Jump-start your career in politics! Join the Leadership Institute staff team as a spring 2026 intern.

The internship will run from January 12, 2026 through April 10, 2026.

This intensive program allows you to gain professional experience in a real working environment, further your knowledge of the conservative movement, and sharpen your skills for future success. Leadership Institute interns receive free housing, an $825 monthly stipend, priority access to the Institute’s Employment Placement Service, free tuition to all Leadership Institute schools and workshops, weekly private lunches and dinners with conservative VIPs, and the opportunity to build public policy references.

For more information, please visit us on the web by clicking here.

To apply, please submit a resume, cover letter, and a letter of recommendation through Conservative Jobs.

Cover letters and letters of recommendation should be addressed to the Intern Program Manager, Arin Steiner.

Leadership Institute is hiring a Development Operations Officer, a crucial member of the Development team who raises and processes millions of dollars in donations every year.

This is the ideal position for anyone looking to begin a career in fundraising. The skills and knowledge learned in this position create a strong foundation to propel someone into the many kinds of fundraising and conservative movement careers. 

Your work to service our generous donors will contribute to the training of conservative leaders and activists through the programs and trainings conducted by Leadership Institute.

The job is entry-level, easy to learn and provides extraordinary growth potential into a career in fundraising. Alongside that, general professional development is a priority for the Development Operations team to grow its staffers in foundational business practices.

Your day-to-day responsibilities include:

• Caging hundreds of donations sent to Leadership Institute daily.

• Maintaining data hygiene within the entire LI donor base, which consists of tens of thousands active donors.

• Processing donor correspondence and promptly communicating said correspondence to essential team members.

• Acknowledging and receipting every donation within 24 hours of its processing.

Our ideal candidate is:

• Detail-oriented

• Hard-working

• Self-motivated

• Personally organized

• Able to work closely with a tight-knit team

• Innovative/creative

• Driven

Fundraising is one of the most important skills you can learn; it's the art and science of building an organization that will stand the test of time.

If you know how to raise money, you will always add value to any and every organization you go to.

This position has tremendous room for growth. The leadership will work with you on identifying your passions, skills, and opportunities for growth and foster those to shape you into a stronger professional.

Past employees who occupied this position have gone on to become highly successful major gifts officers, Salesforce specialists, direct mail marketing managers, and more; both within the company and outside of the organization.

Qualifications and compensation

You must complete the Public Policy Questionnaire (PPQ) and an uploaded resume to apply.

We love hiring people with a variety of work backgrounds and experiences – and our team would love to build upon those skills.

An understanding of conservative ideals and principles is a must.

Salary starts at $50,000 a year and is paired with an excellent healthcare plan, and transportation assistance provided.

About Leadership Institute 

Founded in 1979 by its president, Morton C. Blackwell, Leadership Institute (LI) -- a non-partisan 501(C)3 nonprofit -- provides training in campaigns, fundraising, grassroots organizing, youth politics, and communications.  The Institute teaches conservatives of all ages how to succeed in politics, government, and the media. Since its founding, LI has trained more than 300,000 conservative activists, leaders, and students.

Position Details

This position will help oversee LI’s digital marketing. The primary role of this position will be email marketing, i.e. writing, editing, and crafting audiences for emails in accordance with LI’s brand guidelines. This job will also include social media management. It will also require an understanding of target audience segmentation and how to create engaging content. You should have a think-outside-the-box, creative mindset. 

This position requires excellent communication skills, organizational skills, attention to detail, and building relationships with other divisions within the organization. 

Job Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain email lists with proper segmentation, hygiene, and best practices.

• Write and edit email copy while maintaining brand voice and tone.

• Craft posts and help manage social media accounts.

• Conduct A/B testing on email content to optimize email performance.

• Ability to work with multiple divisions to market their events effectively.

• Knowledge of how to use Salesforce (or other CRMs) to pull reports and analyze data.

• Stay updated on industry trends and best practices to improve email strategy

• Support other digital marketing initiatives as needed (website copy, digital ads, text message marketing, etc.)

• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• A go-getter and quick learner who thrives in a fast-paced environment.

• Some email or digital marketing experience (around one year preferred, but not required).

• Bachelor's degree preferred

• A strong communicator with the ability to build relationships across teams.

