Southeast Alaska Food Sovereignty Intern

Job Title: Southeast Alaska Food Sovereignty Intern

Location: Juneau, AK

Job Summary:

Join Ecotrust, a partner within the Sustainable Southeast Partnership (SSP), as the Southeast Alaska Food Sovereignty Intern this summer! You will engage with community members to understand food system strengths, challenges, and opportunities in Southeast Alaska communities. You will learn about event planning and implementation, including organizing workshops for an SSP mobile greenhouse project in Pelican, Alaska. You will also assist with the Salt & Soil Marketplace in Juneau, Alaska, with weekly operational duties like aggregation and distribution. There is also opportunity to learn about and participate in marketing and storytelling.

Ecotrust is a medium-sized non-profit working at the intersection of social equity, economic development, and environment well-being in the pursuit of transformative change in communities from Southeast Alaska to Northern California. The organization aims to co-create change in food systems, forestry, and in the cities, coasts and rivers across this bioregion. A partner in the SSP, Ecotrust shares values with other partners in the network and hosts four staff in Southeast Alaska. SSP catalyzes community-driven initiatives that improve the quality of life and resiliency of Southeast Alaskans. Members of the network leverage their unique perspectives, expertise, experiences, resources and insight to catalyze on-the ground initiatives that build cultural, ecological, and economic prosperity for our communities and region.

This internship will take place in person in Juneau, Alaska, with the opportunity to travel to Haines/Klukwan, Pelican, Hoonah, and/or Kake. This will provide experience working with communities in rural Alaska around food systems, ranging from composting projects to educational project, outreach and networking, and Moby the Mobile Greenhouse. You may help with food projects that include hiking and harvesting, processing, and working with compost.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Event planning/implementation.
• Community engagement and marketing.
• Storytelling (if interested)
• Moby the Mobile greenhouse site visits and workshops in Pelican.
• Possible site visits and shadowing food sovereignty leaders in Kake or other community.
• Assist the Salt & Soil Marketplace with weekly operational duties such as, but not limited to aggregation and distribution.
• Assist with development and implementation of equitable program and project evaluation
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Proficient in Word processing
• Experience with Google Suite including Google Docs
• Have a valid driver’s license
• Able to both collaborate with a team and work independently

• Ability to meet deadlines
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Must be a Sealaska shareholder, descendant of a shareholder, or spouse of a shareholder
• Ability to travel as needed

Education and Experience:

• Must be age 18 at time of hire

• Must be currently enrolled in post-secondary school/program or a recent graduate (1-2 years)
• Legally authorized to work in the United States

Preferred:

• Experience with community engagement.
• Interest in wellness, harvesting, processing, marketing, composting and/or education.
• At least a 2.5 GPA
• Strong critical thinking and research skills
• Self-starter with ability to adapt to a fast-paced work environment.
• Access to a personal vehicle to help with Salt and Soil distribution.

Application Process:

• Complete online application at Sealaska.com/careers by January 22, 2024.
• Submit a resume and recent transcript (unofficial) with online application.
• Submit a cover letter of what aspect of the food system you are interested in and what aspect of rural community development you are interested in and what inspires you.
• Submit, if available, writing or research samples.
• You may be asked to provide proof of your status as a Sealaska shareholder, shareholder descendant, or shareholder spouse.
• You must successfully complete a background check prior to onboarding at Sealaska.

About Sealaska Intern Program

The Sealaska intern program exists to uplift Sealaska shareholders and their descendants pursuing post-secondary education with meaningful career experience, learning opportunities, and a supportive community. Interns explore career interests, grow professional skills, and connect with the unique and vibrant cultures of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people. You will spend the summer with peers who share an Alaska Native heritage, learning from each other and building a community as you venture into your careers. Learn more at sealaska.com/careers/summer-internships.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands:

The physical and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical demands:

• Must be able to perform computer-based tasks and processing for up to 8 hours, including sitting or standing, mousing, interacting with information on a computer monitor.
• Must be able to lift and carry or otherwise move 25 pounds regularly.
• Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Bending or standing as necessary.

Work Environment:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee will primarily work in an office setting. The noise level in the work environment is usually minimal.

This description is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as an all-inclusive list of responsibilities, skills or working conditions associated with the position. It is intended to accurately reflect the activities and requirements of the position, but duties may be added, deleted, or modified, as necessary. This description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment.