Mercy Corps is a humanitarian effort that works in over 40 countries. They strive to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. Mercy Corps has added several new opportunities for remote internships this summer.
All Summer 2021 opportunities have been posted. To access the past blog post with more information on Mercy Corps opportunities, click here.
Latest Postings
Resilience and Localization Intern | Apply by April 30
The Research and Learning team seeks an intern to provide coordination, administrative, and research support on three potential streams of work: Resilience and social networks/informal support networks; rural livelihoods; and localization. The intern’s work plan will be collaboratively determined based upon their area of interest and experience, and the Research and Learning team’s and Mercy Corps priorities.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Through the internship, the intern will acquire:
- Experience in program evaluation and research processes
- Experience with the development of research products (briefs, reports, analysis plans)
- Exposure to NGO/donor coordination
- Experience researching topics related to resilience, social networks/informal support networks, localization, and/or rural livelihoods
- Experience with internal coordination and external partnerships management
For more information and to apply for this opportunity, click here.
Safeguarding Intern | Apply by May 3
Mercy Corps’ safeguarding team is a key part of the People Team and Mercy Corps mandate to not harm while delivering aid and implementing our programs. The Safeguarding team is bolstered by a global network of focal points, investigators, and co-investigators working at the country and regional level to mainstream safeguarding and raise awareness about individual rights and responsibilities of our team member, participants, partners, volunteers, and many others who are a part of the critical work we do.
Mercy Corps has been expanding its work with key stakeholders in the humanitarian and development sector to prevent and improve response to safeguarding incidents. This internship will primarily support Mercy Corps’ efforts to strengthen our safeguarding work with external stakeholders, especially downstream partners and donors. Partners are essential counterparts to all the work that Mercy Corps carries out globally and Mercy Corps is responsible for ensuring that partners’ have the knowledge and capacity to incorporate safeguarding into their work. The intern will assist with efforts to monitor, advise on and improve the safeguarding systems, capacity, and awareness of our various partners, including Sub-recipients, partner organizations, contractors, outside experts, consultants, agents, representatives, and any other organization or individual that acts on Mercy Corps’ behalf or at Mercy Corps’ direction.
In addition to supporting our work with downstream partners, the intern will also assist with clearly articulating our safeguarding systems, approach, mechanisms, and key updates requested by our various donors. The intern will also help ensure Mercy Corps is informed of important safeguarding updates in the sector and help position the organization as a leader in safeguarding by carrying out research on trends, initiatives, and best practices, as well as participating in externally organized events, training and webinars. The intern will work closely with the Partnership Accountability Advisor, the wider safeguarding team, and other relevant stakeholders as needed to identify and respond to specific, prioritized requests for support.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- The candidate will have the opportunity to advance their skills in writing, research, guidance and tool development, organizational culture, project management, problem-solving, and time management.
- The intern will gain knowledge of safeguarding strategies, mechanisms, and systems, including best practices, approaches, and program models.
- The intern will gain exposure to many different workstreams, partners, and peer organizations working in the humanitarian and development sector.
- Finally, the intern may complete informational interviews with other Mercy Corps staff members working in his/her area(s) of interest, to increase his/her knowledge of Mercy Corps’ work in these areas.
- Additional learning objectives may be negotiated with the intern, depending on skills, interests, and program needs.
For more information and to apply for this opportunity, click here.
MicroMentor Business Outcomes Research Analyst Intern | Apply by May 3
MicroMentor is an initiative of Mercy Corps’ Innovations Team. At MicroMentor, our mission is to leverage the power of mentoring to help small businesses thrive. We do so by offering entrepreneurs direct access to a pool of committed professional volunteer mentors via an easy-to-use website, found at www.micromentor.org. MicroMentor has an expanding community making thousands of connections every year. Entrepreneurs matched with a mentor have shown significant results in terms of improved job creation, business survival, and revenue growth.
Key Activities
- Assist in the standardization of survey design, delivery, and analysis
- Responsible for report generation (Salesforce and MicroMentor platform) and data cleaning (Excel)
- Conduct data collection via email surveys, phone surveys, and SMS (test optimal methods of survey delivery)
- Share responsibility in coordinating data collection methods with a cross-cultural team (may include Portland HQ, Mexico City, Indonesia, Jordan, and MicroMentor customers)
- Compile and analyze survey data to yield credible and methodologically sound outcomes (may include some statistical analysis)
- Conduct in-depth interviews with MicroMentor members and stakeholders
- Identify success stories and compile qualitative data in a systematic and meaningful way
- Document the process and deliver a final written/visual report of business outcomes and recommendations for improvement to the team
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this assignment, the Intern will have learned…
- Standards of outcome measurement for the microenterprise sector
- Effective data collection techniques, including phone interviews, focus groups, text survey delivery, and online surveys
- How to conduct a time-bound and complex organizational impact study
- Techniques for translating both quantitative and qualitative data into a mission-focused narrative
- Best practices for communication and collaboration with multiple stakeholders
For more information and to apply, click here.
Global Programs Team Intern
The Global Programs Team supports the Mercy Corps mission and works with program impact, innovation and influence at its core. The Global Program Team reports to the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Programs and is composed of both headquarters and field-based teams. These teams are guided by our Mercy Corps Compass – the all-agency strategy – and work in close partnership with all other agency departments, to deliver the highest quality and impactful results in programs and initiatives. The SVP directs the areas of Program Strategy, Growth, Performance, and Quality to deliver the most effective, efficient use of program resources in all locations.
These global efforts are prioritized by teams working across units focused on Program Strategy and Leadership; Operations; Humanitarian Leadership and Response; Technical Leadership / New Initiatives; and Ventures / Innovations—as well as Regional and Country teams across the Mercy Corps world. The Global Program Leadership Team, led by the SVP, is accountable for the combined success of Programs overall and shares our adaptive thinking, entrepreneurial spirit, and community-focused solutions throughout the agency.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
The intern will gain skills and experience in donor resource management and grant management.
The intern will compile recommended external and internal tools and resources on key Mercy Corps Global (MCG) Institutional donors, such as the United States Agency for International Development, United States Department of State, United Nations, among others, to support donor engagement, proposal development, and program implementation. The intern will develop a general understanding of MCG Institutional Donors, including requirements for proposal development, intermittent and final reporting, and program closeout.
The intern will receive training on Mercy Corps’ Grant and Award Information Tracker (GAIT) as well as any other applicable resources and will utilize the platforms to source information about Mercy Corps’ current portfolio and historical experience with each institutional donor and associated bureaus. The intern will support program officers in updating grant and award information as needed. The intern will work with technical experts to draft guidance on the utilization of GAIT indicators.
The intern will gain experience in working with various department stakeholders to achieve a common goal.
The intern will participate in Mercy Corps’ United States Government Rules and Regulations Rules and Regulations Training. If the full training is not available, a modified Mini-Regs Training will be provided.
The intern will support Global Programs Department projects as needed.
Finally, the intern may conduct informational interviews with other Mercy Corps team members working in their area(s) of interest, to increase their knowledge of Mercy Corps’ work in these areas.
For more information and to apply, click here.