• Familiarity with email marketing platforms, ideally HubSpot.

• Detail-oriented and highly organized, with a passion for crafting effective campaigns.

• A creative thinker who isn’t afraid to experiment and optimize marketing strategies.

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter.

The Leadership Institute is hiring a Recruiter for its campus news website Campus Reform.org. As America’s leading source for conservative college news, Campus Reform serves as a watchdog to our country’s higher education system, with a mission to expose liberal bias and abuse on college campuses.

Campus Correspondents are freelance student journalists that form an integral part of the Leadership Institute’s Campus Reform’s news team. The Recruiter will scale up the Campus Correspondent Program and provide daily administrative assistance. The Correspondent Recruitment Coordinator’s duties will be to recruit new Campus Correspondents, market the program, assist with media booking and preparations, develop the Campus Correspondents and alumni community, organize events, supervise interns, provide professional guidance, and represent Campus Reform at events.

Qualified candidates will be friendly and outgoing, with a professional background in recruitment and a working knowledge of journalism ethics. Candidates must have a bachelor's degree and approximately two years of related professional experience. To apply, please submit a resume, cover letter, and salary requirements in one PDF file through Conservative Jobs. 

Summary:

LI Recruiters identify and recruit students to start conservative student organizations or publications on campus within an assigned territory.  Recruiters will develop a territory action plan to evaluate all college campuses within the territory and assign recruitment and training resources.  Recruiters will also approve or deny membership into LI’s CLP network and develop a strategic activism and training plan.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Includes the following, the exercising of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance and other duties as required.

Regional Network Development:

a)     Build and maintain relationships between LI, students, and groups within the region.

b)    Research, analyze, and recruit conservative students to participate in LI programs.

c)     Make membership decisions. Analyze and determine which groups within the region qualify to participate in LI’s CLP network.

d)    Develop a strategic plan to expand membership with LI in a territory each semester.

e)     Create and develop a regional training plan for your territory.

f)     Approve and distribute LI resources to CLP groups.

g)    Approve or deny requests from new CLP groups to join LI’s CLP network.

h)    Approve or deny activism grant requests for the group in the LI network

i)      Evaluate all higher education institutions to determine overall compatibility with CLP programs.

j)      Build relationships with partner organization counterparts

 Program Management:

a)     Manage your territories’ activism budget

b)    Approve or deny students for the Campus Ambassador program  membership

c)     Approve or deny scholarships for Leadership Institute trainings

Qualifications:      

Candidates for this position must have a knowledge and understanding of conservative philosophy with a dedication to grassroots activism and organization. Candidates should also have strong interpersonal skills and should excel in both written and oral communication.

Jump-start your career in politics! Join the Leadership Institute staff team as a fall 2025 intern.

The internship will run from September 15, 2025 through December 19, 2025.

This intensive program allows you to gain professional experience in a real working environment, further your knowledge of the conservative movement, and sharpen your skills for future success. Leadership Institute interns receive free housing, an $825 monthly stipend, priority access to the Institute’s Employment Placement Service, free tuition to all Leadership Institute schools and workshops, weekly private lunches and dinners with conservative VIPs, and the opportunity to build public policy references.

For more information, please visit us on the web by clicking here.

To apply, please submit a resume, cover letter, and a letter of recommendation through Conservative Jobs.

Cover letters and letters of recommendation should be addressed to the Intern Program Manager, Arin Steiner.

Summary:

LI Recruiters identify and recruit students to start conservative student organizations or publications on campus within an assigned territory.  Recruiters will develop a territory action plan to evaluate all college campuses within the territory and assign recruitment and training resources.  Recruiters will also approve or deny membership into LI’s CLP network and develop a strategic activism and training plan.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Includes the following, the exercising of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance and other duties as required.

