Hillis Internship – Development and Communications

Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) is a nonprofit conservation organization with a mission to protect, defend and restore Oregon’s high desert. With offices in Bend and Portland, Oregon, we represent more than 25,000 members and supporters in the state and across the country. ONDA’s Hillis Internship was launched in 2021 to honor one of those members, Harv Hillis, and his passion for desert conservation and stewardship. The Hillis Internship Program provides early career individuals with valuable learning and professional growth opportunities while contributing to the conservation and restoration of Oregon’s desert landscapes.

The Hillis Internship will provide a broad range of experiences across event coordination, development, and  communications. The intern will play a key role in the organization and management of ONDA’s annual Portland High Desert Hootenanny including creating event communications, soliciting in-kind sponsors, recruiting volunteers and more. The intern will also support organizational fundraising and development work including making solicitation phone calls to donors, acknowledging donors and coordinating donor stewardship actions. There will also be opportunities to participate in communications related to the High Desert Speaker Series. This position will be part of a four-person Development and Communications team and will require collaboration and a desire to learn. The intern will have the opportunity to be creative, hands-on, and build skills that will assist them throughout their career.

The preferred start date for this position is the week of September 29, 2025 with flexibility into early October for the right candidate. This position requires that the intern conduct their work in-person at ONDA’s Portland office.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Candidates will have a professional interest in and commitment to working in the conservation field, experience working in an office environment, and/or experience in project coordination, development and communications. Initial applicant screening will select for those candidates who meet the following minimum qualifications:

• Highly organized with exceptional multi-tasking skills
• Strong writing and proofreading skills, with attention to detail and accuracy
• Excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to take initiative and coordinate multi-faceted projects
• Ability to work well both independently and with a team
• Creative, with a willingness to contribute new ideas
• Willingness to learn new technology platforms quickl
• Ability to use Microsoft Office is required. A working knowledge of Salesforce, WordPress and Asana is not required but is considered a plus.
• All candidates must have a valid Oregon driver’s license

ELIGIBILITY
The Hillis Internship is open to early career individuals with a demonstrated interest in ONDA’s conservation mission. Early career individuals are defined as:

• Students currently enrolled in a post-secondary educational institution (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, 4-year university, 2-year college, trade school, etc.);
• Recent graduates who have completed a post-secondary degree or certificate within the past 24 months, or
• Independent students who are pursuing an education or experience – formal or informal, within or without the bounds of a traditional educational institution – in a subject area related to ONDA’s mission and the internship.

COMPENSATION
This internship is 16 hours per week, paid at $20/hour, for a duration of 10 weeks.