Founded in 1936, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has grown into America’s largest and most trusted grassroots conservation organization with 52 state and territorial affiliates and more than seven million members and supporters, including hunters, anglers, gardeners, birders, hikers, campers, paddlers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages and stripes. NWF’s mission is to unite everyone living in America to ensure wildlife thrive in our rapidly changing world. We advance this mission through programming focused on conserving wildlife, restoring habitats and waterways, expanding outdoor opportunities, connecting children with nature, advancing environmental justice, and addressing the causes and consequences of climate change.
National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is seeking a motivated summer associate to join the Federation’s Office of General Counsel. As a summer associate, you will be supervised by and work closely with NWF’s in-house legal team to provide support and assistance on a variety of legal matters in furtherance of our mission. This is an excellent opportunity for a second or third-year law student interested in nonprofit law and management and with a commitment to public interest.
Principal Duties:
- Legal research and analysis:
- Conduct legal research on assigned projects relevant to NWF’s mission, programs, operations, and activities.
- Accurately and succinctly analyze relevant laws, regulations, and case law and distill research into practical take-aways for staff in the form of legal memos, staff policies, guidance, checklists, trainings, and other resources.
- Identify related emerging legal issues and trends.
- Contracting support:
- Assist with reviewing and drafting basic agreements, grants, and other similar documents.
- Help the Office of General Counsel develop and maintain templates and checklists to further streamline the contracting process.
- Licenses, registrations, and other similar filings:
- Assist the Office of General Counsel with filing needs, including help preparing forms and applications with inputs from relevant stakeholders.
- Risk management support:
- Assist the Office of General Counsel with developing training materials for its risk management and compliance initiatives.
- Other duties as assigned.
Minimum Requirements/Experience
- Second- or third-year law student at a nationally recognized, accredited law school.
- Relevant work experience, including internships or clerkships.
Minimum Skills:
- Strong legal research, analytical, and writing skills
- Excellent attention to detail, demonstrated initiative, and the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills to effectively work and collaborate with colleagues and stakeholders, including the ability to appreciate, bridge, and leverage differing viewpoints.
NWF Values:
Your actions are expected to reflect the staff values of the National Wildlife Federation: collaboration, mindfulness, empowerment, inclusivity, and mission focus. Your competencies should include:
- Being motivated by values of equity and responsibility to those most marginalized;
- Consistently bringing a high level of empathy and social skills to work and interpersonal interactions;
- Being committed to deepening an environmental justice approach in policy priorities, program development and partner engagement;
- Actively seeks feedback, direction, and guidance from all team members and keeps staff informed of decisions that impact them;
- Being dedicated to advancing NWF’s internal equity transformation and compelling partners and allies to incorporate equity into their work; and
- Passion for and commitment to NWF’s mission.
Location and Work Mode:
The National Wildlife Federation is committed to a flexible and empowered work environment with an authentic community of care for all staff. In this position, the employee may work in the office, in a hybrid manner, or fully remote, to be decided jointly with their supervisor in the final stages of the interview process. For more information on Work Modes, please review the benefits section of our careers page: https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Careers
Compensation and Benefits:
The hourly rate for this position is $28 per hour.
We are proud of our designation by Mogul as a Top 100 Workplace with the Best Benefits! We value work-life balance and a family-friendly atmosphere with flexible scheduling. We want you to be able to integrate work and personal life with attention to your self-care, so that your work schedule is not depleting. We offer benefits so you feel restored and fueled through the day and week.
We offer these supports to help manage your mental, emotional, and physical health:
- Paid time off: Vacation that starts off at three weeks accrual, unlimited wellbeing (this time can be used for physical, spiritual, emotional, cultural, religious or financial wellbeing for yourself, a partner, or family member – including pets), 10 holidays, and 3 floating holidays
- We close down for a paid winter break between December 25 to January 1 to recognize end of-year stress, and time for reflection, rejuvenation, and spending time with family.
- Up to 16 weeks of fully paid Family and Medical Leave
- Low-cost health, dental, and vision insurance options – all outpatient mental health is covered at in-network rates
- Therapist available at no cost
- Pet insurance and discount perk program
- Annual wellbeing allowance
In addition to your salary, we offer the following supports to your personal finances:
- Retirement plan with immediate match and vesting
- Annual year end retirement contribution
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Adoption and Surrogacy assistance
- Pet adoption stipend
- Student Loan management
Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s benefits package at https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Careers.
COVID Consideration:
The National Wildlife Federation closely follows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease and has implemented processes that promote the safety of our employees, candidates, and communities. Proof of vaccination will be required to join the National Wildlife Federation.
Application:
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Candidates should submit a cover letter and resume.
For more information on our recruiting process, please review our Careers page: https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Careers
We strive to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) in all elements of our work and with our partners to support the interdependent needs of wildlife and people in a rapidly changing world. We recruit, employ, train compensate, and promote regardless of race, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at nwf.org/equity.
We recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job, therefore our job descriptions are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Your experience, which may include paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work, helps build the competencies and knowledge that translates to our openings. Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and a culture of excellence. Therefore, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions.
Please let us know if you require accommodations during the application or interview process by reaching us at hrhelp@nwf.org or 703-438-6244.
If selected for this position, a background check will be conducted.