2025 People & Culture Summer Intern

People & Culture Summer Intern 2025

JOB SUMMARY: 

The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Our work is guided by science and grounded in antiracism.

The People and Culture team delivers programs necessary to develop and maintain a high-performance and equity-focused workforce and a work culture which inspires and supports employees in meeting their mission-critical work. The People and Culture staff are stewards and champions of the Innocence Project’s values, particularly our commitments to dignity and respect of all staff, and inclusion, equity and belonging, and must hold these principles as foundational to the work.  

The Innocence Project is seeking an intern to support the Human Resources Team. The P+C Intern will report to the People and Culture Manager and will work with other members of the P+C team as needed. As an P+C Intern, you will play a crucial role in supporting various initiatives within our dynamic Human Resources department. Among the listed internship duties, your responsibilities will include assisting with and tracking the completion of mandatory annual training programs, such as sexual harassment prevention, standardizing our digital file naming conventions in Google Drive to enhance organization and efficiency, updating job description templates to align with our organizational values and leadership competencies, and general assistance and shadowing of various HR functions. Through these projects, you will gain hands-on experience in HR best practices, process improvement, and compliance monitoring, while contributing to the overall effectiveness of our People and Culture operations. We encourage the P+C Intern to share what aspects of HR they are interested in and the team will work on developing a work plan to provide the intern with the experience they're interested in.

This internship will be a 10-week paid internship with a minimum requirement of 16 hours per week beginning in May 2025, the timeframe and schedule are flexible. If the selected intern lives within commuting distance from the Innocence Project’s office in New York, the internship will be hybrid with at least one day per week in the office.

All Innocence Project employees must embrace, respect, and value the rich diversity of perspectives and experiences of a diverse and heterogeneous staff.  We recognize and appreciate that our work is better for having varied participants and thought partners.

We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas and we are not an E-Verify employer.

INTERNSHIP DUTIES

The P+C team is responsible for key areas impacting IP culture, including talent acquisition and talent management, compensation and benefits, employee relations and coaching, policy development and implementation, organizational compliance with employment regulations, and ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The P+C Intern will be exposed to and will assist with as many of these areas as possible, as appropriate and necessary, but not necessarily all:

Compliance and Administration (Assistant Director of Total Rewards)

• Get familiar with IP organizational policies and update all policies to current template   
• Maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information securely
• Perform general administrative tasks, such as filing, data entry, and record-keeping
• Help track completion of the annual Sexual Harassment Prevention training

Employee Events, Onboarding and Orientation (Manager of Events and Engagement)

• Assist in setting up employee engagement activities and events
• Conduct office tours and introduce new hires to the team
• Assist in creating and updating new hire orientation materials
• Coordinate new employee onboarding processes 

Recruitment and Hiring (Recruitment Manager, People and Culture)

• Assist in drafting job openings on our ATS (Applicant Tracking System) JazzHR
• Working with Recruiter to follow up on outreach to various bar associations
• Coordinate interview schedules and communicate with candidates

Learning and Development (Assistant Director of Talent)

• Coordinate logistics for employee training sessions and workshops
• Assist in creating and updating training materials and resources, including training records and tracking employee completion progress
• Assist in job description audit to ensure standard use of our organizational values and leadership competencies
• Provide administrative support for training initiatives

General PAC Support (People and Culture Manager)

• Seek opportunities to learn about various HR functions and best practices
• Provide fresh perspectives and ideas to improve HR processes
• Work on PAC team file naming structure

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

• Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's degree program in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Management, or coursework in a related field
• Basic knowledge of HR best practices and principles
• Proficiency in Google Suite and Microsoft Office, including PowerPoint and Excel

• Previous internship or work experience in HR is a plus

KEY COMPETENCIES: 

• Ability to manage multiple projects, set priorities, and adhere to timelines with meticulous attention to detail
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills
• Ability to maintain the confidentiality of sensitive employee information and adhere to all relevant privacy laws and regulations
• Strong sense of personal responsibility and accountability for delivering high-quality work
• Enthusiasm for the work of the Innocence Project and for social justice, including a demonstrated commitment to public interest

WORKFORCE DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

The Innocence Project considers the diversity of its workforce to be vital to our organization’s success in meeting its mission.  We strongly encourage applicants from all cultures, races, educational backgrounds, life experiences, socio-economic classes, sexual orientations, age, gender, and physical abilities to apply. Individuals with personal connections to the criminal legal system are strongly encouraged to apply.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, it is our policy not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, familial status, marital status, predisposing genetic characteristics, actual or perceived domestic violence victim status, unemployment status, caregiver status, or any other category protected by law.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: 

To apply, please visit our career page. Upload a cover letter expressing your interest in the role, your specific HR related interests and the organization’s work, and a resume titled with your name in this format (last name_first name_cover letter/resume). Only applications with cover letters will be considered complete applications. Information submitted through this secure site is kept confidential. Due to the large volume of applications, we are unable to give applicant updates by phone or direct email.

SALARY RANGE

$19.00 per hour for undergraduate students - $21.00 per hour for students in a post-graduate program