Language Access Program Intern (DC)

Internship Title: Language Access Program Intern 

Internship Description: Ayuda is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a long-standing history of assisting low-income immigrants with direct legal, social, and language access services. Ayuda’s Language Access Program expertly manages two interpreter banks, providing language access services to approximately 90 nonprofit organizations in the DC metropolitan area, who rely on the program to meet their language access needs. Our Language Access intern joins our team in our downtown Washington, DC office and assists in communicating with the DC metropolitan area bilingual community on interpreter training opportunities, gathering feedback on services from nonprofit partners and their clients, providing technical support to interpreters and service providers, conducting research on language access resources, program outreach, administrative tasks such as data entry and filing, and other tasks as assigned by program staff. 

The spring internship lasts from January up until May the latest. We have 1 intern spot that we are recruiting for this season within our Language Access department. 

Through the course of the internship, the selected candidate will have the opportunity to meet with individual members of Ayuda to learn about each program, as well as gain familiarity with Outlook, Salesforce, DocuSign, SurveyMonkey, and WuFoo. 

Departments Assisting: Ayuda’s Language Access Program 

Individuals Responsible to: Senior Language Access Coordinators Jairo Nunez (Principal Supervisor) and Arlene Galvan Mariotti, as well as Language Access Coordinator Lauryn Ping 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Assisting with interpreter recruitment and engagement. 
• Screening applications from individuals interested in accepting paid assignments from Ayuda’s interpreter banks. 
• Conducting outreach to particular language groups to increase pool of interpreters who accept paid assignments from our interpreter banks. 
• Collecting and organizing required documentation from interpreters.  
• Researching and notifying interpreters of professional development opportunities. 
• Assisting with programmatic outreach to civil legal and victim services organizations.  
• Updating, collecting, and distributing programmatic and language access resources to providers. 
• Collecting programmatic data from providers for grant reporting. 
• Conducting outreach to new or potential partners of the program’s interpreter banks. 
• Helping to organize and plan trainings for interpreters and civil legal and victim services organizations, including: 
• Drafting and disseminating emails, PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and other written materials. 
• Collecting RSVPs and sending reminders about the trainings. 
• Creating, distributing, collecting, and analyzing evaluation materials. 
• Assisting with creating, distributing, collecting, and analyzing surveys and evaluations from interpreters and civil legal and victim services providers about services and satisfaction.  
• Researching language access resources (including interpretation and translation agencies) in the DC metropolitan area (and in the nation), innovative strategies, policies, and solutions.  
• Completing other tasks and projects as assigned by members of the Language Access Program. 
• Participate in weekly team meeting held out of DC office on the first Thursday of the month. (2:00 PM EST – 3:30 PM EST) 

Qualifications:  

Required: 

• Undergraduate student, graduate student, or recent college graduate 
• Have excellent communication and organization skills  
• Be a self-starter with the ability to complete tasks and projects independently  
• Be able to work with a team of language access professionals  
• Be passionate about defending the civil rights of all individuals regardless of the language(s) in which those individuals communicate  
• Be committed to creating a community where all immigrants and Deaf individuals overcome obstacles to succeed and thrive in the United States  
• Have proficiency in Microsoft Windows OS and Microsoft Office Suite  

Preferred: 

• Strong interest or background in nonprofit work, language access, and/or immigrant rights work experience 
• Bilingual or multilingual abilities 
• Local candidates based in the DMV who can report to our DC office  

Commitment: We are looking for a spring intern who can dedicate up to 16 - 32 hours per week (flexible) for 12-14 weeks to provide administrative and programmatic support. The internship would begin in January and wrap up by early May at the latest. The exact start and end dates are flexible. Interns are expected to assist with internship responsibilities at least 2 days a week. While we have an office location in downtown DC, our team works primarily remotely with the internship being able to be completed as such if preferred. 

Compensation: Receipt of internship stipend will depend on if completing fully remote or agreeing to join in person. Our internship stipends are offered to facilitate the completion of requested in person days and not eligible for fully remote internships. Interns are welcome to complete more in person days than requested but such days are not included in the internship stipend. If able to join in person, this internship will request 1 day a week in office and offer a stipend of $200 to cover the costs associated with completion of those days (transportation, gas, parking, food, etc.). 

Regardless, this is an internship perfect for students or recent graduates looking to gain professional work experience in a very supportive environment committed to having a positive impact.  We will work with your institution or university to ensure that you are able to receive academic credit for the internship if applicable. 

Technology Needed: We will provide the intern with a laptop, and they will need to have access to reliable internet connection for video conferences and email communication. 

Application: Please apply with a one-page letter of interest addressed to Ayuda and a current one-page resume Applications can be emailed to admininternships@ayuda.com. References will also be requested upon completion of interview. Due to the heavy volume of applications received, we ask applicants to refrain from contacting us about applications status as all applicants will either be contacted for an interview request or upon the completion of our recruitment. 

Ayuda values an inclusive, diverse workplace and does not unlawfully discriminate on any basis prohibited by law. Ayuda is also committed to equal employment opportunity. Employment decisions are made consistent with both Ayuda's organizational values and the law, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, personal appearance, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, genetic information, or any other legally protected status. We also strongly encourage applications from people with lived experiences in the communities we serve.