Engagement Specialist

Join the City of Richmond!

Are you Richmond R.E.A.D.Y? Respect. Equity. Accountability. Diversity… YOU!!! This is an exciting time to join the City of Richmond! We are committed to nurturing talent, fostering growth opportunities, and building strong connections within our workforce. As we continue to make strides to becoming the employer of choice, we are thrilled about the below employee benefit enhancements:

• Virginia Retirement System (VRS)
• Language Incentive
• Referral Bonus
• Tuition Assistance Program

Description

This is a paid intern position for 12 months only. The Office of Aging & Disability Services seeks a creative and detail-oriented student Intern to support communications, outreach, and strategic initiatives that improve the lives of older adults, individuals with disabilities, caregivers and their families that live in the City of Richmond. This paid internship provides hands-on experience in public service interacting with City of Richmond offices, communications, local government operations, and community engagement. The intern will play an active role in supporting implementation of the Office's communications plan and ensuring information about programs, services, and initiatives is clear, accessible, and impactful. Hourly Rate for this position will be $20.00. This position will only be 20-25 hours a week (as needed by the department).

Duties Include But Are Not Limited To

Communications & Public Engagement

• Assist in implementing the Office's communications plan
• Support development and distribution of community mailers and informational materials
• Draft, create, and schedule content across city platforms (constant contact, website, newsletters)
• Develop and update website content to ensure timely and accessible information
• Help create activities calendar, outreach materials and informational flyers for community events and resource fairs

Policy & Council Support

• Develop concise "opportunity briefs" for City Council members outlining program initiatives, resources, partnerships, and community impact
• Conduct background research to support policy discussions and presentations
• Prepare talking points, summaries, and presentation materials

Program & Administrative Support

• Assist with event coordination and stakeholder engagement
• Support data collection and reporting for performance metrics
• Attend team meetings and contribute ideas for strengthening community outreach
• Provide general administrative support as needed

Qualifications, Special Certifications and Licenses

Minimum Qualifications

• Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program
• Preferred fields: Communications, Public Policy, Public Administration, Social Work, Gerontology, Public Health, Marketing, or related field(s)
• At least one to two years of work experience in the field of Human Services
• Strong writing and editing skills
• Ability to synthesize information into clear, concise briefs
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and/or Google Workspace
• Experience with social media platforms and basic website editing preferred
• Interest and experience in aging, disability, equity, and community-based services

Preferred Skills

• Graphic design experience (Canva or similar tools)
• Experience drafting policy briefs or executive summaries
• Familiarity with accessibility principles (plain language, ADA considerations)

Americans with Disabilities Act Requirements

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. Prospective and current employees are invited to discuss accommodations.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS: Working conditions may include exposure to travel to other locations within the City of Richmond as well as outside of the City of Richmond; exposure to hazardous physical conditions such as mechanical parts, electrical currents, vibrations, etc.; atmospheric conditions such as fumes, odors, dusts, gases, and poor ventilation; inadequate lighting; intense noise; and environmental hazards such as disruptive people, imminent danger, and a threatening environment.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT: Due to the nature of work assignments, incumbents must be able to perform detailed work on multiple, concurrent tasks, with frequent interruptions and under time constraint. The essential duties of this classification may require the ability to regularly balance, crouch, reach, walk, pull, work with one's fingers, talk, hear, see, use repetitive motions, and feel; and frequently stand, grasp, push, lift, stoop, and kneel. In terms of the physical strength to perform the essential duties, this classification is considered to be light work (exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects), but may differ based on area of focus. The working conditions may contain environmental hazards, depending on area of focus.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The City of Richmond 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. The City of Richmond is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, the City of Richmond will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodations. If you require reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to participate in the job application and/or the interview process, please contact Veronica Kenner, by email at View email address on click.appcast.io. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. The City of Richmond Values Veterans. We are an official V3 Certified Company. The City of Richmond is a proud partner with the US Army Partnership for Your Success PaYS Program.