Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Natural Resources Defense Council: Graduate School Intern; Chicago IL

GRADUATE SCHOOL INTERN

Chicago, IL 

NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL (NRDC) - CHICAGO, IL

http://nrdc.org/
Date Posted: 01/23/2015
Job Type: INTERNSHIP - Paid
Schedule Type: Internship
Practice Areas: Environmental, Government/Regulatory Affairs

Job Description

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a non-profit global environmental organization with more than 1.2 million members and online activists. We have offices in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Montana, and Beijing, China. Our staff of over 450 includes lawyers, scientists, economists, policy analysts and environmental experts working to protect the environment and public health through advocacy and education.
  
NRDC’s Sustainable FERC Project is a unique legal and policy advocacy initiative that represents a consortium of national and regional environmental, consumer, and energy policy non-governmental organizations with members throughout the United States. The Project focuses on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which is responsible for regulating wholesale electricity markets and the interstate transmission grid, among other things. The Project advocates for electric grid technical and market policies that remove barriers to the deployment of more clean energy resources. Project staff also collaborate with other NRDC staff on a many different energy and environmental issues.
Position Summary:
  • NRDC’s Sustainable FERC Project is seeking one law or other graduate school intern to work in NRDC’s Chicago or Washington, DC office
  • This internship begins in January and ends in June, and the office location will depend on where the chosen candidate attends graduate school
  • The intern will work primarily on existing Sustainable FERC Project priorities, including especially: i) removing FERC-jurisdictional barriers to increasing wind, solar, energy efficiency, demand response, and other cleaner resources on the power grid; and ii) assessing and integrating the power grid reliability and market impacts of U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan into NGO advocacy
  • The intern will summarize key FERC and regional transmission organization decisions, perform research and writing in support of administrative comments and issue papers, and otherwise help the Project fulfill its role as a national leader on electric grid issues. If time permits, the intern may research and write a white paper or detailed memorandum on a significant policy question in support of the Project’s goals
  • NRDC is committed to workplace diversity and inclusion. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law

Qualifications

Skills and Knowledge Requirements: 
NRDC seeks interns with the intelligence, skill, confidence, and maturity to assume serious responsibility. Specific requirements include:
  • Open to students currently enrolled in law or other graduate school
  • Strong communications, research, and writing skills
  • Interest in advocacy and energy/environmental issues
  • Internet researching skills
  • Commitment to work between 15 and 20 hours per week in either NRDC’s Chicago or Washington office
  • Training or education in environmental, energy and/or administrative law and policy is preferred
  • Experience in electrical engineering or energy markets would be useful but is not necessary
Learning Objective:
The intern will learn about FERC-jurisdictional energy markets, power grid planning and operations, and their role in achieving a low carbon, cleaner energy future for our nation.

Application Instructions:

To apply, please click apply, create a profile, and upload a cover letter, resume, law school transcript, and 2 brief writing samples. Please no phone calls, emails, faxes or in-person resume drop-offs. Please reference where you saw this posting. NRDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.