Operations Intern (Spring Semester)

Operations Intern - Spring 2027 Academic Calendar 

Priority deadline will be September 18th, 2026 at 5pm PT

About UnCommon Law

UnCommon Law fights to ensure that all people incarcerated for violent crime have access to healing, justice, and effective legal representation. Through our unique, trauma-informed model of advocacy, we provide the space currently missing in the system for healing, accountability, and safe pathways home from prison. In developing new self-narratives, the people we serve are able to more effectively disrupt violence inside and outside prison and become leaders who change negative societal narratives about those incarcerated for violent crime. Our groundbreaking approach is changing policy and outcomes, driven by the voices and experiences of system-impacted communities.

About the Role

UnCommon Law has an opening for one undergraduate intern (any major) to join our Operations and Finance Team. This internship is designed as a hands-on learning opportunity for students interested in understanding how a nonprofit organization manages its day-to-day operations and the internal systems that support its programs and staff. Through projects, training, and ongoing guidance, the Operations Intern will gain experience with administrative processes such as reception, correspondence, office systems, and records management, while learning how these functions work together within a nonprofit organization.

The Operations Intern will also have opportunities to build practical skills in professional communication, organization, problem-solving, and collaboration. Assignments will be structured, whenever possible, to help the intern understand why a process exists, how it fits within the organization's broader operations, and how it supports UnCommon Law's programs and mission. 

The Operations Intern position is part-time (approximately 15-20 hours/week) over the Spring 2027 Academic Calendar, ideally beginning on January 11, 2027 and ending May 14, 2027. This position is unpaid and offers a $600 stipend per semester to defray some costs. We encourage candidates to seek outside funding, fellowship opportunities, or school credit. UnCommon Law will work with the selected intern to accommodate their academic schedule and understands that many students balance school with employment and other responsibilities. This is a hybrid position that requires a minimum of 8 hours per week at our office in Oakland, CA.

We encourage students who are interested in learning, developing new skills, and gaining workplace experience to apply, including those seeking their first professional internship. We also encourage people who have been directly impacted by incarceration to apply.

Example Responsibilities

The specific projects assigned throughout the semester may vary based on organizational needs and the intern's learning goals. Examples include:

• Learn how nonprofit reception operates by greeting callers, gathering information, routing inquiries to the appropriate team, and logging messages
• Learn how organizations receive, track, and maintain correspondence by assisting with scanning, logging, organizing, and triaging incoming mail
• Gain experience with outgoing mail workflows by assisting with packaging, tracking, and mailing organizational correspondence and materials.
• Support office organization, records management, inventory, or other operational projects while learning approaches to maintaining efficient and accessible workplace systems
• Participate in training and opportunities to learn about nonprofit operations and administration from members of the team
• Assist with additional short-term Operations and Finance projects that provide exposure to practical nonprofit business functions and opportunities to build relevant professional skills

Qualifications 

• Compassion for incarcerated people and their family members, and a demonstrated interest in criminal justice reform 
• Spanish language skills (strongly preferred)
• Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• A professional demeanor and pleasant disposition
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
• Sensitivity to confidential matters
• A working proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel, Google Suite, and CRM software (strongly preferred)

Application Instructions

Please submit a resume and a cover letter describing your interest and relevant experience for the role, along with contact information for two professional or academic references to our hiring portal (https://uncommonlaw.bamboohr.com/careers). Applicants who submit cover letters that are not tailored to the position or the organization will not be considered.

Please note that all correspondence in the hiring process will be through the BambooHR portal. Following the submission of your application, you should receive an automatic response (via email) thanking you for your application. If you do not receive this, please check your spam folder.

UCL is committed to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. UCL does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, or prior contact with the criminal justice system. We strongly encourage applications from people impacted by incarceration as well as from traditionally underrepresented communities.