Regional Network Development:

a)     Build and maintain relationships between LI, students, and groups within the region.

b)    Research, analyze, and recruit conservative students to participate in LI programs.

c)     Make membership decisions. Analyze and determine which groups within the region qualify to participate in LI’s CLP network.

d)    Develop a strategic plan to expand membership with LI in a territory each semester.

e)     Create and develop a regional training plan for your territory.

f)     Approve and distribute LI resources to CLP groups.

g)    Approve or deny requests from new CLP groups to join LI’s CLP network.

h)    Approve or deny activism grant requests for the group in the LI network

i)      Evaluate all higher education institutions to determine overall compatibility with CLP programs.

j)      Build relationships with partner organization counterparts

 Program Management:

a)     Manage your territories’ activism budget

b)    Approve or deny students for the Campus Ambassador program  membership

c)     Approve or deny scholarships for Leadership Institute trainings

Qualifications:      

Candidates for this position must have a knowledge and understanding of conservative philosophy with a dedication to grassroots activism and organization. Candidates should also have strong interpersonal skills and should excel in both written and oral communication.

About the Role:

The Jay Henges Center for Youth Leadership plans, executes, and recruits for Leadership Institute’s flagship training, the Youth Leadership School (YLS), as well as smaller versions of the training known as Youth Leadership Workshops (YLW) and Campus Election Workshops (CEW).

As the Operations Manager for the Center, you will focus on recruiting high-level students for programs, handle all aspects of smaller workshops, arrangement transportation logistics for students, work with vendors, prepare materials for programs, work with speakers for programs, and when needed present lectures about political technology.

You must have proven ability to effectively recruit students, speak publicly, negotiate with vendors, meet deadlines, and have strong organizational and writing skills. Additionally, you must also proactively foster long lasting relationships with partner organizations to coordinate future trainings.

You are expected to work all hours needed to meet recruitment goals and to ensure all trainings in the division are professionally conducted, including several weekends throughout the year.

You must be able to travel and work on weekends.

Travel for this role could be up to 60% of the time.

Required skills:

• Attention to detail

• Professional crisis management skills

• Ability to follow-up and build long-term relationships

• Prior involvement with student organizations

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

• Ability to work independently

• Meet deadlines

• Have a basic understanding of graphic design

• Strong public speaking skills

The candidate must be able to thrive in a fast-paced environment and should have a good sense of direction and confidence when navigating in unfamiliar cities. He or she must be a quick decision maker, and take full responsibility for decisions made.

Good candidates enter the job with a solid understanding of conservative principles.

A bachelor’s degree is required with previous experience on campaigns. Candidate must be a graduate of the Youth Leadership School before applying.

This role is based in Arlington, VA - NOT REMOTE

How to apply:

Complete the Public Policy Questionnaire: LeadershipInstitute.org/PPQ

Email a one-page resume and personalized cover letter, including your salary requirements in PDF format, to Carly Tomaine at [email protected]. Applications that do not meet the criteria above are not considered.

The Leadership Institute seeks individuals interested in careers in media or content production to join the studio's team to become a Studio Fellow.

The Studio Fellowship Program will teach and train those interested in how to produce video, podcasts, photographic content, and graphic design. Work will be in coordination with all departments of the Leadership Institute, including campus, events, programs, and external affairs as well as other conservative groups that will benefit from the Studio Fellows work.

The candidate should possess an interest in graphic design and video editing or marketing. They will assist with the daily content needs of both LI and partner organizations. They will help develop social media graphics, marketing materials, presentations, and videos. The position requires becoming familiar with the studio space in the Leadership Institute for the purposes of external rentals and for recording video and podcast content in-house. They will become fluent in the Leadership Institute’s branding language.

Candidates for this position must have a knowledge and understanding of conservative philosophy and possess strong interpersonal skills, excelling in both written and oral communication. This position involves relocation to Virginia and a moderate amount of travel. At the completion of the program, qualified individuals will receive an equipment stipend to purchase necessary gear to help jumpstart their careers.

Interested individuals should apply here and then send a link to their portfolio and cover letter to [email protected]

Compensation:

Fellows will receive the following.

• $23,000 salary for six months with the potential to extend to one year
• at the completion of the program, they will receive 7,000 to purchase equipment.

Position Responsibilities:

-      Determine production requirements by reviewing client requirements and considering internal scheduling factors.

-      Develop content strategies by examining project objectives and planning, scheduling, and completing design and production requirements.

-      Improve creative standards

-      Media and production file storage, including backing up all media, creating and maintaining file storage solutions, transferring files to external clients and LI departments

-      Travel with the team for live streaming events and taking footage of various LI training

-      Attended training to help better develop skills