Houston Department of Public Works and Engineering Internal Communications Project
Location:
611 Walker
Houston, Texas 77002
Internal Communications Intern:
The City of Houston’s Public Works and Engineering Department has an excellent opportunity
for a graduate or undergraduate (Junior or Senior) student to intern with the Employee
Communications team, Director’s Office. The department is enhancing its internal communications
program to reach 3,800 office and field employees in over 30 staffed facilities throughout
the City who provide essential services to the citizens of Houston. These services
include water and sewer, traffic control, building permitting, street maintenance,
storm drainage and the design/construction of the City’s infrastructure.
The internal communication project is a key strategic directive identified by the
Department’s leadership to expand and improve internal communications. After conducting
focus groups of employees at several locations throughout the City, the need for direct,
accurate and timely communications to employees, especially those without email or
computer access, was recognized as a key area to address. As a result, the team is
developing a digital signage pilot for employee communications at one of the larger
field locations. If successful, digital signage will be rolled out throughout Department’s
locations. The content for the digital signage will be created in various formats
and will include video and RSS feed in multi-zone screens. This content must be frequently
updated with information from the various divisions and other sources of employee
communications, so the intern will write, edit and revise news updates as they come.
The intern will also learn how to create and enter the digital signage content. An
intern may also assist with improvements to our intranet’s session and forum features
and create communities of interest via internal social media applications.
While the office location is downtown, some of the work may be done remotely. This
is an unpaid internship. City badge and parking will be provided.
Qualifications:
- Candidates must demonstrate initiative, creativity, and ability to multi-task
- Extensive writing experience
- Possess excellent interpersonal communication skills
- Be proficient in Word, Power Point, and the Internet
Preferences:
- Experience with graphic design
- Experience with or understanding of digital signage, corporate social media, or content management systems
Requirements:
- Be a graduate or undergraduate student (Junior or Senior) majoring in communications, graphic design, journalism, technical writing, or similar field
- Applicant must be in good standing academically
- Be able to work a minimum of 10 hours per week; schedule is flexible, but must commit to schedule once established
- All students applying for an internship are subject to a background check
- Students who are doing a for-credit internship during the academic year must comply with their schools’ requirements for academic credit and be supervised by a faculty member working closely with PWE supervisory staff
- Interns must keep any information they receive strictly confidentiality
- Interns at all times must dress appropriately
- Must email a resume and 2-3 writing samples (and if you have graphic design experience, 2-3 graphic design samples) to Karen Leback at Karen.Leback@houstontx.gov
Internship Dates:
The Department of Public Works and Engineering accepts interns year round depending
upon availability of position.
Contact Name and Number
Karen F. Leback
Director’s Office/Management Support Branch
Department of Public Works and Engineering
611 Walker, 22nd Floor
Houston, Texas 77002
832-395-2739
Karen.Leback@houstontx.gov