Description

Do you have a creative passion in drafting strategic and meaningful communications? Be a part of the communication and community engagement team to help connect departments with community members, customers, and employees through strategic and creative services. We seek two students currently enrolled as a junior or senior in a bachelor's degree program to participate in a part-time communications internship.

Location and hours:
These positions are hybrid and will be performed both on-site at the Government Center 300 South 6th Street, Minneapolis, MN and remote as job duties require. Work hours are Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 pm. This internship will start in May through mid-August, with the potential to extend up to 12 months. The intern will work approximately 20 hours/week.

About this position type:
These positions are a non-benefit earning internship.

These positions are internally classified as an Intern II.
Click here to view the job classification specification.

Effective September 1, 2021, all new job offers are conditional based on the candidate being fully vaccinated for COVID-19. “Fully vaccinated” means 14 days after receiving the second dose in a two-dose vaccination series approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a full or emergency-use basis, or 14 days after receiving a single-dose vaccine approved by the FDA on a full or emergency-use basis. After a conditional job offer is made, the candidate must show proof of full vaccination prior to their start date. A COVID-19 vaccination card from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a vaccination record from your doctor’s office or a personal digital vaccination record constitutes sufficient “proof.” The candidate must also attest they are vaccinated by completing a form on the first day of employment. Reasonable accommodations to this vaccination requirement will be considered upon request by a candidate for medical or religious reasons as required by applicable law.

In these position, you will:
Writing

• 
  Work with senior communicators to draft intranet content, content for the external website, brochures, letters and more
• Draft content for review and work with team to revise for grammar, punctuation, spelling and county style
• Partner with senior communicators on developing strategic communications plans
• Meet with clients and subject matter experts to understand business challenges and opportunities, as well as business and communications goals
• Identify key audiences and channels to reach targeted audiences, develop recommended key messages for review and approval, and craft tactics

Intranet and newsletter production

• Learn steps of building news posts and pages in SharePoint and publish content in concert with senior members of the Operations/Administration/Internal Communications team

Career development

• Take part in informational interviews and job shadowing opportunities with communicators throughout the county
• Attend team and department meetings and training sessions through the department and Human Resources

Need to have:

• Current enrollment as a junior or senior year in a bachelor's degree program in journalism, strategic communications or a closely related field
• Completed introductory newswriting and/or reporting classes
• Write at an intermediate level
• Be familiar with or willing to learn Microsoft Office 365 suite products

Nice to have:

• Previous experience working at a student newspaper or working in a previous strategic communications internship with emphasis on writing
• Be familiar with fast-paced environments and able to be adaptable to handle multiple simultaneous tasks, working with the supervisor to set priorities to meet deadlines
• Take initiative in solving problems and use sound judgment when approaching problems

Note: You must attach a resume and two writing samples with your application materials to be considered for this position. Candidates may submit writing samples produced for class, article published in student publications or from another internship.

About the department:
Communication and Engagement Services offers strategic and creative services to help connect departments with Hennepin County community members, customers, and employees. The department helps define goals, target the right audiences, and communicate and engage using a continuum of tactics that get attention and meet program and project goals. Specific work areas include community engagement, design and production, digital service, internal and external communication, media relations, resources and training, social media, event and facilitation support, and video production and photography.

About Hennepin County:
Hennepin is the largest county government organization in Minnesota. Our employees work every day to improve the health, safety and quality of life for our residents and communities. All of our jobs align to one or more of our overarching goals - that Hennepin County residents are healthy, protected and safe, self-reliant, assured due process, and mobile.

Hennepin County envisions an organization where our commitment to diversity and the reduction of disparities is fundamental in providing excellent service to our community.

Your future. Made here.

Invitations to interview will be based upon an assessment of education and experience. Final candidates will be required to pass a background check post interview.

Hennepin County values employee retention and engagement through a culture of individual development. If you are a current employee looking for an internship you are responsible for communicating and seeking approval from your supervisor/manager on an arrangement on schedule and workload prior to accepting the paid internship position. The compensation for the internship will be paid at the amount advertised in this posting.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Megan Baer
Megan.Baer@hennepin.us

internship2000

Paid/Unpaid Internships and student "work experiences" are non-permanent positions with no benefits.