Communications Assistant/Intern Job Description

The Friends of the Betsie Valley Trail, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and successful operation of the Betsie Valley Trail, is offering Communications Internships to interested local students 16 years of age and up.

This is your opportunity to help make a better trail for our entire community and at the same time, gain valuable experience working with the experienced staff of the Friends of the Trail.

Some of the activities you’ll have the opportunity to work on include:

This is our newsletter from last summer.

• Participate in the development and implementation of the organization’s communications strategy.
• Create new, compelling content – including activities such as:
  • Propose new or implement assigned blog post articles (WordPress), social media posts (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), and other new content ideas.
  • Gather information, perform research, conduct interviews, capture or gather photography/video, etc. in order to create new content.
• Work with Communications Manager on creation and distribution of email campaigns and other communications initiatives such as press releases, fundraising campaigns, workshop content, semi-annual printed newsletter content, and more.
• Gain familiarity with analysis of website traffic (Google Analytics, Search Console), exposure and engagement on social media platforms, and email campaign analytics (MailChimp).

In addition to gaining experience with the above activities and systems, you’ll have the opportunity to develop the organization’s first social media calendar or other similar projects you may be interested in working on.

Work Environment

Adherence to proper physical distancing will be observed with these internship roles. All communications will take place virtually. Student is expected to have Internet access and some proficiency in using various software. Introductory training will be provided on the platforms mentioned above. From time-to-time, the role calls for images or video to be gathered along the trail to support and generate interest in articles and posts.

Expected duration of this internship is 6 months, with a weekly time involvement of approx. 3 hours.

How to Apply

Interested students should send a letter describing their personal interest in the Betsie Valley Trail and in this internship opportunity. Please include:

• What you hope to personally gain from this internship.
• Any applicable, related experience you possess.
• Any examples of your writing or photography you’d like to share.

Please send the above to: Jim Gribble, info@betsievalleytrail.org Director of Marketing & Public Relations, Friends of the Betsie Valley Trail