Federal Work Study Positions

Federal Work-Study Positions

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), located in Washington, D.C., conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women, promote public dialogue, and strengthen families, communities and societies. Our research areas for Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 include:

• The quality of women’s jobs, including wages, access to health insurance, paid sick leave, and workplace flexibility.
• The work and welfare experiences of low-income women at the state and national levels
• Increasing access to higher education and non-traditional jobs for low-income women.
• Expanding access to income supports for women such as Unemployment Insurance and Family Leave.
• Strategies for improving child care access, affordability, and quality.
• Older women's economic issues, including social security and pensions.
• The economic status of women and girls, women of color, and immigrant women across the United States.

IWPR is committed to assisting the professional development of students and graduates interested in economic justice for women. IWPR is a qualified federal work-study employer for students at American University, Georgetown University, and the George Washington University. Students currently enrolled at other schools who are eligible for work-study funding should email yi@iwpr.org with questions regarding eligibility.

Federal work-study positions are designed to provide participants with challenging work experiences providing assistance to the organization’s Finance and Human Resources, Communications, Development, and Research departments.

Fall 2012 & Spring 2013 Federal Work-Study Positions

The Institute will offer federal work-study positions in four areas for the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semesters:

Research Assistant. Assistant will provide administrative and research support to researchers. Duties include: assisting with literature reviews and data collection; designing charts, graphs and tables; answering phones; and filing and other administrative assistance. Qualifications: Strong organizational skills, good interpersonal skills, interest in policy research and women’s issues; and experience with statistics, economics or social sciences through coursework. Familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel required; knowledge of STATA, SPSS, SAS, and graphics software a plus. Qualitative research skills also a plus.

Communications and Outreach Assistant. Intern will provide administrative and editorial support to the communications team. Duties include: assisting with proofreading; distributing e-newsletters and new releases; updating IWPR blogs and social media; building media lists and managing databases; tracking news clips; answering phones; and filing. Qualifications: Creative, innovative, and detail-oriented individual with good writing and computer skills; knowledge and experience with Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn; knowledge of Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Quark Xpress, or other desktop publishing software preferred plus; layout and web design experience with content management systems (CMS) a plus.

Development Assistant. Assistant will help development team with direct mail, grant-writing, funder research, and other elements of nonprofit fundraising. IWPR receives support from foundations and government agencies, as well as individual and organizational supporters. Qualifications: Should have an interest in fundraising and nonprofit management; familiarity with Microsoft Excel and prior experience with fundraising at any level is desirable, but not required; basic computer skills required and prior experience working with donor databases preferred.

Accounting and H.R. Assistant. Assistant will provide administrative support to the Director of Finance and Human Resources. Duties include: expense allocations, accounts payable tasks, data entry; filing; copying; and tracking and organizing financial and personnel records.  Qualifications: Strong organizational skills; good interpersonal skills; experience with or interest in nonprofit accounting, and office administration through coursework or previous internships. Familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel required; knowledge of Quickbooks or other accounting software a plus.

All IWPR work-study employees must have good computer skills, excellent writing and communication skills, and an interest in women's issues. Prior office experience is desirable, as work-study employees are responsible for a certain amount of general office work, such as photocopying, answering phones, and filing.

IWPR is committed to diversity and encourages people of all ethnic, cultural, economic, and sexual orientations to apply.  

The Fall positions go from September to December, and the Spring positions go from January to May. Starting and ending dates are flexible, and full year positions are possible from September to May.  Work-study assistants are paid on an hourly basis through their school’s student employment offices. We ask that work-study assistants work a minimum of 10 hours per week; schedule and hours are based on each student’s work-study awards and availability.

How to Apply

Persons interested in applying should submit a cover letter specifying the position for which they are applying and a resume, and a writing sample of 2-4 pages to the Internship and Fellowship Coordinator at yi@iwpr.org.

Applications for Fall positions are accepted on a rolling basis until August 23. Applications for Spring positions are accepted on a rolling basis until December 14.

Please direct any questions to the Internship Coordinator at yi@iwpr.org.

No phone calls please.