Mellon Foundation
Content Apprentice Communications
The Mellon Foundation (“Foundation”) is a not-for-profit, grant making organization that believes the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom to be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. The Foundation makes grants in four core program areas—Higher Learning, Arts and Culture, Public Knowledge, and Humanities in Place—and through its signature Presidential Initiatives. The Foundation seeks a Content Apprentice for our Communications team.
Team/ Program Overview:
The Mellon Foundation's team of communications professionals is responsible for building and stewarding the Foundation brand, telling its story, and driving outreach and engagement efforts both internally and externally. Our work strives to:
- Build broad brand affinity and connection with the Mellon Foundation's work
- Encourage appreciation, understanding of, and engagement with the work of our grantees
- Broadly advocate for the centrality of the arts and humanities in culture
Position Summary:
Reporting to the Senior Producer, the Content Apprentice will participate in a highly collaborative, one-year apprenticeship supporting the content team—a division of Mellon’s broader Communications department—by providing a wide range of administrative, organizational, editorial, and research support. This is an opportunity for the apprentice to expand their communications, storytelling, and digital storytelling skills by immersing in the story development process—from pitch to execution, publishing and distribution, and measurement and analysis—with a fun and energetic team that is committed to the values reflected in our mission statement.
The apprentice will work independently and with the team to support the development and execution of digital campaigns and other ongoing content projects, including managing aspects of the digital newsletter, sourcing and organizing digital assets, writing and proofreading copy, assisting with video and documentary projects, monitoring relevant social listening topics, and helping generate story ideas in accordance with an editorial calendar.
This is a 12-month, full-time position with a start date of early June 2026.
Position Description:
Responsibilities may include, but will not be limited to the following:
- Assist with drafting, editing, and sourcing/licensing a variety of multimedia content including character-led grant stories, social media posts, videos, and other materials.
- Assist with curating content and drafting copy for Mellon digital newsletters.
- Conduct secondary research, compile data, and create project briefs concerning existing grantees, as well as arts and humanities more broadly; create research briefs to support story development.
- Support social media efforts and campaigns through social listening, grantee research, image sourcing, and data reporting, among other tasks as needed.
- Help conceive, pitch, create, and edit original content ideas for Mellon’s digital channels.
- Assist with tagging and managing assets within Mellon’s digital asset management system.
- Support the promotion and execution of virtual events as needed.
- Help maintain an organized system of tracking, monitoring, and prioritizing tasks using the Foundation’s primary project management tools: Monday.com and Box.com.
- Handle confidential and non-routine information with sensitivity.
- Perform other duties related to content projects as needs arise.
Qualifications:
Required:
- On track to complete an undergraduate or graduate degree program in spring 2026, or: within several years of graduation.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, with an interest in thinking about content and storytelling from both a strategic and creative perspective.
- Strong interest in arts, humanities, and the Mellon mission, as well as learning about internal and external communications in a nonprofit setting.
- Experience or interest in news, documentary, or commercial video production.
- Interest in developing hands-on experience with social media management and newsletter management.
- Strong copywriting skills that span email, social media, and longform article writing.
- Flexible, highly organized, and able to juggle multiple and competing tasks with exceptional follow-up and attention to detail.
- High level of interpersonal skills and discretion to handle sensitive and confidential situations.
- Ability to be highly productive working independently and as a member of a team.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel.
- Work history that demonstrates an ability to anticipate next steps, take initiative, exercise discretion, and apply sound judgment.
Preferred:
- Proficiency with video editing in Adobe Premiere.
- Experience video shooting with DSLR cameras and with sound recording.
- Familiarity with Monday.com, Contentful, Mailchimp, Sprout Social, Figma, and/or Google Analytics.
- Experience with article writing and/or published writing clips, especially on topics of arts, culture, and the humanities, as well as general news.
- Experience with content curation or content distribution (i.e. electronic newsletter management or social media posting).
The Mellon Foundation is committed to building an inclusive workplace where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. Employment opportunities are based on individual qualifications, merit, and organizational need, without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We welcome applications from qualified individuals of all backgrounds.
Mellon is committed to access and inclusion for our applicants. If you have accessibility requests to support your participation in the hiring process, please let us know at your earliest convenience.
Mellon offers a generous total reward package that includes base salary and a comprehensive benefits program, including Mellon-funded healthcare plans and retirement contributions, as well as an excellent working environment. Mellon is committed to providing compensation that is competitive and equitable within the philanthropic sector. The estimated hourly salary range for this role is $27 - $30. The amount of pay offered will be determined by several factors, including but not limited to qualifications, unique skills, credentials, or experience that is expected to impact the candidate’s contribution to the role. We will also consider market data as well as the Foundation’s internal pay equity framework.
Please note that Mellon maintains a hybrid work schedule, with three days per week in person at the Foundation’s Manhattan offices.
Candidates should apply by submitting a cover letter describing fit for the position and a resume by March 16th. We want to hear about your interest in your own words; accordingly, we ask that all candidates refrain from using artificial intelligence to produce application materials. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.
The Foundation will consider each complete application carefully but only contact those individuals it believes are most qualified for the position.
