About APCO Worldwide

Founded in 1984, APCO Worldwide is an award-winning, independently owned global communication and business strategy firm with offices in major cities throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. APCO combines a global perspective with local expertise to help clients around the world manage challenges, opportunities, perceptions and reputations. APCO clients include corporations and governments; industry associations and non-profit organizations; and many top Fortune 500 companies. The firm is a majority women-owned business.

About APCO in Brussels

Brussels is the heart of the European Union, a €14 trillion single market of over 500 million consumers. Decisions taken in Brussels, for example concerning legislation, international trade and competition, can directly shape global policy and regulation in every business sector. Brussels’ relevance to business, politics and society is only expected to grow. This makes it a natural hub for pan-European and international public affairs and communication programs.

INTERNSHIP SUMMARY

The intern will be involved in both public affairs and communication work, and supports consultants on projects in one or more of APCO’s various client practices. The intern will also conduct broad research and intelligence assignments for the general benefit of the Brussels office. Specific responsibilities may include Internet research, mailing coordination, database development and follow up for client events (media or participants). The intern is expected to demonstrate an interest in EU policymaking process, be fluent in English and have good written and oral communication skills. The intern will report to an assigned project staff member and/or the Research team coordinators.

INTERNSHIP OBJECTIVES

Expand knowledge of European and global institutions and apply it in a real-time work environment
Familiarize with the logistics and functions of consultancy, specifically in regard to public affairs.
Experience first-hand how the policies of the EU and other institutions affect various stakeholders worldwide.
Develop relations with colleagues and other stakeholders of the Public Affairs sector and participate to meetings (internal and external), conferences and debates to develop his/her professional network.
DAY-TO-DAY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The following are specific duties performed on a daily basis:

Participate in on-going projects for clients and provide assistance to consultants with tasks including but not limited to: media monitoring, institutional calendar, regulation and legislation updates;
Provide support to client work and new business opportunities;
Draft client materials;
Conduct research and produce mailings;
Conduct industry and/or client research;
Conduct audits and stakeholder mapping;
Provide support to media relations activities (e.g. producing media lists);
Support client event organization (e.g invitation, logistics);
General admin support tasks (e.g. update databases, document editing)
About APCO’s Diversity Scheme

We recognise that our offices in Europe are not representative of the communities in which we operate. We do not have exact numbers for our office in Brussels at the moment as it was not previously permissible to track the diversity of our candidates nor of our current staff members. Several reports from UNIA (Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism)[1], an independent public institution that fights discrimination and promotes equal opportunities in Belgium, attest however to the inequality of opportunities for access to professional work based on origins.

We therefore implemented an “Action Positive” in 2021, which has been approved by Bruxelles Economie et Emploi and which provides us with a legal framework to conduct our efforts in terms of diversity. This initiative relies on three pillars:

Track and measure the diversity of our office and of our candidate pool
Inform our target group about the opportunities at APCO and, more widely, in the European public affairs’ industry
Reserve four internship positions per year to candidates of our target group.
Our target group: individuals of North African, sub-Saharan and Near/Middle Eastern descent.

Why did we choose this target group?

This group has been selected based on the current demographic of the Brussels’ Region. Our aim is for our office to better reflect the origins of people who live in the city in which we operate in.

Our Diversity Scheme is designed to directly address the need for greater diversity in the public affairs and communication industry and is primarily aimed at candidates who identify as belonging to one of these groups.

The Scheme is a six-month internship in our Brussels office for two new interns, commencing in April 2022. It is designed to offer exposure to the public affairs and communication industry by including robust opportunities for professional growth through a learning & development curriculum, mentorship, and regular feedback & goal setting.

We regularly advertise other entry-level opportunities on our career site, including Project Assistant vacancies.

What kind of experience/interests might make this role interesting for you?

Someone who shares our values of Curiosity, Empathy, Inclusivity and Boldness.
A passion for and interest in communication.
Someone who thrives on working across a variety of sectors/areas where no two days are the same.
Good time management skills and the ability to manage multiple competing priorities and deadlines at one time.
Good written and verbal communications skills and the ability to listen, convey and articulate complex information.
An enjoyment of working as part of a team.
Being creative and contributing your ideas.
An interest in current affairs and what is happening around the world.
Someone who loves to consume media in all forms, whether that’s on social media, online news outlets or traditional print press.
What are the core working hours and will I need to be in an office?

Our core working hours in Brussels are 9.00am – 6pm Monday to Friday.

We are committed to a hybrid and flexible working environment, and there may be days that you wish to work from home which will be accommodated on a case-by-case basis. We will not be introducing any kind of formal policy for this as we want to be driven by what works best for each individual at our company. You will be provided with a company laptop and the necessary equipment to be able to do this easily.