Journalism Fellow, Communications & Public Engagement

PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE • Washington, DC

5d • $52,500 - $54,500 • Hybrid

About The Position

The federal government, and its ability to deliver for the American people, is in a moment of crisis. The Trump administration’s unprecedented efforts to dismantle federal institutions, funding streams and infrastructure are disrupting critical public services and agency work. Through its public engagement work, the Partnership for Public Service aims to inform the American public about the impact these cuts are having on people and communities, and convey the importance of investing in a professional, apolitical federal workforce.

The Partnership is seeking a recent journalism graduate to contribute to this critical effort through a one-year journalism fellowship. This individual will work with members of the Partnership’s Communications and Public Engagement Team to support production of storytelling content and implementation of our storytelling strategy. Stories will be placed in a variety of venues and platforms, including in local and national media, the Partnership’s owned media channels, including social media, newsletters, messaging guides and toolkits, and publicly available tools and resources documenting the impact such as the Federal Harms Tracker [https://ourpublicservice.org/federal-harms-tracker/]. They will use their journalistic training and skills to research and investigate story possibilities, connect with and interview former program leaders and affected individuals, and write and produce compelling stories that capture the impact of these cuts on real people and services in communities and regions across the country.

This individual will perform a variety of tasks with oversight from the public engagement manager, including conducting research activities to vet, source and build contacts for stories, draft and write content, participate and lead interviews and identify and analyze data. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in reporting and project coordination and management, ability to balance multiple competing responsibilities and excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.

Requirements

• A commitment to public service and an interest in the mission of the Partnership.
• Strong background and experience fact-checking, developing sources, interviewing and other standard journalistic practices.
• Strong project management skills, with demonstrated ability to work under pressure and manage various priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong relationship building and management skills with external and internal stakeholders.
• Excellent attention to detail, quality and value.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills.
• Adept at working efficiently in a fast-paced and high-energy environment.
• Willingness and ability to work effectively as part of a team across the larger enterprise, documenting and sharing information and insights, collaborating to problem-solve and implement solutions and advancing work to support the Partnership’s strategic priorities for public engagement.
• Commitment to continuous learning.
• Minimum of one to two years of related work experience, which may include internships, volunteer experience or graduate-level coursework.
• Bachelor’s degree required in journalism or communications, or equivalent professional work or military experience.
• Minimum of one-year demonstrated project management experience, which may include internships, volunteer experience or school extracurricular activities

Responsibilities

• Assist public engagement project leaders, communications team and others to support the build-out of the Partnership’s storytelling content, including videos, audio files and short-form write ups that highlight stories from local communities on the impact of reduced federal services and workers.
• With oversight from the public engagement manager, manage storytelling projects including identifying leads for filling story gaps and developing local contacts to serve as spokespeople and/or sources.
• With oversight from the public engagement manager, investigate and document the effects of federal workforce reductions, funding cuts and infrastructure closures on government operations, public services and local communities.
• Identify, research and verify primary and secondary sources, including federal employees, subject matter experts, affected stakeholders and public records and data.
• In collaboration with the Public Engagement Team, curate local stories around the impact of federal layoffs and agency closures, stories of current and former federal employees, and stories around other information or data points to serve our public engagement objectives.
• With oversight from the the public engagement manager, develop compelling, accurate and accessible story concepts that translate issues into clear, human-centered narratives.
• Collaborate with the design, editing, social/marketing and press teams, as well as public engagement project leads, to develop public-facing story content.
• Working with colleagues, identify the suitability of stories for different distribution channels, from the Partnership’s social media channels to the Federal Harms Tracker product series to other products.

Benefits

• medical, dental and vision coverage
• life insurance
• long- and short-term disability insurance
• a 401(k) program with a 4 percent employer match
• commuter benefits
• 15 days of annual leave per year
• 10 days of sick leave per year, plus all federal holidays and the day after Thanksgiving off
• use of an on-site exercise facility

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees