National Journal is hiring a Research Intern to support NSI’s PAC Vetting Service. 

National Journal is a premier research and insights company committed to helping organizations effectively navigate Washington. Best known as one of Washington’s most trusted media brands for nearly 50 years, our expertise is unmatched with teams of specialists dedicated to government affairs, communications, and political research, in addition to exceptional journalism. Our mission is to equip the thousands of government and business leaders in the nation’s capital with the intelligence, insights, and connections they need to save time, increase efficiency, and deliver success.

The Network Science Initiative (NSI) is a custom research division within National Journal specializing in stakeholder mapping for corporate, association, and nonprofit clients. NSI identifies the people and organizations - from government, industry, think tanks, advocates, and media - with the most influence on key policy decisions, maps their connections within and across their respective communities, and develops tailored messaging and engagement strategies. 

NSI’s PAC Vetting Service provides corporate Political Action Committees (PACs) with custom analysis on candidates and officials to help inform their giving decisions. Using our research and expertise, we also create content tailored to members’ needs, delivering customized profiles, executive briefings, and programming to top tier Washington advocates. We are looking for curious and innovative entry-level researchers and consultants interested in helping corporations smartly navigate their political giving. 

The role: 

Research Interns are responsible for contributing to all aspects of NSI client engagements. Interns on the PAC Vetting team will use a range of qualitative methods to research candidates’ policy positions and potentially controversial behavior and use our media monitoring tools to track rapidly changing situations. Ideally, we are seeking a recent college graduate with the potential to fill a full-time associate role in the future.

Your responsibilities will include: 

• Conducting thorough research on candidates’ policy positions and potentially controversial actions, statements, and affiliations

• Writing clear, succinct summaries of large amounts of data

• Drafting deliverables, including PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and other formats, to communicate findings to clients

• Managing research for multiple client accounts and internal initiatives; taking responsibility for the timely delivery of all work

Qualifications of the ideal candidate:

• An excellent academic record

• Professional or academic experience in qualitative research required

• Experience in a detail-oriented role (i.e. copyediting) preferred

• Strong research skills and an unflagging commitment to objective, thorough work

• Excellent writing skills; ability to distill large amounts of information into concise summaries and analytic conclusions

• Ability to quickly adjust to evolving timelines and priorities; ready to learn new systems and adapt research and writing to product-specific guidelines

• Outstanding time management and judgment; demonstrated proficiency managing competing project priorities and adhering to timelines

• Proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint 

• Demonstrated interest in public policy and politics and outstanding client-service ethic

Employment Type: Full-time, internship (3 months)

Compensation: $17.00/hour

Remote Status: Remote eligible or a hybrid schedule (in-office work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays) based in Washington, DC

About Us

Across National Journal Group, generally, the firm looks for two “pillar gifts” in you, and everyone else.  In all of us, these are more aspirational than actual, but they are central in our intentions –

• Force of Ideas:  At the center of National Journal Group work are the ideas within our writing.  We believe that ideas – to the good and not – have consequences.  Our highest work is bringing rigor, insight, intellectual honesty, to that ultimate purpose of separating the bad from the good, and giving voice to the latter.

• Spirit of Generosity:  National Journal Group seeks in its ranks a spirit of generosity – a natural disposition in each colleague toward service and selfless conduct.  National Journal Group writing should be cut from the same cloth –critical on the merits but informed by charity and forbearance in measuring motive and personal character.

National Journal is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate against our applicants because of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law.