Who are we?
38 Degrees is made up of more than 2 million people from all walks of life across the UK. We have different backgrounds and opinions, but we all agree - politics works better when more of us get involved.
38 Degrees helps make that happen, by giving people in every corner of the country the tools to make our voices heard on the issues we care about. Together, we sign online petitions, chip in to fund expert research and talk to our MPs. In the space of a week, millions of members could be campaigning on anything from protecting our NHS and stopping cuts to Universal Credit, to saving local libraries and pushing for laws that welcome more refugees.
We run campaigns which help make Britain a better and fairer place to live.
38 Degrees is independent. The 2 million of us who take part vote for all political parties and none, and we’re funded by tens of thousands of small donations from members of the public.
We don’t just seek to change the outside world either; at 38 Degrees, we’re always learning how to be even more mindful of how our country, our priorities and our team is changing, and are as responsive as possible to ensure our culture is as inclusive and considerate as humanly and technologically possible.
Who are you?
We take pride in the work we do, and we want to bring you along on that journey: that means we’ll give you unparalleled exposure to all aspects of campaigning, whilst making sure you feel like a valued part of our team. Our culture and environment are constantly evolving to ensure our team feels like they belong, always.
We can’t change the world without working hard, with passion and most importantly, through collaboration. We’ve fostered a respectful and safe space for bringing new ideas, taking risks, reflecting and connecting. That’s where you come in (we hope)!
We’ve found in the past that this programme is an equally great fit for candidates who’ve had some experience with campaigning before and those who haven’t: our previous interns have experience being actors, construction workers, student campaigners, teachers… whatever your background, we want to hear from you. Any motivation to make a change means the world to us!
Our inclusive culture is all about always developing, being open minded and building trust, both with the team and our members. For that to happen, there are some things we’d love to see from you:
● An enthusiastic commitment to drive real change
● Open-mindedness to learning new approaches to the great work you do, and the culture you do it in
● A desire to learn how campaigning works and how to use people power to make change happen. This internship could pave the way to a really successful career in campaigning and we want to give the opportunity to someone serious about making the most of it
● A promise to act with integrity at all times. We operate in a high-trust environment and want you to thrive with us. This means you’ll be empowered to innovate, take risks and develop honest and supportive relationships with your peers
● The adaptive nature needed to juggle both long term projects and quick, reactive campaigns as needed; we work to deadlines and things can change quickly around here, so sometimes you’ll need to drop something you’ve spent time working on in response to a change in priority or urgency on the day
● The ability to be bold in your thinking, and bring creative thinking to help solve our challenges
● A desire to communicate effectively at all times, whether it’s explaining ideas, discussing ways of working or simplifying a concept
● Currently eligible or able to obtain the right to work in the UK before starting work for 38 Degrees.
38 Degrees is striving to build a team that reflects the diversity of our membership and our locations, and is truly inclusive. We welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly people of colour, trans and non-binary people, and disabled people.
There are no formal education requirements for this role. As long as you can show us you have the skills listed above, we don’t mind where you got them from!
What will you do?
● Work with the campaigns team on every aspect of planning and running our people-powered campaigns
● Lead on specific projects, such as being responsible for organising and running an event, or developing a social media strategy that helps a campaign be seen by millions
● Develop creative content, including captivating Facebook ads, or writing an emotive email that inspires hundreds of thousands to take action
● Input into strategy conversations for the campaigns you're working on, and see through your ideas where possible
● Help to organise and take part in stunts and tactics as part of a campaign team. Past examples of work that recent interns have supported on include: a walk from a library under threat of closure to the nearest alternative to show the impact on the community, and organising a petition hand in at 10 Downing Street
What’s in it for you?
We’ve been running this programme for seven years now, so we’ve had the chance to make mistakes, learn and refine it to ensure you get the very best of us, and vice versa. We feel confident (not to mention excited!) that you’ll finish the 8 months with:
● A strategic and practical understanding of delivering campaigns
● Highly-transferable technical and communications skills
● The ability to collaborate effectively, listen to and consider the team’s insight and work together to reach the best solution
● A strong foundation within the industry, and a significantly increased chance of securing your next position outside of 38 Degrees
We could sit here all day and talk about how imperative the interns are to the running of our campaigns and wider business, but instead… here’s what our past interns have said:
“If you're an aspiring campaigner then you will not find a better school than 38 Degrees. Think of it as a lab that mixes concepts like people-power with innovative tactics to deliver ever more ambitious campaigns. Each week will be different. If you want to work on a wide range of campaigns and learn something new everyday, then 38 Degrees is the place to go.”
“The 38 Degrees internship is a fantastic introduction to campaigning - I've learned a lot about spotting campaigns, building strategies, supporting local campaigners, using the media and working with tech. It's fast-paced, varied and fun!”
"The internship programme set me up for being a campaigner. The staff team were really gracious with their time, making sure I was always learning and given new tasks to stretch myself. I finished the internship having run some campaigns - and won! - and this would have never happened without the training and support I was given."