Job Description

Spend a year inspiring, empowering, and serving young people while building your own career!

You\xe2\x80\x99re a recent college graduate (or about to be one), dedicated to serving others and looking to build your skills and network in civic education, nonprofit work, or the realms of politics and policy. Join us for the Close Up Civic Fellowship, a life-changing year of engaging young people in the political process, breaking down the barriers of polarization, and making your mark as an aspiring educator, issue advocate, or nonprofit leader.

Who Are Civic Fellows?

Civic Fellows are energetic, recent college graduates with a passion for service, civic education, public policy, and government. Civic Fellows join the Close Up Foundation for a year-long term as we help high school and middle school students discover their own power as citizens.

What Do Civic Fellows Do?

As a Civic Fellow, you\xe2\x80\x99ll become part of Close Up\xe2\x80\x99s tightly knit team of civic educators, working together to serve young people of all backgrounds in a varied, fast-paced environment.

You\xe2\x80\x99ll have the opportunity to:

• Lead civic education programs in our nation\xe2\x80\x99s capital for diverse students from across the country, helping them discuss and debate the issues that matter to them.

• Meet and build relationships with elected officials, nonprofit leaders, and policy experts.

• Work closely with Close Up\xe2\x80\x99s partners, from Bank of America to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, to serve participants in special-focus youth summits, including those for Native American students, migrant and immigrant youth, and students working locally to engage their government.

• Lead students in explorations of historical cities up and down the east coast, including New York City, Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and Williamsburg.

• Participate in professional development sessions with skilled educators.

• Collaborate with Foundation leaders to improve civic learning outcomes for students across our programs and curriculum.

Most of the time, you\xe2\x80\x99ll be staffing multi-day civic education programs in Washington, DC, leading high school or middle school students through study visits to monuments and memorials, meetings with elected officials, and engaging simulations, discussions, and debates. Your work with students will provide you with the firsthand knowledge needed to assist in efforts to study and improve the civic learning outcomes of our work with diverse students.

Compensation, Benefits, and Experience

As you engage students of all perspectives and help them move beyond the echo chambers of social media, you\xe2\x80\x99ll also receive invaluable experience and benefits, including:

• A salary (before tax) of $790 per week ($41,080 annualized)

• A $500 relocation reimbursement

• Generous benefits (including medical and dental insurance, no-cost life/AD&D insurance, FSA plan, retirement plan, all meals while working on program, mass transit subsidy, monthly cell-phone stipend, and the opportunity to earn free graduate credit)

• Sick leave and built-in, paid breaks around Thanksgiving and at the end of December

• Exposure to elected officials, policy experts, and issue advocates

• An extensive network of alumni, schools, and leaders in politics, policy, and the nonprofit world

• Eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program

• Comprehensive training and coaching

• Leadership and skill development

• Expertise in civics and educational systems and practices

• Eligibility for the Close Up Civic Educator Award

How Do You Apply?

We have 20 openings for our Civic Fellowship, which runs from September 2023 through July 2024. This is a paid, full-time position that is open to applicants who will have graduated from a four-year college or university by September 2023.

Applications are now open! The priority round deadline is May 1 and the second round deadline (if open positions remain) is June 16. Interviews begin in May and decisions will be made on a rolling basis.
The application for the Civic Fellowship is here:

About Close Up

Close Up is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, civic education organization that aims to inform, inspire, and empower young people to become active participants in our democracy. We believe a strong democracy requires engagement by all citizens. Therefore, we seek to reach youth from all communities and all backgrounds, regardless of race, religion, gender, socioeconomic level, or academic standing. Since 1971, we have partnered with schools nationwide to serve nearly one million students and educators through experiential programs in our nation\xe2\x80\x99s capital and in local communities, virtual after-school and summer programs, professional development for educators, and curriculum and resource design.

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Close Up Foundation