Internship opportunities at WWF

WWF Overview  

For 60 years, WWF has worked to help people and nature thrive. As one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, WWF works in more than 100 countries, connecting cutting-edge conservation science with the collective power of our partners in the field – more than one million supporters in the United States and five million globally, as well as partnerships with communities, companies, and governments.  

Our vision for diversity, equity and inclusion at WWF is an organization as diverse as the world we protect; where the richness of all our unique views, experiences, and backgrounds combines to create the most sustainable and inclusive conservation outcomes possible — bringing the greatest benefit to the planet and every person who lives on it.  

Across the many cultures and individuals that represent WWF, we are unified by one mission, one brand, and one common set of values: Courage, Respect, Integrity and Collaboration. 

 

BRIDGE – Building Relationships, Inclusivity, Diversity, Growth, and Excellence 

WWF’s diversity-focused internship program, BRIDGE, aims to recruit professionals early in their careers who bring fresh thinking and innovation to the environmental and conservation sector and are well positioned to develop into the next generation of leaders. Our mission is to increase exposure of students from underrepresented populations to conservation and environmental careers, provide professional development opportunities, reduce the barriers to attracting a diverse pool of internship candidates, and develop a pipeline for future WWF hires from underrepresented populations. 

 

Position Summary 

WWF seeks a Conservation Data Science Undergraduate Intern. The intern will help WWF in the process of developing and populating two key information science tools that support monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL). The tools are the Conservation Outcomes Management and Performance System (COMPS) dashboard and the governance and management tracking tool (ELINOR). To support the dashboard, the intern will assist with building a library and framework for streamlining acquisition and distribution of conservation data while for the governance tool they will support scientists in analyzing the human computer interaction and contribute to the research for building an interface that supports data collection, visualization and reporting. 

Internship Description: 

• Support development of a data visualization concept for the Elinor governance and management tool. 
• Document data acquisition and delivery mechanisms used for MEL data at WWF. 
• Build a list of conservation APIs. 

• Develop a prototype API for conservation data distribution. 

Minimum Requirements:  

• Must be an actively enrolled student and not received degree at time of internship start date. 
• Pursuing an Associate’s or Bachelor’s program, related to Data Science/computer science/scientific discipline with emphasis on data collection, management & data visualization.  
• Knowledge of programming in a language like Python. 
• Interest in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) for conservation. 
• Attention to detail. 

• Organized and self-motivated. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. 
• A commitment to the mission, goals and values of WWF. 
• Identifies and aligns with WWF’s core values: Courage, Integrity, Respect, and Collaboration:  

• Demonstrates courage by speaking up even when it is difficult, or unpopular.  

• Builds trust with colleagues by acting with integrity, owning mistakes, and holding oneself accountable.  
• Welcomes other points of view and ideas, recognizing and embracing different and contrary perspectives with kindness, curiosity, and encouragement.  
• Makes conscious efforts to promote cooperative practices, behaviors, and ways of working across many groups and individuals.  

 

Preferred Qualifications:  

• Basic knowledge of geospatial data analysis and management. 
• Knowledge of relational database management systems such as PostgreSQL. 
• UI/UX testing. 
• Interest in conservation. 

Learning Outcomes 

 

• Unlocking data for measuring conservation progress and impact.  
• Work with multiple WWF teams including Conservation Outcomes Monitoring Performance System (COMPS), Global Science Data and Technology and the Conservation Evidence team.  
• Develop both technical and collaboration/communication skills with respect to monitoring impact and applying modern data and technology. 

• Contribute to a critical aspect of conservation and explore a new area of technology application. 

 

WWF interns will be provided a set of professional development opportunities, aimed at increasing their exposure to conservation and sustainability careers. This includes: 

 

• Development discussions with their manager; 

• Up to two online courses through Cornell University’s eCornell program; 
• Speed mentoring with different WWF teams; 
• Opportunity to present their work to intern peers and WWF staff; 
• Session on resume and interviewing best practices. 

 

Interns will also have access to an array of networking opportunities. This includes meetings with WWF’s CEO, the senior management team, Employee Resource Groups, and representatives from other departments.  

 

Location: 

US-DC-Washington  

Compensation: 

Paid – $17 per hour (full-time, 35 hours per week) 

Internship Dates: 

Internship will run from June 5, 2023 to August 11, 202