About Middle East Institute

Founded in 1946, the Middle East Institute is the oldest Washington-based institution dedicated solely to the study of the Middle East. It is a non-partisan think tank providing expert policy analysis, educational and professional development services, and a hub for engaging with the region's arts and culture.

Position Summary

The Events & Communications Department manages MEI’s media relations, website content, social media marketing, and multimedia production. The team regularly engages with MEI’s scholars and departments to bring their work to key target audiences and the general public.

Internship Description:

The Communications Department seeks an intern to assist with promoting MEI's products through strategic and creative digital marketing, especially on social media. The intern will also support the creation of promotional materials, content editing and media tracking.

Key Responsibilities:

Track MEI scholars’ media appearances and publications and monitor breaking stories and the journalists writing about them.

Identify and create engaging, concise, and clear content based on MEI’s events and scholarly work and post it to MEI’s social media platforms.

Use Canva and Adobe Premiere Pro to produce MEI’s social media content.

Photograph MEI’s public events, edit videos in Adobe Premiere Pro, and post them to YouTube and MEI’s website.

Assist in the production of MEI podcasts, informational videos, and promotional materials.

Educational Objectives:

Managing website content in Drupal

Designing email newsletters

Digital photography

Editing photos and videos using Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop and Premiere Pro

Operating a state-of-the-art A/V system for live streaming public events

HTML and CSS fundamentals social media content creation and strategy

Media research and monitoring; Tracking web traffic using Google Analytics

Qualifications:

Currently enrolled or recent graduate from a Bachelor’s program in International Relations, Political Science, Middle East Studies, Communications, Journalism or similar.

Strong and demonstrated interest in the Middle East.

Writing and communications skills as well as technologically savvy and strong attention to detail

Experience in journalism, multimedia production, and/or graphic design is a big plus, as are experience or interest in photography, videography, and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Benefits:

Hands-on experience in non-profit/think-tank communications

Mentorship and guidance from experienced

professionals

Networking opportunities within the industry

Note: Please be aware that this is an unpaid internship with no promise or expectation of compensation, express or implied. Furthermore, participation in this internship does not entitle interns to a paid job after the internship.