General Job Description
This intern will be a part of the Just Transitions department working in support of PANNA’s contributions to the UN-led International Assessment of Agriculture. This assessment provides a critical evaluation of agricultural knowledge, science and technologies, their past impacts and potential to bring about improvements in equitable and sustainable development. PANNA staff are lead authors and also play a central role in organizing civil society strategies and actions around the assessment.
Our goals are to highlight the successes of local, sustainable agricultural systems around the world, provide a strong critique of corporate industrial agriculture (especially regarding pesticides and transgenic crops), and analyze the broader implications of global trade and policy decisions. The Research Assistant works closely with PANNA’s Senior Scientist in conducting background research, assembling relevant materials (including both formal and informal, published and unpublished work), strategizing and communicating with NGOs in other regions who are also participating in this initiative, and synthesizing and writing summaries of these materials for inclusion in the Assessment.
The intern may have the opportunity to represent PANNA at local tabling events or may be asked to communicate with PANNA affiliate organizations on behalf of the program work in which s/he is involved.
Links to More Information on this Project
1) Article from the Global Pesticide Campaigner (Volume 14, Number 3), December 2004
2) Article from the Global Pesticide Campaigner (Volume 15, Number 2), August 2005
3) Web page on Transforming Agricultural Development
4) Web page of UN International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology
Responsibilities
- Conduct background research (on-line, library, etc) on the methods and impacts of sustainable vs. corporate industrial agricultural systems, their technologies and approaches.
- Solicit case studies and unpublished non-formal documentation of relevant information from PAN international and other civil society networks.
- Prepare annotated bibliographies and summaries of these materials.
- Communicate with/ share research findings with other civil society authors of the Assessment (e.g. in Asia, Africa, Latin America).
- As time permits, read, summarize and synthesize material (text, tables, graphs) for inclusion in Assessment chapter drafts.
- A small amount of filing and copying may be needed from time to time.
Qualifications
- Research background, skilled in literature searches and reviews.
- Strong writing and editing skills.
- Basic computer skills (Word, Excel, internet).
- Strong interest in sustainable agriculture, health/environmental impacts of pesticides, GMOs and/or impacts of agricultural policy, trade, institutions.
- French or Spanish or other language a plus.
- Ability to work both independently and as an active group participant.
- Ability to keep work organized in order for it to be interpreted by future interns or PANNA staff.
Benefits
There is no stipend associated with intern positions at PAN; however, we do reimburse any local commuting costs. Benefits include:
- Strengthened research, writing and advocacy skills.
- Better connected to individuals within the field including international network of social justice/sustainable agriculture activists.
- Increased understanding of pesticide issues, sustainable agriculture, social justice and international policy issues.
- Increased understanding of effective ways to achieve pesticide reform.
- Exposed to an established non-profit structure.
- Reimbursement for transportation to and from the office.
Time requirement: A minimum commitment of 15 hours per week is required.
Timeframe: Winter 2008
Location: Some of this work must be done in the PAN office in San Francisco. It is also possible to work from home or libraries (if you have a personal computer).
Supervisor: Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, Senior Scientist
How to Apply: Submit the following to intern_coordinator@panna.org:
- A cover letter indicating that you wish to apply for the Just Transitions intern position. Include why you want to work with PANNA and what experience/skills you hope to gain, your available dates, number of hours per week you wish to work.
- A current resume highlighting the experience and/or coursework relevant to the position
- A brief writing sample (no more than 10 pages)
- Contact information for two references (name, phone, e-mail, relationship)
APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED ON AN ON-GOING BASIS
The Organization: Pesticide Action Network has worked to replace pesticides with ecologically sound alternatives since 1982. PANNA is one of five regional facilitating organizations serving a global network of more than 600 civil society groups in over 90 countries who share these goals. In North America, we link over 195 affiliated health, consumer, labor, environment, progressive agriculture and public interest groups in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. with thousands supporters worldwide to promote healthier, more effective pest management through research and analysis, policy development, public education, media outreach, demonstrations of alternatives and local, national and international advocacy campaigns. PANNA’s San Francisco office has 22-25 staff. We maintain two primary Web sites and related specialized sites and online services. For more information see www.panna.org.