Communications & Social Media Unpaid Intern Job Description
Position Title: Communications & Social Media Intern
Department: Development & Community Engagement
Reports To: Communications Manager
Location: Concord and Berkeley Offices
Duration: Fall 2025
Schedule: 6-10 hours per week
Compensation: Unpaid
Classification: Unpaid Internship
Position Summary
Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay (JFCS East Bay) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting immigrants, refugees, children and families, older adults, and underserved individuals throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Our work centers racial equity, healing, and community empowerment.
This academic internship is designed for college students enrolled in communications, marketing, journalism, media studies, design, or related academic program who wish to gain insight into nonprofit communications and social media strategy. The internship is unpaid and intended solely for educational purposes in partnership with your academic institution, which may award course credit.
Interns will observe and learn from the Communications Manager, participate in guided training sessions, and complete practice projects that simulate real-world communications work without replacing the duties of paid staff. Interns will have the opportunity to shadow meetings, review case studies of past campaigns, and develop a sample portfolio for academic use.
Learning Objectives
- Gain an understanding of how a nonprofit communications team develops and implements strategies.
- Learn the basics of visual storytelling, advocacy messaging, and community engagement in a nonprofit setting.
- Develop familiarity with communications tools such as Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, and basic analytics dashboards.
Educational Activities
- Shadow the Communications Manager during campaign planning sessions to understand strategy and goal setting.
- Review past communications materials and analyze their design, tone, and audience reach.
- Participate in skill-building workshops on writing for social media, graphic design basics, and visual storytelling.
- Complete a faculty-approved project for your course (e.g., creating a mock campaign plan, drafting sample posts, or compiling a portfolio) that will not be used in JFCS East Bay’s live channels.
- Attend selected organizational events to observe communication and outreach in action.
Interns or trainees will not replace paid staff or perform duties critical to operations (especially in unpaid/trainee roles).
Eligibility & Requirements
- Currently enrolled in a degree program with a related course requirement for internship credit.
- Faculty approval and an academic learning agreement in place before the internship begins.
- Interest in equity, justice, and community engagement.
- Willingness to learn and participate in training sessions, workshops, and guided activities.
Structure & Supervision
- Supervised directly by the Communications Manager with regular check-ins focused on learning goals.
- Internship activities are structured around academic objectives and will not include tasks that replace paid staff work or operational responsibilities.
Compliance & Conduct
- All participants must follow organizational policies on conduct, ethics, and confidentiality
- HR will coordinate all onboarding for paid roles and verify school alignment for unpaid roles
- Interns under 18 must have a valid work permit
To apply, please send your resume and email to marketing@jfcs-eastbay.org
