Internships at IGLHRC
General Information and Requirements
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission is currently seeking applicants for full and part-time internship positions at its New York City, USA headquarters and its Johannesburg, South Africa office. Interns are typically exposed to the day-to-day operations of nonprofit work as well as substantive, project-oriented assignments. Interns will actively participate in organization meetings as well as individual meetings with their supervisor. Both undergraduates and graduates with an interest and passion for human rights, LGBT issues, and gender equality are strongly encouraged to apply. Ideal candidates are undergraduate or graduate students with a demonstrated academic and/or extracurricular interest in social justice, human rights, and/or LGBT issues with strong writing abilities. Applications for independent research projects outside of the New York area will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Time Commitments
- Spring Internships: January—May
- Summer Internships: June—August
- Fall Internships: September—December
- Full-time Positions: 40 hrs. per week
- Part-time Positions: 12-16 hrs. per week
Types of Internships Available
Communications:
Communications & Research interns gain hands-on experience in non-profit communications and programmatic work, including media relations, message development, publication and media outlet monitoring, website development, editing and translation. Responsibilities vary according to departmental needs but may include: monitoring news outlets; editing web communications, and reports; maintaining the press contact database; translating documents from French or Spanish into English; social media-related activities; or planning events.
Additionally, depending on interest and ability, the intern will gain experience in programmatic work including general research assignments on various human rights topics; drafting short research papers or correspondence; and accompanying staff to meetings with activists or governments at the United Nations. Individuals with a particular interest in non-profit communications as well as individuals with spoken or written proficiency in multiple languages are encouraged to apply. Communications Internships are all based in New York City.
Proficiency in Spanish or French is desired but not required.
Development:
Interns in the Development Department work in a fast-paced environment and are exposed to a range of strategies used to support a non-profit organization, including foundation and grant proposals, corporate and organizational sponsorship, individual donor solicitation, special event planning and product sales. Responsibilities may include: conducting research, tracking findings, and developing a strategy related to prospective funding sources, including foundations, corporations and major donors; monitoring marketing and fundraising trends within the fields of LGBT advocacy and international human rights; helping to plan and organize several fundraising events, including at least one house party and a large annual awards ceremony; providing assistance with donor management. Development Internships are all based in New York City.
Program (Asia, Middle East & North Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, and Africa):
Program interns gain hands-on experience in research and data collection for use in advocacy related to human rights violations affecting LGBT communities around the world. Responsibilities may include general research assignments on various human rights topics and drafting short research papers from a human rights perspective on topics such as: country conditions (on treatment of LGBT individuals and organizations); freedom of assembly, association, expression (as related to sexual orientation and gender identity); and gender/transgender issues. Responsibilities may also include drafting correspondence and administrative support. Internships for Asia, Middle East & North Africa, and Latin America & the Caribbean will be based out of the New York office; internships for the Africa program would be based out of our office in Johannesburg. Due to limited resources, interns hired for work in our Johannesburg office must be able to secure their own funding for transportation and accommodation.
Special Skills
Proficiency in Arabic, Farsi or Turkish is desired from applicants for internships with the Middle East & North Africa program.
Proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese is desired from applicants for internships with the Latin America & Caribbean program.
How to Apply
We have a rolling review policy until our internship positions are filled, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
To apply to for any internship, please e-mail a cover letter, resume and writing sample (no more than 5 pages) as separate MS Word or PDF attachments to jobs@iglhrc.org, and indicate the type of internship desired in the subject line (e.g. Development Internship). If you are applying for an internship with one of IGLHRC’s programs, please indicate which program you are interested in working for in your cover letter.
Unfortunately, given the large number of applications and inquiries, we are not able to personally respond to each inquiry. IGLHRC will contact those individuals we are interested in interviewing further.