Definitions of Position Types

There are five overarching types of positions available with The Goodis Center:

• Employment
• Volunteering
• Unpaid interning
• Paid interning
• Fellowship

There are special conditions separating these five categories.

Employees are staff members of The Goodis Center who are paid for their services. They are employed to work either part-time or full-time from anywhere in the world. Employees must be authorized to work and receive wages in New York State and the United States of America. Wages and salaries are determined by experience, duties, and relevant employment laws. The Goodis Center is not currently hiring employees.

Volunteers are anyone and everyone who volunteer their time, energy, efforts, and expertise to support our programs. Volunteers range from individuals who help us one time at an event to set up tables or clean up afterwards, to individuals who consistently help The Goodis Center with programs and projects. Volunteers may offer general support such as labor at events, posting flyers or petitioning in their communities, or even blogging about relevant news and Goodis Center events and efforts. Some volunteers may even offer specialized and technical support, such as contributors to our Journal for Human Advancement, or any volunteer who helps with our website design and functioning, advertising, marketing, copy-editing, or other essential functions. Volunteers provide their support at their leisure. Volunteers are not compensated for their time or work, but may receive recognition, free materials such as issues of our Journal, and vouchers or certificates confirming the amount of time they have contributed while volunteering. While The Goodis Center is not currently registered as a non-profit (see our legal disclaimers page), some academic institutions will accept volunteer hours with The Goodis Center towards community service requirements.

Unpaid interns are generally students whose skills and interests would complement the programs and efforts of The Goodis Center. Unpaid interns may be eligible to receive academic credit for their internships; academic credit requirements must be verified with the student's institution prior to starting an internship. Supervision and mentoring for interns will be coordinated on an individual basis. Interns will be closely supervised and trained as-needed. Most internship positions are intended to be research-intensive, though some interns may work on non-research projects. (Also see paid interns below).

Paid interns may fulfill any of the tasks described above under unpaid interns and may even qualify for academic credit; however, paid interns will receive at least minimum wage. Like employees, paid interns must be eligible to work in New York State and the USA; however, they do not necessarily need to be physically present to complete their internship. Unlike employees, paid and unpaid interns will not work full-time. Internships are only offered part-time, and may last any duration with a minimum of one month. Some intern positions can be completed electronically from anywhere in the world, so long as the intern has reliable access to high-speed internet.

Fellowships are designed for recent graduates (no more than two years since graduation) of higher education institutions - undergraduate or higher - with demonstrated skill and interest in human rights research. Robert Goodis Foundation Fellows receive grants and/or stipends to enable them to complete research in areas of interest to both the fellow and the Foundation. As funding becomes available, the Robert Goodis Foundation will seek fellows at the undergraduate level, as well as at the graduate level in any relevant law, master's, or doctoral program. Fellows will work full-time for one year to complete an intensive research project. Fellows may also be asked to assist with other Robert Goodis Foundation efforts during their yearlong fellowship. Fellows, like employees and paid interns, must be eligible to work and reside in New York State and the USA. Pending funding, fellowship programs are temporarily suspended and will not be accepting applications until further notice.

Volunteer and unpaid intern applicants can receive training in human rights, along with a wide variety of software training, management and marketing training, et cetera. Applicants for employment, fellowship, and paid internships should have a strong background in human rights and complementary specialized skills.

All employees, volunteers, interns, and fellows will be involved in a variety of programs and projects operated by The Goodis Center for Research and Reform, LLC.

For more information on our programs and projects, follow the links in the navigation panel on the left of this page.