Project Description:

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) and Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC) seek a summer intern for late May through mid-August 2024 (12 weeks) to assist NCBO’s Place-Based Partnerships team with strategic engagement and collaboration with other organizations and communities in priority areas of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The intern’s core responsibilities will include outreach to partners to build relationships with NCBO, analysis of lessons learned regarding NCBO’s engagement with partner organizations, and information management to maintain NCBO’s strategic and organized approach to partnership management.

Opportunities 
  • Develop skills to understand, organize, distill, and communicate information to characterize relationships among organizations and communities to assist managers in making strategic decisions in a highly collaborative work environment.
  • Learn professional work practices in the context of a federal agency, including written and verbal communication, meeting planning and facilitation, team management, and strategic planning.
  • Access networking opportunities with a broad range of natural resource professionals.
  • Contribute to the work of NOAA Habitat Focus Areas, a program which involves several NOAA offices and teams (there are only 11 HFAs recognized nationwide).

Deliverables:

  • Make updates to NCBO’s partnership management system spreadsheets to organize and maintain information that supports the work of the Place-Based Partnerships, and other NCBO teams and leadership.
  • Conduct informational interviews with partner organizations to assess and better understand how they engage with NOAA.
  • Identify engagement and collaboration lessons learned, successes, and emerging opportunities based on partner interviews and review of NCBO’s network of partners compared to office goals.
  • Assist with as-needed administrative tasks associated with the two Habitat Focus Areas within the Chesapeake Bay.
  • Present at the conclusion of the internship to summarize experiences gained and work conducted.

Eligibility:

  • Must be a resident and/or attend a college/university within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (NY, PA, MD, DE, DC, VA or WV)
  • Must be a college-level student entering sophomore, junior, or senior year of undergraduate study
  • Must be a U.S. citizen and willing to undergo a security background check

Required Qualifications: 

  • Motivated self-starter with the ability to work proactively, reason independently, consistently share progress updates, and recommend or inquire about next steps to support the team.
  • Skills in critical thinking, analysis, organization, and written synthesis of information.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • The ability to work well with others and incorporate feedback into work.

Desired Qualifications:

  • Familiarity with habitat conservation and restoration in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
  • Prior experience using Google Sheets, or other spreadsheets or databases
  • Curious, and skilled in interviewing to obtain the information needed from others
  • Detail-oriented, organized, culturally aware, and practices active listening

Work Location and Duration 

We envision that this position will be an in-person position and will be based out of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office in Annapolis, Maryland.

The position will begin in mid-May and conclude in mid-August and will be in place for 12 weeks. We plan on providing interns with access to a NOAA computer, email and phone services (in the office).

Compensation 

The intern will be reimbursed at the end of each month, for a total of up to $6,000 for the equivalent of 12 weeks (422 hours). Funds are available to compensate interns for occasional work-related travel. Candidates should expect to follow a normal weekday work schedule (roughly 9-5, M-F) with occasional variations for possible field work or other activities. No benefits are provided.

Diversity and Inclusion

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office is committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive science oriented workforce.  Our internship program endeavors to recruit from a diverse, qualified group of potential

applicants to secure a high-performing workforce drawn from all segments of American society.  NOAA is strongly supportive of broadening the participation of historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and institutions that work in underserved areas.  We highly encourage applications from students at any of the above institutions as well as students that identify as black, Indigenous, person of color or 1st generation college student.

Application Instructions 

Applicants are instructed to register with the Chesapeake Jobs online application website: https://chesapeake.org/ncbo/ to apply. You will be instructed to submit a resume detailing your education and work experience and a cover letter that details your interest in this position and describes how your skill set will contribute to the work described above. Please include your first and last name in the file name for both your resume and cover letter. You will also be asked to provide the review team with three references. The deadline for applications is February 7, 2025.

Place-Based Partnerships Internship