Internship, TrailLink.com (Fall 2009), Washington, D.C. 
- Posted 07/01/2009 Open Until Filled

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About our Internship Program
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is the nation's leading advocate for trails and the only national organization devoted to converting unused railroad corridors into multi-use trails. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is dedicated to connecting people and communities by creating a nationwide network of public trails. RTC is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with regional offices in California, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. 

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy showcases our rail-trails to the public through our TrailLink.com website which receives approximately 50,000 unique visits each month.  We are seeking interns who are interested in helping us improve the content and build traffic to the site.  Traillink.com offers over 15,000 miles of trail information to the public free of charge.  The site is rich in content including trail names, uses, descriptions, access information, contact information and has recently been updated to include GIS maps.  Traillink.com is one of our top priorities for the upcoming year and we need enthusiastic and creative interns to support its continued development.  

Summary of this Opportunity:
Internship, Traillink.com, National Office, Washington, D.C. RTC has a full or part-time TrailLink.com Internship available. The successful candidate will assist the TraiLlink.com team in enriching the content of the site and building traffic to the site.  Specific responsibilities include:

• Identify trails on the site that do not have a trail description.  Research and write new copy or conduct outreach to get permission to use copy from another source
• Enrich the site with trail photos by loading existing photos from our archives into the appropriate trail record
• Conduct a state by state review of trails to identify duplicates and make edits to the database or make recommendations for edits to the database.
• Creatively assist the TrailLink.com team in identifying and implementing opportunities to build traffic to the site, specifically, conduct outreach to other websites and build a robust set of inbound links and update external links on individual trail records as necessary. 
• Assist in creating e-message content to registered TrailLink.com users.
• Participate in TrailLink.com meetings and facilitate implementation of the overall Traillink.com work plan for 2009.

Job assignments will consist of professional and administrative support. Interns will participate as full-time staff members including attending staff meetings, retreats and social gatherings. Hours are flexible to accommodate class schedule(s) or other commitments.

Qualifications:
Qualified interns will be students in undergraduate or graduate programs related to marketing, website development, GIS mapping, database management or related fields, seeking on-the-job experience, or professionals looking to hone their skill set. Candidates should have the ability to work independently, under pressure and meet tight deadlines. 
Experience, Knowledge, Skills:

• Prior database experience preferable.
• Prior web experience preferable, specifically online marketing and SEO implementation.
• Experience with online map applications preferable
• Comfortable making outreach calls
• Exhibit ability to handle multiple priorities, assimilate information quickly and establish priorities in a demanding atmosphere.
• Analyze problems and implement appropriate solutions quickly and effectively.
• Good writing and editing skills.
• Excellent organizational and research skills.

In all internships, excellent writing and communication skills are necessary. TrailLink.com is a data-driven website which publishes RTC's trail information in real time directly from RTC's Oracle trails database.  RTC's Oracle database is accessed and edited through a custom front-end interface.  All of the GIS trail maps published on TrailLink.com through RTC's GoogleMaps API are stored in feature classes on an ArcSDE instance which is also integrated with RTC's Oracle database.  RTC used a scalable range of ESRI products for map editing and analysis.

Benefits:
Internships are unpaid, though interns will enjoy the benefits of working in downtown Washington, D.C., in the casual but professional RTC National Office. Easily accessible by metro's red, orange and blue lines, the office is located in the heart of the West End, nearly equidistant between the Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle stations. Nearby cultural attractions include the Smithsonian, historical monuments, and the trendy Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan neighborhoods.

To Apply
Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume indicating a "Web Production/Management Internship" preference to:
 
Attn: Elton A. Clark
Human Resources Manager
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
The Duke Ellington Building
2121 Ward Court, 5th Floor, NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
Phone: 202.974.5153
Email: elton@railstotrails.org
Fax: 202.223.9257
 
RTC is an equal opportunity employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.