The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being, and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. As one of the largest and most comprehensive public health organizations in the nation, we are at the forefront of research and innovations to improve the efficacy of public health statewide, nationally, and internationally.

PHI was distinguished as one of the top 50 “Best Non-Profit Organizations to Work For” by the Non-Profit Times in a national search.

Position Summary

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is seeking a full-time temporary Research Intern for one of its programs, Berkeley Media Studies Group (BMSG). The Research Intern will complete a practicum in coordination with the preceptor and will develop and complete an approved learning plan.

The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented MPH Practicum student who can work effectively with the team to systematically collect and evaluate news about political actions to limit access to health care (including abortion and gender affirming care). Research tasks will include conducting literature reviews; working with the team to develop and refine a qualitative coding instrument; collecting, reading and analyzing news articles; analyzing data; and drafting reports and memos. The intern may also assist with other research projects, and will also get opportunities to meet with, present to, and network with other professionals in the field.

This is a temporary remote full-time position (40 hours/week, 1.0 FTE) that is expected to last 10 weeks.

Full pay range for this position: $21.60 to $29.86 per hour. The typical hiring range for this position is from $21.60 (minimum) to $25.73 (midpoint) per hour. The starting wage is determined using a variety of factors, such as the candidate’s knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as internal equity consideration and budget availability.

About Berkeley Media Studies Group

Positioned at the intersection of narrative change, media advocacy, and public health, BMSG is a small, nimble team committed to improving community health by building advocates’ capacity to make the case for equitable systems and environments. We do this by studying how public health and social justice issues are portrayed in the news and other communication channels and using insights from that research, help advocates become more skilled communicators adept at changing narratives, especially news narratives that undermine health. We also work with journalists who want to deepen their reporting on the social and structural factors that influence health.

We take our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion seriously in our work with advocates and reporters and in the culture we’ve created internally. We strive to foster a working environment that prioritizes well-being and values every team member. Our philosophy is that we are humans first, employees second. We encourage people to bring their whole selves — all backgrounds and neurotypes welcome — into our workspace, identify professional development and growth opportunities for staff, and host regular brainstorming sessions to encourage creative thinking. If a norm or process isn’t working, we challenge and address it. BMSG’s average employee tenure is eight and a half years.

About This Position

Berkeley Media Studies Group supports partners working to create a just world where every community thrives. Our partners organize and advocate to change policies and systems to make that happen. We, in turn, help them by analyzing how their issue is being discussed in the news and other public spaces and then provide targeted support to help them be strategic about how they make changes and how they communicate about their goals.

By the end of the internship, the candidate will learn how to:

• Conduct a literature review of media content analysis literature
• Develop research parameters with partners
• Refine search terms to capture relevant news article
• Create systematic sampling protocols for news stories
• Draw on principles of ethnographic content analysis to systematically review articles to develop inductive codes
• Use ATLAS.Ti to apply inductive and deductive codes to articles
• Use ATLAS.Ti and Excel to assess qualitative and quantitative data from news articles
• Outline, draft, and share a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative data
  
  

We’re looking for a motivated and passionate person to join our research team, which conducts research on how the media portrays health and social justice issues. The team also collaborates with other teams within BMSG to assess what these portrayals mean for advocates working to advance healthy and just public policy. This position will support BMSG’s work with the Trans Journalists Association to learn more about how the news covers issues affecting trans communities – and what opportunities exist to ensure coverage of trans communities is accurate and complete at this moment.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Participate in qualitative media content analysis research, including conducting literature reviews; helping the team develop study parameters and coding documents; and gathering, reading and coding news articles
• Perform qualitative and quantitative data analysis
• Assist with writing and editing reports on research findings
• Meet with project partners to share findings and collect feedback
• Perform other duties as assigned
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Current student enrolled in the first year of an MPH program or in a one-year MPH program
• Experience in research, health communications, and data analysis
  
  

Other Required Qualifications

• Passion for public health, media, and communication and a commitment to racial, social and gender justice
• Strong abilities, skills, and work habits:
• Ability to write clearly and succinctly for a variety of audiences and to synthesize and assess large amounts of information from different sources
• Experience conducting literature reviews of public health and/or social science literature
• Experience with or coursework on qualitative research and/or content analysis and coding
• Strong project and time management skills, good attention to detail, ability to take initiative, and strong organizational skills
• Ability to work well with minimal supervision, to work collaboratively with other staff members, and to stay focused while handling multiple assignments and priorities
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with online meetings (e.g., Zoom)
• Proficiency with qualitative coding platforms (such as AtlasTI) and news databases (like LexisNexis) is a plus
  
  

Other Information

Berkeley Media Studies Group’s fiscal sponsor, Public Health Institute (PHI), is an equal-opportunity employer and an inclusive organization. People of diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

All employees are required to adhere to PHI’s Covid-19 protocols. Employees whose essential job duties require them to work in person are encouraged to take a proactive and highly protective approach to safeguarding their health. This approach can occur irrespective of what a host entity may require and includes such strategies as voluntarily wearing a mask or taking other reasonable precautions in their workspace.

EEO Statement

The Public Health Institute is committed to a policy that provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and to make all employment decisions so as to further this principle of equal employment opportunity. To this end, the PHI will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are offered employment and employees are treated during employment without regard to these characteristics.

For further information regarding Equal Employment Opportunity, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf

ADA Statement:

The Public Health Institute is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Recruitment Team at least 48 hours in advance at [email protected].

To apply for any position, you must create an account on the Public Health Institute’s job application site. After creating your account, you may search the open positions and apply for the specific position that interests you. Please note, mailed and emailed applications will not be accepted.

We’re so pleased the Public Health Institute is an organization you would like to work with. Do you have questions about this opportunity? If so, email our recruitment team at [email protected].

Additional information about PHI’s benefits and compensation offerings can be found here.