Oregon PSM

2012 WWF Social Science Internships 1-14

The following social science internships are available at World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC. They are designed typically for graduate students, although some may be appropriate for advanced undergraduates. Projects can be undertaken over the summer (with extensions, as necessary, into the fall semester).

Most projects could also be extended over the course of one or two semesters as part of a student’s course work or thesis requirements; advance arrangements would be necessary with faculty advisors. Internships are typically unpaid unless otherwise noted, but facilities, library resources, and computers at WWF headquarters are available. To qualify for an unpaid internship, the student must provide documentation that they are receiving credit from their university, or that the work they will be performing is consistent with a course requirement.

In general, our interns need solid data management and writing skills, self-motivation, an ability to work both independently and collaboratively. Specific skills (required or preferred) are listed with each project, along with the primary contact person.

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume/CV to the contact individual listed for each project, with “INTERNSHIP” and the relevant internship number listed in the subject line.
1. Protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) in North America (see other posting for info)
2. Protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America & the Caribbean
3. Local Climate Action Assessment Intern
4. Moabi Intern
5. Climate Change & Constituency Building Intern
6. Associated Infrastructure Project Intern
7. Science-Policy Intern – Integrating ecosystem services into decision-making
8. Conservation Science Network internship
9. Fuller Science for Nature internship
10. Water and climate change adaptation intern
11. Linking Human Welfare and Conservation in Coastal East Africa
12. CSP Communications Intern
13. Reef conservation and governance database intern
14. Linking Birding to Birds
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8. Conservation Science Network internship

Description:
Sound science underpins effective conservation. WWF has a wealth of scientific expertise across its offices around the world, ranging from anthropologists to zoologists and encompassing the biological, physical, and social sciences. For these scientists to contribute most to achieving WWF’s mission, they need to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate with each other. A range of services to enable these interactions and facilitate access to the latest scientific information is being provided by the new WWF Conservation Science Network, initially built by WWF-US’ Conservation Science Program. We are looking for a motivated intern to help us continue to develop the CSN, with an emphasis on maintaining and growing online resources.

Internship responsibilities may include website administration (including adding/editing pages and structuring information across the portal); moderating discussions/forums; synthesizing weekly literature digests and relevant science news items; interviewing scientists across the global WWF network to produce profiles or collect items of interest; identifying and inviting WWF scientists to participate in network activities; and generally playing a central role in the Science Network team.

A successful candidate with have strong research, writing, and communication skills; experience using literature databases; knowledge of social networking; HTML and database experience; and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Knowledge of a programming language; background in the biological, physical, or social sciences; background in conservation, and international experience preferred. This internship is an excellent opportunity to interact with scientists in WWF-US and around the world; learn about WWF and its projects; get exposure to a wide range of conservation science topics; and play a key role in building a new science community.

Stipend: Unpaid. The intern must receive academic credit or a stipend through his/her university for their work.
Hours: Expected to work at least 15-20 hours per week.
Due date: This internship will remain posted until filled.
Contact: To apply send resume, cover letter and writing sample to robin.abell@wwfus.org.