| Department: | 2024 Internships |
| Location: |
PROJECT SUMMARY
The National Preservation Awards, an annual highlight of the PastForward conference, celebrates individuals, organizations, agencies, and corporations for their outstanding contributions to preserving architectural and cultural heritage. Recognizing diverse efforts, from citizen-led landmark preservation to innovative projects by companies and craftsmen, these awards showcase the best in forward-thinking preservation endeavors. Award-winning projects exemplify the immediate and long-term benefits of historic preservation, highlighting its evolving inclusivity and effectiveness in representing diverse cultures and meeting community needs.
As the National Trust celebrates its 75th Anniversary, our goal is to compile information about past National Trust awardees to create baseline data on our work to date, to help make the case for expanded funding for this program, and to amplify the stories of these awardees.
The National Trust Preservation Awards Internship is available to individuals with Bachelor’s level studies (or equivalent experience in years) or graduate students with an interest in historic preservation. As an intern, you will dive into the history of the National Preservation Awards to organize and design a database of previous winners and create mechanisms to track key metrics on award recipients, such as location, diversity statistics, cultural resources, and other relevant factors. You will also have the opportunity to support marketing activities that promote public awareness of the National Preservation Awards through blog posts, social media, and other creative content. The internship will culminate with a report on the valuable insights gleaned from the awards database and recommendations to amplify the award program’s impact, engagement, and inclusivity.
National Trust internships are temporary experiential learning opportunities with no expectation of employment at the conclusion of the internship.
For this internship, the National Trust is offering a stipend of $4,000 to help offset expenses. The period of the internship would be from approximately June 10 – August 2, 2024, for approximately 28 hours per week (some flexibility of end dates may be available).
DUTIES
Under the supervision of the Manager of Grants and Awards, and working with colleagues from across the National Trust, the National Preservation Awards intern will:
Design and organize a comprehensive database on the history of the National Preservation Awards in chronological order.
Develop mechanisms to track key metrics on awardees, such as geographical location, diversity, project type, and other relevant tags as appropriate.
Reach out to past award recipients for additional information, updates, and to build a relationship for potential future engagements.
Identify potential story angles and hooks on awardees that align with the National Trust’s National Impact Agenda and author at least one content piece.
Write a final report on the insights gleaned from the awards database with recommendations to amplify the program’s impact, engagement, and inclusivity.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE TO THE INTERN
The intern will gain experience under the mentorship of respected preservation professionals in an educational setting at one of the nation’s leading arts & cultural and non-profit advocacy organizations. The intern will also have the opportunity to participate in educational programming offered via the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s organization-wide internship program. Students may also be eligible for college or graduate school academic credit at the discretion of their institution.
Specifically, the intern will gain knowledge in the following areas:
Historic preservation best practices, impact, and evolving trends
Data analysis and metrics tracking
Communication and relationship building
Content creation and storytelling
At the end of the project the intern will have developed a complete database of the National Preservation Awards and an accompanying report on the valuable insights gleaned from the data, which can be added to their professional portfolio in support of their future career pursuits.
QUALIFICATIONS
Experience with databases or archives.
Basic analytical and problem-solving skills, including issue identification and prioritization. Basic project-organization skills.
Excellent attention to detail.
Ability to collaborate and achieve results with supervision, including ability to interact professionally with key internal and external stakeholders as needed. Public contact and ability to work successfully in close proximity to others required.
Strong organizational skills required, with ability to prioritize, multi-task efficiently, and meet deadlines in a timely fashion
Ability to adapt and be flexible in a dynamic work environment. Ability to work effectively with frequent interruptions required. Able to handle frequently changing and/or unscheduled tasks with accuracy.
Strong verbal and written communication skills. Friendly and professional demeanor on the phone and in writing, with ability to speak and write clearly in English. Bi-lingual language skills a plus.
Ability to work effectively with culturally diverse colleagues; connections to or experience helping to engage culturally diverse audiences and partners a plus. Bi-lingual language skills (especially English/Spanish) a plus.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office products required, including Outlook, Word and Excel. Familiarity with other software, including data management, a plus.
Ability to work effectively in a remote environment, maintaining productivity and communications to meet deadlines and goals, is required.
Bachelor’s level studies (or equivalent years of experience) required; current or rising juniors, seniors or graduate students preferred. Studies or demonstrated interest in historic preservation, library science, or archival studies preferred.
NOTE: If applying to multiple internships, please do not delete previous resumes or cover letters, simply click Add to upload new/additional versions for each application.
