Careers - National Consumers League

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The National Consumers League, a progressive consumer advocacy organization, seeks staff members who have a strong commitment to public interest work. NCL is a national membership organization that protects and promotes social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad on issues including telemarketing and Internet fraud, food and drug safety, and fair labor standards.

To apply for any of our available positions, please submit cover letter, resume, and a writing sample to ncljobs@nclnet.org.

NCL
1701 K Street, NW, Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20006
fax: 202-835-0747
No phone calls please.

Full-time positions

New: Senior Director of Communications (March 2022)

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Senior Director of Communications (March 2022)

Senior Director of Communications

The National Consumers League, the nation’s oldest consumer and worker advocacy organization, seeks an experienced, ambitious, creative, and collaborative Senior Director of Communications to direct a fast-paced, highly-productive communications department to meet the needs of the organization and its programs.

The principal functions of the communications department are to: promote a positive public image for the organization; support the promotional and editorial needs of the umbrella organization and its 5-6 flagship programs; and execute an internal calendar of communications activities — all to contribute to the organization’s success.

The Senior Director reports to the Executive Director; works closely alongside senior department heads in policy, programming, and fundraising; and manages communications resources including staff, vendors and freelancers, subscriptions and services, and interns.

The Senior Director sets and oversees the annual editorial calendar; collaborates with policy and program staff on short- and long-term projects, publications, and events; and is a strong partner to the organization’s fundraising team.

Enthusiasm, understanding of and support for NCL’s mission to promote the interests of consumers and workers is critical to success in this position, as is a sense of responsibility for helping to maintain the organization’s image as a credible, trusted, and valued American institution.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor Degree in communications, journalism, English or related field
10 years of progressively responsible experience in communications management
Excellent oral and written communications skills; writing and editing
Ability to work collaboratively
Excellent leadership, management and interpersonal skills
Strong project management skills, ability to prioritize multiple tasks simultaneously; proven ability to create and manage timelines

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leads organization-wide strategic communications, working alongside the Executive Director and senior staff, to direct and support communications strategy for the umbrella organization, as well as its brands, campaigns, and websites: nclnet.org, Fraud.org, LifeSmarts, the Child Labor Coalition, Script Your Future, Consumers for Safe CBD, and others.
Works alongside policy and program staff to translate complicated advocacy topics into consumer-friendly content. Able to draft and edit a variety of type of content for a variety of audiences: web content, blog posts, social media, op-eds, newsletter content, partner toolkit content, board reports, press releases, etc.
Works with policy staff to co-manage public education campaigns on a variety of consumer education topics. Serve as point-of-contact for many external relationships, including with partners, public relations teams, and others.
Oversees both proactive and reactive communication with members of the media in order to secure coverage and placements.
Maintains organizational and brand standards and style guides.
Sets goals for audience growth. Monitors exposure, adjust tactics, report on successes.
Contributes to development of organization’s annual public education budget. Oversee communications-related vendors and subscriptions.
Assists with planning, promotion, and execution of annual fundraising dinner and other occasional fundraising events. Contributes to fundraising activities, including proposal writing, strategic discussions, etc.
Assists with management of NCL-led coalitions and alliances.
Provides strong support for planning and hosting (including technical support when needed) NCL’s in-person and virtual events. Assists with staffing the National LifeSmarts Championship.
Manages Communications staff.

Salary and Benefits

Salary based on experience and education, competitive with other nonprofit public interest organizations. Excellent benefits, including health, dental, short and long-term disability, life insurance, 401(k), employer transportation contributions, annual and sick leave, and federal holidays. NCL is an equal opportunity employer.

To apply

Only applications that include a cover letter will be considered. Please submit cover letter, résumé, and at least two writing samples to ncljobs@nclnet.org and reference “Senior Director of Communications ” in the subject line. If selected for hire, candidates must agree to undergo a background check and provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

Internships

Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud Intern Full or Part Time

The National Consumers League seeks a motivated intern who wants to work with a nonprofit advocacy group. The League is a national membership organization that protects and promotes social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad on issues including telemarketing and Internet fraud, food and drug safety, and fair labor standards. The intern will assist NCL staff with ongoing projects and research related to its public policy, telecommunications and anti-fraud campaigns. Such projects include researching and drafting content for NCL’s campaign websites, drafting fraud and telecommunications-related content for NCL’s LifeSmarts competition, assisting in organizing a national anti-fraud conference, and helping to coordinate meetings of the Alliance Against Fraud (AAF), a national coalition of non-profit, government, and private sector organizations dedicated to fighting Internet and telemarketing fraud.This internship will provide an opportunity to:

Gain knowledge about a variety of public policies affecting consumers, particularly regarding consumer fraud;
Become familiar with the agencies, organizations, and other stakeholders active in combating consumer fraud;
Understand coordination and management of a national coalition; and
Be involved in initiatives that advance the public interest and help keep millions of consumers safe from scams and con artists.

In addition, a National Consumers League public policy, telecommunications and fraud internship provides the following areas of experience:

Because the League’s staff is small, interns are an integral part, and are given responsibilities outside of their research duties, including: keeping project files up-to-date and providing limited office support (occasional data input, mailing, and filing).
The League requires from its staff and its interns a high level of oral and written communication skills. Interns are frequently called upon to write brief reports for NCL staff to provide background information on various issues.

Internships are unpaid. We ask that interns make a minimum time commitment of eight weeks, spending at least 20 hours per week working at the League. Of course, we welcome longer time commitments. Work hours per week are flexible for longer-term assignments. Our goal is to tailor your internship to suit your specific needs. The League is happy to consider the particular interests of applicants and will develop specific projects, complete paperwork, etc., as needed for class credit.

