, including a demonstrated commitment to racial justice and civil rights, and a familiarity with civil rights issues that are currently confronting Floridians.

● Reliable transportation to get to and from community events.

● Must live in the Jacksonville area. 

● Willingness to work a flexible schedule, including evenings and some weekends. 

Please send a cover letter, resume, by email to jobs@aclufl.org. All inquiries should include Field Intern - Jacksonville  in the subject line and all attachments should be in Microsoft Word or PDF format. Please include location information in your application. 

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Please indicate where you learned from this job posting. No phone calls, please.

This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required. It does not represent a contract of employment. The ACLU of Florida reserves the right to change the job description and/or posting at any time without advance notice.

The ACLU of Florida is an equal-opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU of Florida encourages 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, record of arrest or conviction and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. If selected for an interview, please inquire if financial assistance is needed to attend.

The ACLU of Florida makes every effort to ensure that its recruitment and employment efforts provide persons with disabilities with full opportunities for employment in all positions. The ACLU of Florida 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 e-mail jobs@aclufl.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request accommodation for the interview process.