Summary: Public Knowledge is seeking candidates for a public interest Fellowship to learn and practice federal policy analysis and advocacy. The Fellow will work closely with Public Knowledge’s expert staff to help promote access to broadband and other communications technologies for low-income and marginalized communities. 

Position Status: Full-time/Exempt 

Position Term: 1 Year 

Location: Washington, DC

Report to: Chief of Staff

Position Summary:

Public Knowledge Fellowships provide an opportunity for recent graduates to learn valuable analytical and policymaking skills in an on-the-job setting that includes advocacy with Congress and federal agencies. Public Knowledge promotes fundamental human rights in the digital economy by working to create and execute strategies that promote the open internet, balanced intellectual property rights, and communications competition. 

The Fellowship length is one year and will be spent working closely with Public Knowledge’s expert staff on broadband deployment, subsidies or other mechanisms to make broadband affordable, regulatory environment to ensure reliability and consumer protection on those networks, and spectrum policies that serve the public interest. This fellowship will include opportunities to train and work on policies involving the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the broadband era. The Fellow will contribute to our work on helping low-income and marginalized communities, who are the most likely to lack meaningful broadband, by advocating for policies that increase data speeds, prohibit data and overage fees, and prevent communications shutoffs.

Essential Duties:

• Provide input, strategic advice, and advocacy to shape laws and regulations that support effective broadband policies.
• Serve as an author on advocacy documents that support public interest positions.
• Partner with government relations and communications staff to develop and execute strategy on Capitol Hill, with government agencies, in coalitions, including other public interest groups, and with the press.
• Oversee, design, and facilitate the development of presentations for meetings with policymakers, the press, internal staff, and other public interest groups.
• Develop expertise in a select set of national and, where appropriate, global or state-based internet technology or related policy issues.
• Other responsibilities and tasks, as needed.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree preferred.
• Ability to digest and understand underlying policy documents, such as briefs, white papers, and policy proposals, as a prerequisite to strategic and policy planning.
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to think quickly and learn to devise legislative and political strategies to attain a projected outcome.
• Substantive knowledge of some communications policy issues or transferable policy experience.
• Ability to conduct research and analyze data.
• Demonstrated dedication to the fight for broadband access and affordability in the United States.
• Demonstrated interest or previous work on issues that support low-income and marginalized communities.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to translate complex ideas into understandable written and oral statements and messages to persuade, influence, or inform others, including public opinion leaders and the media.

Compensation:

• Compensation is $70,000 per year plus benefits.

About Public Knowledge: Public Knowledge is a nonprofit technology policy organization that promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. PK’s modes of advocacy include outreach to the U.S. Congress, the executive branch, and administrative agencies, filing administrative comments, submitting amicus briefs, hosting public education events, building coalitions, and writing white papers and blog posts. For more information on us, visit PublicKnowledge.org. For more general information about PK’s advocacy training program, PKTrains, visit PublicKnowledge.org/PKTrains.

Public Knowledge provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.