Summer Internship: Science Journalism in Chile

ESO's Department of Communication (COMM) comprises more than 20 staff with a range of complementary expertise ranging from astronomy, writing, image processing, video production, publishing, web production, social media and design to event organization, and it is responsible for all aspects of internal and external communication for the organisation. At ESO's SM channels, we provide information about ESO's activities, with the mission of increasing the awareness of ESO, astronomy and the impact of the Organisation on society at large. Currently, COMM is executing a new SM strategy which aims to create an engaged and dedicated community in Chile.

For the summer period 2023, ESO is offering two projects for the Department of Communication (COMM). These are the following:

P1: Development of audio-visual micro capsules for social media:

During Q1 2023, critical activities for COMM Chile take place: the National Day of Astronomy, the summer vacation visits to the sites, the travelling exhibition launch in regions, among others. Thus, the summer intern would oversee producing and executing -with support of the team- a series of contents (audiovisual and written) to showcase these activities in local SM channels. ESO local Social Media channels are: Facebook: @ESO.Chile / Twitter: @ESO_Chile / Instagram @eso.chile

Main duties and responsabilities:

• Develop short videos promoting ESO's outreach activities, from script writing to filming and editing.
• Coordinate, film and edit brief interviews (pitchs) with the ESO's outreach volunteers' team
• Write short written pieces about astronomy for non-expert audiences.
• Attend COMM Team meetings and coordinate content production and strategy execution with the team.
• Support COMM Chile Team with project development related to SM, press and outreach strategies.

The candidate should have the knowledge and skills to film and edit short videos is required along with writing skills to communicate science to a non-expert public.

P2: Astronomy week outreach project development:

During Q1 2023, National Astronomy Day -which is a week of activities during March- takes place, and ESO develops special content and a series of events to celebrate, including exhibitions, science dialogues in public spaces and live streaming from the observatories. Thus, the summer intern associated to this project would oversee producing and executing these events (with the COMM teams support), learning how to coordinate public outreach events from content development and promotion to execution.

Main duties and responsabilities:

• Support coordination of one Astronomy to the Park event and a live stream from the observatories.
• Organize an 'edithaton' with the outreach volunteers' team to update a section of the ESO image archive to create gender neutral captions and image descriptions for blind and low vision audiences.
• Write short written pieces about astronomy for non-expert audiences.
• Attend COMM Team meetings and coordinate content production and strategy execution with the team.
• Support COMM Chile Team with project development related to SM, press and outreach strategies.

The candidate should have good writing and organizational skills. Experience in event organization is highly desirable.

Key Competences and Experience:

Ability to work in teams and to communicate effectively in an international environment, interacting and collaborating with people from different countries and cultures; proactive, open and friendly attitude; creativity; good organizational skills and comfortable working to deadlines.

Qualifications:

Candidates currently studying a University degree in science, communications and audio-visual careers are eligible. The candidate should have interest in communicating astronomy and other physical sciences to the public. Must be fluent in English and Spanish both written and oral, have strong MS Office applications skills (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and be familiarized or willing to learn how to create content in Canva.

We offer

ESO offers a special allowance during the period you are performing your internship with us. During summer 2023, it is expected that the project will be performed remotely, with availability to visit the Vitacura offices if requested.

Application

We invite students from Chilean Universities in an advanced stage of their career to apply. The apprenticeship should be supported by the University and therefore covered by the accident insurance (Law 16.744).

If you are interested in working in areas of frontline technology and in a stimulating international environment, you are invited to apply online at http://recruitment.eso.org/.

Applications must be completed in English and should include a motivational letter indicating the project(s) you are interested to apply to, and CV.

Closing date for applications is 5 October 2022.

Interviews are expected to start after this date.

ESO Values

An important element in any successful employment relationship is harmony in values between an organisation and its people.

The ESO values are:

ESO strives for excellence through innovation.

ESO provides outstanding services to its communities.

ESO fosters diversity & inclusion.

ESO believes in the key role of sustainability for its future.

Achieving the above are recognized as only possible on the basis of personal values and attitudes that we expect from our employees: respect, integrity, accountability, commitment, collaboration, and clear & open communication.

Applicants to any ESO role are asked to reflect on their affinity with these values and advised they may be asked about them if called for interview.

Diversity

ESO has established diversity as an important value of the Organisation, is committed to providing an equal opportunities environment and is actively seeking to promote a diverse and inclusive workforce.

The post is equally open to suitably qualified candidates irrespective of nationality, gender, age, disability, ethnicity, or religion.