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Summer 2026 - Intern, People, Place and Culture

Brooklyn, New York

About the team:

The People, Place and Culture (PPC) team at Vera oversees all employee-related operations, including employee engagement, talent acquisition, learning & development, and benefits. Grounded in Vera’s mission to advance justice and end mass incarceration, the PPC team approaches this work through and equity-centered lens, recognizing that how we support our people directly shapes our ability to drive systemic change. The PPC team is focused on delivering a memorable, positive, and seamless employee experience at Vera Institute of Justice that supports staff in doing impactful, mission-driven work.  

 Reporting to the Associate Director, Talent Development, the PPC Intern will have the opportunity to support, learn, and partner with all disciplines of the team to execute daily administrative functions and project work, while contributing to improvements and efficiencies in day-to-day operations that help the PPC team deliver operational excellence in an equitable and inclusive way. This internship is a great opportunity for anyone looking to gain hands-on experience in people operations and talent development within a mission-driven organization, while learning how equity-centered people practices support staff, strengthen organizational culture, and advance social justice work. 

The intern will gain a broad, hands-on introduction to core People, Place, and Culture (PPC) functions, with a focus on equity-centered HR practices. By the end of the internship, the intern will be able to: 

  • Understand the full HR lifecycle by observing and supporting work in talent acquisition, learning and development, employee wellness, and engagement.  
  • Strengthen skills in process improvement and documentation, including how HR teams streamline templates, create resources, and maintain clear, equitable systems.  
  • Build competence in internal communication, learning how HR information is communicated across an organization to promote clarity and accessibility.  
  • Develop project management and organizational skills through ownership of a small but meaningful initiative, defined collaboratively based on summer priorities.  
  • Apply an equity lens to HR work, learning how inclusive hiring, onboarding, and employee support practices are designed and implemented in a mission-driven nonprofit. 

About the role:

1. Talent Acquisition & Onboarding 

  • Support the preparation and launch of Vera’s Summer Internship Programs   
  • Provide administrative support, such as: scheduling, Applicant Tracking System (ATS) management, sourcing, communicating with hiring teams, etc. 
  • Support the streamlining of GHR and general HR templates while learning how HR documentation and the creation of standard processes shapes recruitment and organizational clarity. 
  • Contribute to building structured interview question banks, gaining exposure to equitable hiring practices and competency-based interviewing. 

2. Learning & Development 

  • Support Learning & Development Programs (learning cafés, career progression series, leadership trainings, etc.) in data collection, Teams moderating, updating attendance reports, etc. 
  • Contribute to the Learning Management System administration 

3. HR Administration 

  • Draft and format content for internal communications including: monthly newsletters, Vera Café slideshow, and internal updates, building skills in clear, inclusive HR communication. 
  • Assist in creating and updating organizational charts, gaining insight into how team structures, reporting lines, and staffing decisions support organizational strategy and workforce planning. 
  • Help audit, clean up, and reorganize job description folders; support archiving Personnel Action forms and documentation to understand how effective knowledge management supports HR operations. 

4. Employee Engagement & Wellness

  • Support planning and execution of Vera’s on-site and virtual Wellness events 
  • Support Employee Engagement events, both in-person and virtual 
  • Contribute to the planning of annual events, such as Vera Day Away 

What qualifications are we looking for?

  • While this internship is open to current students, we are also interested in candidates looking to pursue a career in any facet of Human Resources, particularly in a nonprofit setting.  
  • Previous experience or exposure to business or people operations, through education or profession, is preferred
  • Demonstrated ability to work with sensitive and confidential information 

Preferred:  

  • Lived experience as a person directly impacted by the criminal legal/immigration system  
  • Experience administering data modification and manipulation, such as running reports and analyzing their outcome  
  • Experience with HRIS systems, such as ADP  
  • Experience with ATS systems, such as Greenhouse 
  • Experience with Learning Management Systems 

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities you'll bring: 

  • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Slack 
  • Previous exposure to HR-related software (preferred, but not required) 

Location:

Please note this role will report to our Industry City, Brooklyn office. Vera employees adhere to a hybrid schedule and are in-office on an alternating schedule that generally amounts to 10 days per month.

Compensation and Benefits:

The compensation range for this position is $17.00 - $25.00. Actual salaries will vary depending on factors including but not limited to experience and performance. The salary range listed is just one component of Vera Institute’s total compensation package for employees. As an employer of choice in our field, supporting Vera staff - both personally and professionally - is a priority. To do this, we invest in the well-being of our staff through other rewards including merit pay, generous paid time off, a comprehensive health insurance plan, student loan repayment benefits, professional development training opportunities and up to $2,000 annual for education costs and fees relevant to Vera work, employer-funded retirement plan, and flexible time. To learn more about Vera’s benefits offerings, click here. 

Application Process:

To receive further consideration for this career opportunity, applicants are asked preliminary questions about logistics, their interest and qualifications. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional details about their experience via a phone screen/form in advance of an invitation for a virtual or in-person interview with the team. Some searches may explore scenarios during the interview process and/or an assessment prior to reference checks and a hiring decision.

Applications may also be faxed to:

ATTN: People, Place, and Culture / Summer 2026 - Intern, People, Place, and Culture
Vera Institute of Justice
34 35th St, Suite 4-2A, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Fax: (212) 941-9407
Please use only one method (online, mail or fax) of submission.
No phone calls, please. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.

Vera is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status. 

Vera works to advance justice, particularly racial justice, in an increasingly multicultural country and globally connected world. We value diverse experiences, including with regard to educational background and justice system contact, and depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission. 

For more information about Vera, please visit www.vera.org.

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