Intern At Abundant Water

About Abundant Water

Abundant Water is a Canberra-based NGO delivering health and hygiene benefits by using the power of social business to design and develop sustainable and scalable clean drinking water projects. We empower individuals and communities to secure their own sustainable access to safe water. Working in remote rural areas in Laos and Timor-Leste, we train local potters and vendors to launch scalable micro-businesses as part of our social business model, ensuring their communities have a supply of clean water into the future.

Abundant Water was founded in 2008 by Sunny Forsyth, who when working as an Australian Government Youth Ambassador in Laos, witnessed first-hand the lack of safe drinking water in rural communities. Working with the Australian National University he developed innovative low-cost clay-pottery filters that remove over 95% of the pathogens in water. Our simple water filters are made using traditional techniques, from locally sourced organic materials. They have the ability to eliminate water-borne illnesses such as dysentary, gastro-enteritis, cholera, and typhoid that are endemic to many rural villages.

To learn more about Abundant Water visit www.abundantwater.org, or follow us on Facebook facebook.com/AbundantH20 or Instagram @abundant_water

About the Role

The Abundant Water internship program is designed to directly involve interns in the implementation of our projects on the ground. Your support will increase the capacity of Abundant Water to effectively deliver our work and support communities in Laos.

You’ll be supervised directly by the Abundant Water Program Manager and work closely with both Laos staff and our project partners. If you’re interested in sustainable development, have an entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to throw yourself into new environments and challenges, we’d love to hear from you!

Interns have a broad range of responsibilities and you can expect to gain experience in the following areas:

• Technical: supporting filter production, development of quality control tools and protocols, filter testing, data analysis and database upkeep
• Programme Development: developing tools to support vendors and analyse customer satisfaction
• Monitoring and Evaluation: development of tools, databases, protocols, data analysis, report writing
• Communication: writing blogs, using social media, case studies and reports
• Logistics: procurement of materials and administrative support

Interns will work closely with the Program Manager to develop a customised work plan that meets both organisational needs and personal and professional development objectives.

Some logistics:

• The internship is based in Vientiane, Laos PDR
• Interns work standard business hours, Monday-Saturday
• Internships last for a minimum of four months, with an ideal length of six months
• Accommodation is provided and interns cover all other expenses
• Interns are responsible for organising their own insurance before arrival in Laos
• A full induction pack is provided before arriving in Laos with all the information needed to get set up – and our friendly Program Manager and Canberra-based staff are always available to answer any questions you may have

About You

The successful candidate will demonstrate most or all of the following skills and attributes:

• Understand and commit to the values of Abundant Water
• Work effectively as part of a team
• Show initiative and personal drive
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Programme development and implementation experience (not essential but highly desirable)
• Monitoring and evaluation experience (not essential but highly desirable)
• Understanding of issues around water quality (not essential but highly desirable)
• Experience working with NGOs, Not-For-Profits, the international development sector or in developing countries
• Qualifications in international development, WASH or program management
• Willingness to immerse themselves in the experience (e.g. learning the Laos language and how to ride a motorbike)