Communications Intern

Full Job Description

Are you a creative, curious student eager to gain hands-on communications experience and build a meaningful portfolio?

King County Parks is seeking a Communications Intern to support storytelling that connects people from all backgrounds to the incredible work happening across our parks, trails, and programs and to the dedicated staff who make it all possible.

This internship offers a unique opportunity to contribute to video, graphic, and written storytelling while helping foster appreciation for the outdoors and promote welcoming, safe, and accessible public spaces for all residents and visitors.

You’ll be part of a team that raises awareness about one of the nation’s most extensive and compelling park systems, helping make our region a great place to live, work, and play.

By the end of the internship, you’ll have contributed to a diverse communications portfolio that includes social media, web content, accessibility work, and graphic design projects to support your career development.

About the Role: The Communications Intern supports the Parks Communications Team across a variety of projects that advance digital accessibility, community engagement, and public-facing communications.

This role plays an important part in making Parks’ digital platforms more accessible by auditing and remediating content according to WCAG 2.1 AA best practices, while also helping create engaging, inclusive content for our website, social media, signage, and outreach materials.

The intern will contribute to storytelling that highlights the many ways King County Parks’ diverse properties benefit communities both online and on-site and help create materials in multiple languages to better reach and serve diverse audiences.

This position follows a hybrid work model, blending remote and in-person work.

About the Team: The Communications Intern is part of the Community Engagement Team, whose mission centers on clear communication, trust-building, and representing community needs to ensure parks are welcoming and accessible for all communities in King County—particularly communities of greatest need.

We work to reduce barriers, foster belonging, and promote equitable access to nature, recreation, and outdoor spaces, recognizing the vital role parks play in mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

Commitment to Equity, Racial and Social Justice: King County, named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a diverse and vibrant community that represents cultures from around the world.

Our True North is to create a welcoming community where everyone can thrive. We prioritize equity, racial and social justice, making it a foundational and daily expectation for all employees.

In this role, you will actively apply these principles in all aspects of your work. Learn more about our commitment at http://www.kingcounty.gov/equity.

Join our talented workforce at Parks Division of King County Department of Natural Resources & Parks (DNRP) in protecting and restoring the natural environment and promoting more resilient, sustainable, and equitable communities.

Requirements

What You Will Be Doing:

• Graphic Design: Create flyers, construction signs, and social media graphics using brand guidance from the lead graphic designer
• Digital Accessibility: Audit and remediate website content on Sitecore and WordPress platforms
• Web Content Support: Assist with editing, updating, and maintaining King County Parks webpages; progress to more advanced projects such as creating new pages or incorporating webforms
• Storytelling: Develop content for social media, blogs, and e-newsletters
• Multimedia: Learn and apply best practices in videography and photography
• On-Site Support: Assist staff during media-related events, news conferences, and community gatherings

Qualifications

Qualifications You Bring:

Current student status: Must be currently enrolled in an accredited college or university pursuing an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in a related field such as communications, public relations, marketing, journalism, graphic design, digital media, or video production.Must be enrolled and continuing into Fall 2026.

Proof of enrollment required at time of hire.

Initiative & Follow-Through: Demonstrated ability to work independently, take initiative, ask questions, and follow up to complete tasks.

Equity & Inclusion Awareness: Ability to apply equity and social justice principles in daily work practices, interactions, and decision-making.

Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills, including research and information-gathering abilities.

Digital Communications Foundations: Basic understanding of digital communications tools and content creation for web and social media platforms.

Graphic Design Exposure: Experience using graphic design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite and/or Canva, with a foundational understanding of design principles.

Availability: Ability to work year-round, including part-time hours during the academic year and up to 40 hours per week during summer.

Competencies You Bring:

• Communicates Effectively: Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
• Action Oriented: Taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
• Customer Focus: Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
• Manages Complexity: Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Manages Conflict: Handling conflict situations effectively, with a minimum of noise.

Physical Requirements

• Primarily works in an at-home or office environment.
• Ability to lift up to 30 pounds.
• Occasional work outdoors on uneven terrain.
• Ability to work in public spaces and around crowds during larger park events.

It Would Be Great if You Also Bring:

• Experience with photography and/or videography, including shooting or editing content.
• Experience creating digital content for websites, social media, blogs, or newsletters.
• Familiarity with accessibility best practices or interest in learning WCAG-compliant content creation.

Additional Information

Working Conditions:

Work Location Details: The Community Engagement team works in a hybrid model, with days in the office as well as telecommuting.

The ratio of remote to onsite work will be dependent on business needs and is subject to change. The primary onsite location is King Street Center, 201 S. Jackson, Seattle, Washington 98104.

Other work locations may include King County Parks properties and permit sites.

Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely.

The individual selected for this opportunity will join an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment.

Employees will be provided with a County-issued laptop and must maintain a home workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.

Work Schedule: Flexible schedule to accommodate academic commitments. Must work a minimum of 12 hours per week with maximum of up to 20 hours per week during school session.

A minimum of 10 hours of work per week is to be worked during regular business hours (M-F, 8 am – 5 pm). Remaining hours may be worked on evenings and/or weekends.

During summer, 40 hours/week primarily M-F, 8 am – 5 pm, with occasional weekend or evening hours to support events and storytelling when park use is highest.

Union Representation: This position is not represented by a union.

Application and Selection Process: This opportunity is open the those who are currently enrolled in an accredited college or university pursuing an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in a related field such as communications, public relations, marketing, journalism, graphic design, digital media, or video production.Must be enrolled and continuing into Fall 2026.

Proof of enrollment required at time of hire.

Application materials will be screened for clarity, completeness and alignment with the experience, qualifications, knowledge, and skills essential for this role to determine which candidates may be invited to participate in one or more panel interviews.

To apply, submit a:

• Complete Application
• Resume
• Answers to Supplemental Questions
• Please submit one writing sample (such as an article, paper, blog post, etc.).
• OR
  1 digital sample (such as a photo, video, social media post, graphic, or a PDF version of a presentation) of your work.

• Notes: Limit to 1 sample. No professional portfolios will be accepted.

Note: Please be aware that other documents won't be considered or reviewed during minimum qualification screening.

Who to Contact: For more information regarding this recruitment, please contact: Patty Jurgens at patty.jurgens@kingcounty.gov

Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles - we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class.

Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

To Apply

If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully.

If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.