Fall Internships 2020

First Book’s Mission

•   First Book is an international nonprofit organization that provides children from low income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.

•   First Book plays a role in transforming the quality of preschool and after-school programs nationwide.

•   First Book focuses the power of the private sector on public chang

About the Internship:

First Book has an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurial individuals who share a passion for our mission, have a wide array of personal qualities and talents, and possess superior written and verbal communication skills. A good match for this position will be someone with a nonprofit heart and a corporate mindset; someone who is collaborative and independent, thrives in a fast-paced environment, is flexible, and has a sense of humor.

First Book offers interns the opportunity to work flexibly within its teams:

•   Accounting: Reconcile various accounts payable, basic accounting needs

•   Development: Assist in achieving the revenue goals of the organization and should possess superior writing, research and interpersonal skills. Provide support for the full range of fundraising activities, including prospect research, individual giving, and special events. 

•   Information Technology: We are undergoing a Technology Transformation to improve the applications we use and general infrastructure to support the organization. Join us to take part in projects related to Infrastructure as well as applications to support eCommerce, Business Intelligence and CRM.

•   National Engagement: Assist in the development and execution of direct marketing campaigns designed to recruit and engage new non-profit partners and recipient groups.

•   Strategic Alliances: Implement cause-based marketing campaigns for some of First Book’s corporate partners. Examples include Cheerios, Build-A-Bear Workshop, and Baskin-Robbins. Develop new business leads for corporate partnerships and cause-marketing campaigns for First Book, a leader in both philanthropy and public-private sector partnerships, focused on children’s literacy.

•   Marketing and Communications: Update and maintain social media presence including Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Pinterest and others as applicable. Designing flyers, graphics, editing movies and other marketing material.

First Book offers eCommerce interns the opportunity to work flexibly within its teams. Although you may indicate which team(s) you are most interested in, this internship is for the entire eCommerce department and you will be expected to work independently and cooperatively across all teams as needed.

 Possible tasks within each team include:

Concierge Services 

•   Research book data (e.g., ISBN, format, pricing, relevant topics, etc.) for new and prospective books for special order customers.

•   Support special orders by performing stock checks, drafting purchase orders for publishers, and updating tracking information for the order.

•   Suggest titles or direct members to relevant categories on the First Book Marketplace for small special orders.

 Marketplace Operations

•   Audit data on product attributes in Magento and update to correct values.

•   Publisher invoice processing and approval.

Merchandising

•   Research product data (e.g., product images, format, pricing, taxonomy/categories, etc.) for book and nonbook items on the First Book Marketplace.

•   Attend eCommerce department meetings and interdepartmental meetings to understand the organizational flow of business decisions, projects, merchandising, marketing, and social media.

•   Contribute ideas on how to merchandise products on the First Book Marketplace.

•   Organize in-house library as new books arrive from our warehouse or from publishing partners.

Title Selection

•   Read books under consideration for purchase, write detailed and thoughtful opinions, and discuss them in Read & Report meetings.

Vendor Relations

•   Analyze sales data and customer purchasing trends to produce reports.

•   Conduct marketing analysis and research for business decision-making and sales optimization.

•   Test products to make informed purchasing decisions and for quality assurance.

 Opportunities for professional development:

Program-specific training (e.g., Excel, Salesforce, Magento)

Brown Bag lunch meetings covering topics like leadership, social media, networking, and job searches

Attendance at book-related events in the DC area, such as the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC luncheons and Library of Congress events. 

Capstone project related to publishing industry/children’s literature

Participation in phone or in-person conversations with authors, illustrators, and members of the publishing community

Networking opportunities with other First Book interns and staff

**In addition to an hourly wage, First Book will pay commuting costs throughout the internship**

In addition to your resume, please submit a cover letter that details which department you are interested in working within.

To Apply: Candidates are invited to submit a resume and a cover letter detailing which department you are interested in working within to http://firstbook.force.com/careers . You can also email me at rpresley@firstbook.org. No phone calls please.

Potential interns should be college students with strong communication and writing experience, the ability to juggle multiple projects, and excellent interpersonal skills. Candidates should have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 and possess a strong interest in a career in the nonprofit sector coupled with private sector experience, knowledge, or interest.