Refugee Economic Empowerment Intern - Summer 2025

International Rescue Committee
United States, Maryland, Silver Spring
8737 Colesville Road (Show on map)
Mar 27, 2025
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future. Background:The International Rescue Committee(IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Atwork in over 40 countries and 28U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope, the IRC leads the way from harm to home. Domestically, our 28offices across the U.S. ensure new arrivals have food, shelter, and clothing, and work with refugees to help them gain self-sufficiency. Scope of Work:The Economic Empowerment program assists refugees to become economically self-sufficient by placinghumanitarian immigrants in entry level work in the United States. The goal of the program is to help clients reduce barriers to self-sufficiency and employment and assist clients in securing full-time jobs. The intern will work directly under the supervision of one of the employment specialists. Responsibilities: Assess new clients by creating their individual initial employment plan. Create individualized resumes and cover letters, assist with finding job leads, and complete job applications with clients. Strategically research potential employer partners and conduct outreach. Regularly track service provision through electronic data entry and organize required client documentation. Manage distribution and tracking of in-kind donations to clients. Other duties assigned by the employment team. Learning Objectives: Intern will gain experience in conducting employment assessments Intern will gain insight into immigrant workforce programs. Intern will learn how to communicate effectively in a global environment including by utilizing interpreters. Intern will acquire knowledge of programs and public benefits available to humanitarian immigrants. Intern will learn how to effectively create resumes and job search for clients. Intern will gain skills in strategic research and outreach strategies. Intern will learn reporting requirements for resettlement agencies and how capturing this data improves services. Minimum Qualifications: Current undergraduate, graduate student or less than 12 months out of school. * Strong digital literacy skills and the ability to learn new software and tasks. Organized and attentive to detail. Ability to work independently and multi-task. Strong verbal and written communication skills. Works well in a fast-paced environment and adapts quickly to change. Interest in working with refugee and humanitarian populations. Fluency in Dari, Pashto, Spanish, Kiswahili, Kinyarwanda, Tigrinya, Amharic or other languages frequently spoken by the client base is a plus. Access to an insured vehicle preferred, but not required. TO APPLY ClickApply Nowat the top of this page. Please attach a resume, cover letter and list of (at least) three references to your application.The deadline to apply isMay 23rd, 2025. This position is for Summer 2025 and requires a minimum commitment of 3 months and at least 15-30 hours per week. Ability to work at least one day in-person required. Summer 2025 Interns are expected to begin their internship term by attending an in-person intern orientation on June 9th, 2025 from 9:15AM-3:30PM. We currently offer internships during the following semesters: Spring: January - May Summer: June- August Fall:September- December Internships are typically posted 2-3 months prior to the anticipated start date. Note: Internships with the IRC in Silver Spring are unpaid. Summer 2025 interns may be eligible for per diem reimbursement at the rate of $15/day to offset the costs of food and travel.For information on scholarship opportunities, contact your university or the IRC in Silver Spring Community Engagement Specialist at Raina.Walker@Rescue.org. Candidates applying who are not currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, or are outside 12 months of their graduation are welcome to apply. These candidates will be processed as volunteers. To protect our clients, the IRC requires all selected applicants to complete background checks. We ask that you make a $30 donation to help us cover the associated costs. Currently, 87% of our funding goes directly to programming to support our clients, and your help to cover this cost will ensure that no funding is directed away from serving our clients. Instructions will be provided after you have been selected to intern or volunteer. IRC leading the way from harm to home.* IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. If you need assistance in the application or hiring process to accommodate a disability, you may request an accommodation at any time. Please contact Talent Acquisitions at IRC.Recruitment@rescue.org. As required by law, the IRC will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with a known disability. Standard of Professional Conduct:The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way - our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.