Fund Details
Tom and Andi Bernstein Fellowship for Public Service
Competition Type
Yale

Brief Description:

PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT the application for The Robert L. Bernstein Fellowship in International Human Rights. Applicants interested in the project-based Bernstein Fellowship must apply through the YLS Common Application, not this application. 

Fellowship Overview

Yale Law School is excited to offer the Tom and Andi Bernstein Fellowship for Public Service with the Partnership for Public Service. This fellowship is open to Yale Law School (YLS), Yale Jackson School, and Yale College students upon graduation, as well as YLS alumni up to three years after graduation. If selected, participants would commit to serving for one year, full-time with the Partnership for Public Service. Preference is given to Yale Law students.

Description:

Organization

The Partnership for Public Service is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to building a better government and a stronger democracy. We believe that our future and our democracy depend on our ability to solve big problems—and that we need an effective government to do so. For more than 20 years, we have helped make this vision a reality, helping our government— the public institution most fundamental to our democracy—address current and future challenges.

We are mission-driven, creative, collaborative, and optimistic. Our work is strategic, fast-paced and guided by our values:

  • Passion for public service and our work toward a more effective government.
  • People who promote a culture of learning, leadership, collaboration, and respect.
  • Persistence to drive change, take strategic risks and deliver results.
  • Promise to be trustworthy, nonpartisan and fiscally responsible.

We hire smart and friendly people who are great at what they do and good to one another in the process. We are committed to our mission – a mission that matters now more than ever.

Fellowship Overview

The Tom and Andi Bernstein Fellowship is open to 2025 graduates of Yale Law School, Yale College and Yale Jackson School.

The role of the fellow will vary depending on the individual’s interest and experience. Students and recent graduates from Yale Law School will focus on the Partnership’s policy agenda, while the portfolio for a recent undergraduate student will focus on program management and support.

  • For law school graduates, the fellowship provides an exciting opportunity to delve into current foundational legal issues, including important constitutional considerations, that are at the heart of how our federal government operates. Given the recent executive actions of the new administration, these are timely topics and the work of the fellow will help us educate and inform policymakers and stakeholders on the potential legal implications of various proposals.
  • For 2025 graduates of Yale College and Yale Jackson School, the fellowship will allow you to support our programs to develop strong leaders, engage government employees, strengthen government management systems and improve government-wide workforce-related challenges such as recruiting and hiring talent. The fellow will work with individual managers and the Programs team on a range of activities, which may include: direct program support and delivery, program operations, customer service, event logistics, stakeholder engagement and program evaluation.

Primary responsibilities may include:
  • Research and develop analysis, products and proposals related to the legal framework of the nonpartisan federal civil service, the legal ramifications of recent executive actions, and the processes for the vetting, nomination and Senate confirmation of presidential appointees.
  • Work with internal and external stakeholders to deliver customized programs; ensure seamless delivery while providing exceptional customer service to government participants.
  • Serve as a positive, energetic, knowledgeable representative of the Partnership and our programs when communicating with government employees, interacting with external audiences and while providing support to external facilitators during sessions.
  • Serve as the lead staff member overseeing one or more components of programs including event logistics, enrollment and other major program components.
  • Build and maintain productive working relationships with external stakeholders, including corporate partners, part-time facilitators and government leaders.
  • Exercise discretion and independent judgment in responding to customer needs and in overseeing specific program components.
  • Provide administrative support for external communications and/or information management within our customer relationship database (Salesforce).
  • Support the management of the budget and invoicing process.
  • Assist the Programs team – and the Partnership more generally – on all aspects of our work; candidates may also work on projects outside of the Programs team.
Fellows will gain experience and skills related to the federal civil service, administrative policy, and how these issues impact public service leaders in the government or the nonprofit sector. Fellows may help design and carry out projects that align with their personal and professional interests as long as they also align with the Partnership’s mission and needs, and they can also carry out special projects as assigned by and in collaboration with senior executives at the organization.

Key Competencies

  • Interest in public service and the mission of the Partnership for Public Service.   
  • Desire and ability to work in a nonpartisan fashion.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • Excellent attention to detail, quality and value.
  • Strong research capabilities and problem-solving skills.
  • Flexibility, a can-do attitude and willingness to pitch in. 
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment and to organize multiple and varied projects simultaneously.  
  • Ability to achieve results, both as a member of a team and individually

Required Education and Experience

  • [Yale Law School]: Must be a current 3L or LL.M. student at Yale Law School or have graduated from Yale Law School within the last three years, or
  • [Yale College and Yale Jackson School]: Must be a Yale College or Yale Jackson school senior graduating in spring 2025.
  • The fellow will be expected to be in Washington, D.C., for the one-year duration of the fellowship.
  • To start the fellowship, proof of successful graduation from the respective school’s registrar is obligatory.
  • US citizenship is required.

Work Environment

This job operates in a hybrid (remote + office) environment in Washington, DC, and requires the candidate to be a permanent resident in the Washington, DC, Maryland or Virginia area. Employees are required to work from the office, on average, two days per week. In assessing employee performance at the Partnership, we consider collaboration, results, and demonstration of our values.

This position requires consistent use of office equipment such as computer, telephone, printer and scanner.

The Partnership adheres to all federal, state and local employment laws.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time, one-year exempt position with regular work hours Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Occasional evening or weekend activities may be required as well. The Partnership allows flexibility in work schedules.

Travel

If travel occurs, it is usually during the business day. Very little out of the area and/or overnight travel will be required.

Salary and Benefits

The salary for this fellowship is $55,000. Benefits will be provided. Benefits include medical, dental and vision coverage; life insurance; long- and short-term disability insurance; a 401(k) program with a 4 percent employer match; opportunities for training and development; 15 days of annual leave per year, 10 days of sick leave per year, plus all federal holidays and the day after Thanksgiving off; and use of an on-site exercise facility.

Application Information:

Application Instructions

Interested candidates should complete the online application with the following information:
  1. Name, email and year of graduation or expected year of graduation.
  2. A personal statement of interest no longer than 1,000 words:
    (a) Describing your experiences with and commitment to public interest/public service, aspirations for future work, and the ways in which the fellowship will help achieve your aspirations/long-term goals;
    (b) Explaining why you wish to work at the Partnership for Public Service specifically.
  3. Two to three letters of recommendation, preferably including at least one from an employer or supervisor and one from an academic professor.
  4. An unofficial transcript.
  5. A resume.
  6. A writing sample of no more than 10 pages.

Questions


For further information:
Law students: please contact Norma D’Apolito, Director of Public Interest and Fellowships, at norma.dapolito@yale.edu.
MPP and Yale College students: please contact Elizabeth Gill, Assistant Dean for Career Development, at elizabeth.gill@yale.edu
Any interested applications are invited to reach out to Emily Holby, Senior Manager for Talent Acquisition and Human Resources at the Partnership for Public Service, at eholby@ourpublicservice.org

Contact Information:

For questions about this application, please contact Elizabeth Gill at elizabeth.gill@yale.edu

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