Participatory Budgeting Intern

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Budget Office is seeking a Participatory Budgeting (PB) intern beginning in late summer of 2025 ending in March 2026 to support the City of Cambridge Budget Office in running the twelfth cycle of Cambridge Participatory Budgeting (PB12).

Through the Participatory Budgeting process, Cambridge residents age 12 and older, including non-US citizens, will vote on how to spend City funds as part of the City’s annual Budget.

Under the direction of the Budget Director and the Participatory Budgeting & Engagement Coordinator, the PB intern will be instrumental in helping to plan and run the PB12 cycle. The intern will participate in conducting outreach and gathering PB ideas from community members in summer and fall of 2025. The intern will then continue to support the Budget Office in organizing and running PB delegate meetings throughout the winter, and plan and support the vote in March 2026.

This internship is an excellent opportunity to learn about and become involved in municipal government, civic engagement, and community building. Cambridge residents are especially encouraged to apply. Please visit pb.cambridgema.gov for more information about Participatory Budgeting in Cambridge.

Intern duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Assist in running idea collection workshops in community groups throughout the summer, including collaborating with City departments in order to maximize participation by youth summer camp and program attendees. Assist in sharing information and project updates on ongoing PB projects through promotional materials, community events, and other communications.
• Attend and assist PB tabling activities, including set up and clean up, at various city events throughout the summer and early fall (e.g. Fresh Pond Day, Dragon Boat Race).
• Reach out to nonprofit and community-based organizations to form and maintain partnerships to promote PB; expand and strengthen outreach efforts to involve more underserved communities in PB; distribute PB flyers and posters around Cambridge; draft social media posts to promote PB events.
• Collaborate with the City Communications team to create promotional materials for Idea Collection, Proposal Development, and the Vote.
• Enter paper and email PB ideas into online idea collection mapping tool; manage multiple PB contact lists; compile notes from PB meetings; manage various PB idea datasets for analysis.
• Support community events and volunteer meetings throughout the proposal development process.
• Create content for the PB newsletter throughout the cycle.
• Assist Budget Office staff with other duties as necessary.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate school program with a strong interest in community engagement, local government, or municipal budget/finance.
• Extremely organized, reliable, detail-oriented, and able to work independently
• Outgoing and friendly; very comfortable speaking to members of the public one-on-one and in groups
• Ability to work well with people from diverse backgrounds
• Excellent writing skills
• Knowledge of Cambridge and it's neighborhoods
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Drive required; proficiency with Zoom, Teams, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and/or InDesign is a plus
• Fluency in Spanish, Chinese/Mandarin, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Arabic, Bangla, Hindi, Japanese, or Amharic is a plus (to assist with translation of outreach materials)
• The City of Cambridge's workforce, like the community it serves, is diverse. Applicants must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• General office environment with air conditioning and fluorescent lighting
• This position may be eligible for hybrid work under the City’s Telework Policy depending on operational needs.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Ability to access, input, and retrieve information from a computer. Answer telephones and maintain multiple files. May require minimal lifting of up to 10 pounds.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

All applicants must provide the following materials when submitting their job application:

• Resume
• Cover Letter