San Jose Policy Intern

Hours per week: 10-20 per week
Commitment: 4-6 months
Reports to: San Jose Policy Director

About SPUR

SPUR is one of North America’s preeminent urban planning and public policy organizations. Through research, advocacy and public education, SPUR promotes good planning and good government. SPUR is a member-supported nonprofit organization with offices in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland.

General Summary

SPUR is seeking a San Jose Policy Intern to work closely on a number of land use, transportation and urban design tasks that will support the implementation of our three policy reports, The Future of Downtown San Jose, Getting to Great Places, and Freedom to Move.

Internships at SPUR are unpaid. However interns will enjoy SPUR membership benefits, including free admission to all forums and tours, and a one-year subscription to SPUR’s monthly publication, The Urbanist. Please note that this position is located in SPUR’s San Jose office. Depending on total availability, the position may include some travel to SPUR’s San Francisco office.

Essential Functions

The intern position has the potential to support and participate in many aspects of our San Jose policy work – from research and analysis to attending and helping support workshops and other events, to co-authoring blog posts and newsletters. The following are a sample of some of the specific tasks that could be involved in this internship:
Conduct research, including literature reviews and interviews
Prepare summary findings of research
Map downtown San Jose’s development opportunities and proposals
Prepare graphics, diagrams, and tables
Draft blog posts and newsletters
Support grant reporting tasks as needed
Perform other related tasks as needed

Qualifications/Preferred Knowledge and Skills

Interest in cities and urban policy
Background/education in land use and/or transportation planning
Proficiency with Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Adobe Creative Suite
Excellent attention to detail
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Preferred knowledge of ArcGIS or QGIS
Preferred knowledge of real estate economics and/or CEQA

Contact

To apply, send your cover letter, resume, a short writing sample (less than 1,000 words), and sample of work completed in Adobe Illustrator or Indesign to Jenna White, Research and Volunteer Coordinator, with the job title in the subject line, at volunteer@spur.org. Applications will be accepted through Friday, December 11th.