Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance (HDR), a private nonprofit organization focused on economic development and community building in Historic Downtown Harrisonburg, is seeking an Events and Promotions Intern. HDR is an award-winning Great American Main Street community and was voted by the public as “The Best Use of Taxpayer’s Dollars” in the Daily News Record’s annual survey for 6 years in a row. Harrisonburg has received much national and state recognition – we were designated as Virginia’s first arts and cultural district; one of the 10 most exciting places in Virginia; the best place to be a millennial by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine; and Virginia’s first culinary district to name a few.
HDR current has an opening for 1-2 Events and Promotions Intern(s).
The Events and Promotions Intern will work alongside the Director of Marketing and the Events Manager to support HDR’s marketing efforts via social media, email, and web content development, and help plan and execute HDR’s annual community festivals (including but not limited to Friendly City Fourth and the accompanying Friendly City Fortune raffle).
Position:
- Must be available to commit at least ~15 hours per week
- Must be available to work the July 4th holiday and be available in-office the week prior to July 4th
- Must be comfortable working as part of HDR’s event staff on July 4th, which may include interfacing with the public, lifting and moving up to 25 lbs, and checking guests’ identification for alcohol purchases and/or serving alcohol.
Responsibilities will include:
- Taking ownership of our ongoing Online Directory Description project, which will include researching downtown businesses to write compelling directory entries and updating those entries on our website’s WordPress backend
- Assisting with the development of social media content, including but not limited to daily “What’s going on Downtown” round-ups
- Assembling and formatting our bi-weekly email newsletter
- Assisting with other content development and writing tasks as needed, which may include work on our website, marketing channels, and/or print magazine
- Working as part of HDR event staff at Friendly City Fourth
- Serving on HDR’s Events Committee for the duration of your internship
- Distributing posters and marketing materials to downtown businesses
- Updating event pages on the HDR website and uploading events to community calendars
- Assisting with the recruitment of event volunteers, particularly from the JMU community
- Assisting with event marketing support (building and monitoring Facebook events, building WordPress landing pages, creating content for social media and press releases, and other tasks)
- Recruiting downtown businesses and vendors to participate in HDR events
- Assisting with post-event feedback collection and analysis
Skills required:
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Excellent project and time management skills with the ability to work independently and manage multiple projects and tasks at once
- Familiarity with social and email marketing and good instincts for what “works” on those channels
- Ability to jump in and learn new processes and systems (such as WordPress and Wrike)
- Data entry and a good eye for numbers
Skills that aren’t required but would be a plus:
- Video production and/or photography
- Adobe Suite/graphic design
Internship hours are flexible and can be tailored to university departmental requirements and student schedules. While these internships are unpaid, academic credit can be arranged.
TO APPLY:
Send resume, cover letter, and 3 work samples to:
Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance
Jeslyn Stiles and Erin Smith
Directors of Marketing and Events
jeslyn.stiles@harrisonburgva.gov and erin.smith@harrisonburgva.gov
Subject line: Events and Promotions Intern
Questions? Feel free to call Jeslyn at 540-432-8936.