International Marketing Program Intern

Posting Date: 1/19/2023

Organization: Food Export - Midwest & Food Export - Northeast

Location: Chicago or Philadelphia

Contact: Chicago- recruitment@foodexport.org, Philadelphia - recruiting@foodexport.org

Please note: This is a rolling position, if the post is up we are accepting applications and encourage you to apply.

Food Export Association of the Midwest USA is a non-profit organization that promotes the export of food and agricultural products from the Midwest region of the US. The organization has been helping exporters of Midwest food and agricultural products sell their products overseas since 1969, when it was first created as a cooperative effort between 13 Midwest state agricultural promotion agencies and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). 

Food Export USA – Northeast is a private, non-profit trade association of Northeast state agricultural promotion agencies. Our mission is the development and expansion of international markets for U.S. food and value-added agricultural products. We participate in the Market Access Program (MAP) of the Foreign Agricultural Service of USDA.

Responsibilities:

Assists Food Export – Midwest/Northeast staff with implementing and tracking International Marketing program activities (including buyers’ missions at U.S., trade missions, trade shows abroad, and market research).  More specifically the position involves:

• Tracking company inquiries, participation, and evaluations in our database.  Information will be used to design queries to market programs and services to appropriate groups.
• Researching company contact information including website, email, and mailing addresses to increase the total population of companies that Food Export – Midwest/Northeast is able to reach.
• Updating U.S. exporting companies in our database and keeping our online trade leads updated.
• Contacting companies via phone to encourage participation in Food Export – Midwest/Northeast Programs and/or follow-up for proper registration forms.
• Assisting Food Export-Midwest/Northeast staff with writing success stories about small and medium size food and agricultural exporters.
• Preparing and sending materials for foreign buyers and U.S. exporters who participate in Food Export – Midwest/Northeast activities.
• Contributing to the administrative tasks of keeping program files up to date as well as providing clerical support to the program team.
• Undertaking special research and other projects & tasks as directed by Food Export – Midwest/Northeast staff

Position Qualifications:

• Current Undergraduate or Graduate Student
• Strong PC skills, specifically Microsoft Office
• Able to communicate effectively with people by telephone or in-person
• Interest in International Business/Trade
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize work from multiple supervisors
• Ability to work independently and know when to seek more information or assistance

Student learning outcomes:

Through this internship, students will have the opportunity to develop:

• Experience working in an office environment, familiarity with typical skills such as filing, scanning & copying, attending staff meetings, professional communication via phone, email, and face to face interaction
• Experience working across and prioritizing tasks from multiple projects. Intern will work with 1 direct supervisor, but receive training and mentorship from all members of the International Marketing Program and other coworkers. The Food Export office staff is very open to questions, shadowing phone calls and tasks, and tries to promote the individual skills of each intern by developing projects that the intern is interested in and can see through from start to finish.
• An understanding of outreach, recruitment, event coordination, and strategies and methods for participation tracking
• An understanding of the interaction between state governments, regional trade groups, and US food/agriculture exports
• An understanding of the Market Access Program funding provided by the USDA

Position Details:

• Pay: $16.00 per hour.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States
• Eligibility of Benefits:  This position is not eligible for benefits.
• Pay schedule:  Bimonthly, on the 5^th and 20^th of the month.
• Maximum number of hours to be worked weekly: 28 hours