Public Engagement Intern

About MSF USA | Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an independent international organization that provides medical care to the people who need it most. The organization cares for people affected by conflict, disease outbreaks, disasters, and social exclusion in more than 70 countries. MSF offers medical humanitarian assistance solely based on need, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or politics. Our international project teams include medical, logistical, and administrative staff, most of them hired locally and working with their own communities.

Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of independence, impartiality, and neutrality. We also bear witness and speak out about the experiences of our colleagues and patients.

MSF USA is one of 24 sections supporting the global movement, primarily through staff recruitment, fundraising, advocacy, and communications. We welcome candidates who bring a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences to join us in working toward MSF’s social mission.

As a member of the Public Engagement team, the intern supports and implements communications plans to produce a dynamic program of live events and activities to reach key audiences, including humanitarian, medical, and academic communities; youth audiences; MSF supporters; and the general public. This is a hands‑on position, offering the opportunity to become familiar with MSF USA’s communications principles and initiatives.

The ideal candidate will contribute creatively to new and ongoing projects, while providing logistical, administrative, and community engagement support to the Public Engagement unit and larger Communications team.

• External Communications
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  Develop and distribute external communications products across multiple channels to bear witness to humanitarian needs, speak out with patients and communities, engage with audiences, and achieve strategic objectives.
• Public Engagement & Advocacy
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  Identify significant medical humanitarian issues and execute integrated communications plans to increase public awareness, audience engagement, and support for advocacy priorities.
• Brand Positioning
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  Develop and contribute toward brand strategy, brand positioning, and tactics to increase brand visibility.
• Content Creation
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  Produce and support external communications content across audiences and channels, including for the website, social media, and live events.
• Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
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  Promote DEI principles across all communications products and channels.

• External Communications
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  Processes speaker and resource requests, and corresponds with key student, supporter, and donor audiences for virtual and in‑person events across the United States.
• Public Engagement & Event Execution
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  Completes administrative and logistical support for public events as assigned and with minimal supervision.
• Content Creation
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  Contributes to the creation of content for live events and other public engagement activities; supports production of public engagement toolkits and educational resources for key audiences.

• Ability to work independently and with limited supervision.
• Initiative and confidence to ask questions in a fast‑paced work environment.

People Focus
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Builds strong relationships and delivers solutions geared to aiding others. Solicits feedback and data; conveys a clear understanding of the level of service the team is providing; takes action when standards are not met by team; aligns processes with organizational needs.

Manages Complexity
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Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems. Consistently looks at complex issues from many angles; obtains a rich and deep understanding; swiftly cuts to the core issue; skillfully separates root causes from symptoms.

Global Perspective
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Takes a broad view when approaching issues, using a global lens. Shows global thinking at work; adjusts organizational practices to meet the unique needs of different regions or countries. Uses a…