Fall 2024 College Access and Career Readiness Intern

Please note that this is an unpaid position.

Job Description

Resettlement is at the heart of the IRC’s work with refugees. Services provided meet refugees’ basic needs for food, shelter and legal rights in the early, critical stages of the long-term resettlement process. All activities lay the foundation for clients to become self-sufficient and contribute positively to their new community. The High School Education Intern will assist the Youth Education department in supporting refugee and asylee students, and meet their college and career readiness goals. 

This is a hybrid position, with opportunities to be online and in-person. 

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is seeking a dedicated and compassionate intern to join our team as a College and Career Readiness Intern. In this role, you will work closely with our Youth Education Specialist to support the Leaders in Training (LIT) program. This is a college access and career readiness program that meets once a week, and it includes workshops that support students with college applications, resume building, and more. This program also includes educational and professional field trips. This internship provides an opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with refugee populations and to learn about the refugee experience as it pertains to education and English language development.

General Responsibilities:

• Assist in organizing and facilitating weekly LIT workshops

• The LIT program meets every Saturday at the IRC office from 2pm – 4pm. 
• The intern will assist in facilitating workshops and supporting students with activities.
• The intern will also support the Youth Education Specialist in proof-reading student work throughout the week to provide guidance to our students.
• The intern will also assist in organizing field trips and recruiting students.
• Track and document all activities related to youth education and tutoring in the appropriate internal database system.

The intern must:

• Complete and submit all trainings and professional development by deadline, as assigned.
• Uphold and promote policies and practices necessary to create a linguistically supportive, culturally responsive, trauma-informed learning environment.
• Uphold all IRC and program and child safeguarding policies and directives.
• Work and communicate with IRC staff and volunteers as needed.
• Complete assigned surveys and data tracking tasks, as assigned.
• Complete and submit a weekly timesheet on Salesforce platform to track and codify IRC volunteer hours.
• Additional related duties as assigned.

Learning Objectives:

• Facilitate college and career development workshops for students.
• Gain hands-on experience working with refugee populations.
• Acquire skills in tracking and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data related to refugee learning outcomes.
• Enhance cross-cultural communication skills and learn to navigate difficult conversations with clients from diverse backgrounds.
• Gain familiarity with the U.S. educational system and develop strategies for supporting refugee youth within it.

Commitment:

• Minimum of 15 hours and maximum of 24 hours per week for 16 weeks.
• Primary availability: Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
• Preference will be given to applicants able to make a multi-term commitment.
• Start date: September 24th, 2024
• End date: December 20th, 2024

Minimum Qualifications:

Qualifications:

• Current undergraduate or graduate student, or recent graduate.
• Experience or strong interest in working with refugee and immigrant communities.
• Punctuality, excellent time management skills, and a flexible schedule.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal abilities.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality regarding client information.
• Excellent organizational and leadership skills.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Office and administration experience is a plus, but training will be provided.
• Strong intercultural communication skills with demonstrated ability to work effectively with people from other cultural backgrounds.
• Fluency in written and spoken English required. Second language proficiency in relevant language highly desirable (including Arabic, Dari, Farsi, French, Fulani, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, Mandingo, Pashto, Russian, Spanish, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, Wolof)
• All offers are contingent on successfully passing background and criminal history checks as required by federal and state law or by IRC policy.