Please submit cover letter, résumé, and writing sample to Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud Intern, NCL, 1701 K Street, N.W., Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20006, fax: 202-835-0747, email: ncljobs@nclnet.org.

Child Labor Policy Intern Full or Part Time

The National Consumers League (NCL) seeks a motivated intern who wants to work with the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), a 31-member group that serves as a national network for the exchange of information about child labor; provides a forum and a unified voice on protecting working minors and ending child labor exploitation; and develops informational and educational outreach to the public and private sectors to combat child labor abuses and promote progressive initiatives and legislation. The CLC has both a U.S. and international focus.

The intern will assist with ongoing CLC projects and research related to our work. The CLC’s domestic agenda includes several related initiatives to strengthening protections for working youth, with specific focus on children working as migrant and seasonal farmworkers, child trafficking for sex work and forced labor, and children in other worst forms of child labor.

This internship will provide an opportunity to:

Gain knowledge about child labor issues, both international and domestic;
Become familiar with various non-governmental groups and relevant government agencies, and their role in addressing child labor issues;
Attend congressional hearings and briefings and work with congressional offices;
Practice social media skills;
Write for the public;
Understand coordination and management of a national coalition; and
Be involved in international campaigns on child labor and basic education for all children.

In order to succeed in this internship, interns should possess superior skills in the following areas:

Communication skills. Interns must possess high level oral and written communication skills. Interns will be asked to write blogs and articles.
Research skills. Interns are frequently called upon to write brief reports for NCL staff to provide background information on various issues. We are also in constant need of web site updates and basic statistical “facts about” lists.

A typical day might include attending a meeting with other NGO groups, writing a blog, conducting internet research, working to expand our social media outreach, and providing web site updates.

NCL is a national membership organization that protects and promotes social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad on issues including telemarketing and Internet fraud, food and drug safety, and fair labor standards.

Please submit your cover letter, résumé, and writing sample to Child Labor Policy Intern, NCL, 1701 K Street, N.W., Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20006 or via email: reidm@nclnet.org.

Communications Intern Full or Part Time

The communications department of the NCL is looking for an intern with good communications and marketing skills. The intern’s responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Marketing NCL publications and promoting NCL’s consumer education materials. This will include calling former buyers, finding prospective buyers, and publicizing publications in the media.
Press Releases Drafting press releases to help promote publications, and possibly, for other NCL events.
Communications Materials Writing and gathering information for an NCL press packet.
Press Files Maintaining clips and releases.
Press Outreach Checking existing lists for accuracy by calling reporters.
General Outreach Conducting outreach with members and answering general consumer questions.

Please submit cover letter, résumé, and writing sample to Communications Intern, NCL, 1701 K Street, N.W., Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20006, fax: 202-835-0747, email: ncljobs@nclnet.org.

LifeSmarts Intern Full or Part Time (2021)

The National Consumers League seeks a motivated summer intern to support the LifeSmarts program. The intern will assist NCL staff with ongoing projects and research in support of LifeSmarts. This internship will provide an opportunity to:

Develop LifeSmarts materials such as study aids to be posted at www.lifesmarts.org.
Write questions for the LifeSmarts online quiz and live competitions.
Work on special projects such as LifeSmarts program outreach, recruitment of state coordinators, and assessment of the program.
Work with NCL’s other summer interns to prepare for the upcoming LifeSmarts program year.

Internships are unpaid and interns will work out of NCL’s headquarters in downtown Washington, DC. We ask that interns make a minimum time commitment of eight weeks, spending at least 20 hours per week working at the League. Of course, we welcome longer time commitments. Our goal is to tailor your internship to suit your specific needs. The League is happy to consider the particular interests of applicants and will develop specific projects, complete paperwork, etc., as needed for class credit.

This internship is only available to members of the LifeSmarts Alumni Association. If you are interested, please email a cover letter, résumé, and writing sample to ncljobs@nclnet.org and include “LifeSmarts summer intern” in the subject line.

Health Policy Intern – Remote/Hybrid

The National Consumers League (NCL), America’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, is seeking an intern with a demonstrated interest in public health and patient advocacy to work remotely. The League (www.nclnet.org) is a national nonprofit organization that has been protecting and promoting social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States since 1899. NCL focuses on health, fraud prevention and education, food and nutrition safety, teen-consumer literacy, child labor, and fair labor standards.

The health policy intern will assist NCL staff with ongoing projects and research, related to consumer education and outreach around a variety of health issues, including general health education, health reform, health information technology, and medication safety.

The health policy intern will be an integral part of the NCL health policy team. Assignments will include assisting NCL staff with research, outreach, legislative and regulatory tracking, and in the development of program materials ranging from blog posts to consumer education pieces.

This internship will provide an opportunity to:

Gain knowledge about current health policy issues;
Participate in various aspects of event planning for NCL’s bi-annual health stakeholder meetings;
Engage in grassroots public health initiatives, through NCL’s medication adherence campaign, Script Your Future;
Become familiar with various health care organizations, including government agencies;
Understand coordination and management of collaborative efforts such as meetings, joint letters, and advocacy coalitions; and
Engage with stakeholders and policymakers in the health policy arena

Key Qualifications

Superb, professional verbal and written communications skills
Keen research abilities
Ability to work independently and on a team
Ability to prioritize tasks in a dynamic, fast-paced environment

Applications are accepted year-round. Please submit cover letter, résumé, and writing sample to Health Policy Intern, NCL, 1701 K Street, NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20006, fax: (202) 835-0747, email: ncljobs@nclnet.org.