About Movement in Refuge (MiR)
MiR is an international organisation promoting physical and mental health through sport and movement training to create safe, structured opportunities for conflict-affected communities. We started in the Rohingya refugee camps along the Bangladesh Myanmar border, home to one of the world’s largest refugee settlements, since 2024.
Our work is grounded in the conviction that sports and movement are beneficial to everyone and that people who have suffered enormous trauma and upheaval would greatly benefit from healthy movement, play and sport.
Together with our Bangladeshi partner NGO Sports for Hope and Independence (SHI), we deliver safe, dynamic and consistent coaching for women and girls, separately, for men and boys. Our trainers come from Bangladeshi Universities with degrees in physical education and sports science. They train refugees we refer to as community-based coaches, who are from and live in the refugee camps. Our planned academic partnerships with the University of Edinburgh, Leeds Beckett University, i-coach kids, will anchor our practice in research, and our growing connections across the UN system mean our work is scaling. We are at a pivotal moment and need your support to achieve our potential.
While MiR has focused on refugee communities to date, we are also expanding to support the Bangladeshi host communities that have generously hosted the refugee population, including new coastal and chess projects in Sonarpara and a project called Waves of Movement.
The Role
This internship area covers the research and resourcing work that underpins MiR’s growth: securing funding, building MiR’s future pipeline of supporters, and generating the evidence base that grounds our programmes and proposals in rigour. As a Fundraising and Research Intern, you will choose the track that matches your background, and work closely with MiR leadership on live funding and evidence priorities.
Tracks Available
- Fundraising: Researches grant opportunities, supports proposal and donor-report drafting, and helps build MiR’s donor database and fundraising pipeline.
- Global University Outreach: Uses your own university network to recruit future interns, advocates and event partners, building MiR’s presence within student societies, sports clubs and academic departments.
- Host Community Research: Conducts literature reviews and data collection on the Bangladeshi host communities of Cox’s Bazar (including the Sonarpara KAP study), producing evidence that strengthens MiR’s host-community programming and proposals.
- Refugee Research: Conducts literature reviews and evidence synthesis on psychosocial wellbeing, gender-based violence and sport-for-development in displacement settings, directly supporting MiR’s position paper and funding proposals.
Key Responsibilities
Fundraising
- Research and identify relevant grant opportunities from trusts, foundations, governments and international bodies.
- Support drafting and editing of grant applications, funding proposals and donor reports.
- Maintain and develop MiR’s donor database and funding pipeline tracker.
- Research prospective individual donors, corporate partners and sponsorship opportunities; support fundraising campaigns and events.
Global University Outreach
- Leverage your university networks to recruit students to MiR’s internship and volunteer programme.
- Identify and reach out to relevant student societies, sports clubs, departments and networks.
- Represent MiR at university events and promote MiR through flyers, social media and peer-to-peer outreach.
Host Community Research
- Conduct literature reviews on host community dynamics, social cohesion, economic impact and sport-for-development.
- Support data management for the Sonarpara KAP study in line with MiR’s safeguarding and data protection protocols.
- Design data collection tools (surveys, interviews, assessments) and analyse findings for internal and external audiences.
Refugee Research
- Conduct literature reviews on psychosocial wellbeing, mental health, gender-based violence, and sport-for-development in displacement contexts.
- Develop research proposals identifying research questions, methodologies and potential academic partners.
- Contribute to funding proposals and grant applications, grounding them in evidence and relevant literature.
Across all four tracks, interns also research funding opportunities relevant to their area and support the preparation of donor reports and impact assessments where appropriate.
Time Commitment
5–20 hours per week, over a minimum of 4 months. This is primarily a remote, unpaid internship, flexible around academic commitments. For the Host Community Research and Refugee Research tracks, a field visit to Cox’s Bazar is strongly recommended and actively supported by MiR.
What You Will Gain
Being part of the MiR internship programme means joining a lean, fast-moving international development organisation at a pivotal moment in its growth. You will gain:
- Direct experience of the full grant cycle, or the full research cycle (literature review, data collection design, analysis and write-up), in a live international context.
- A portfolio of written outputs, proposals, reports, or research, demonstrating concrete professional experience.
- For research tracks: a possible field visit to Cox’s Bazar, a rare and formative experience.
- A formal reference letter from MiR leadership on successful completion.
- Access to MiR’s growing network of academic, UN, and civil society partners.
- Mentorship from practitioners with decades of field experience across the UN system and international NGOs.
How You Will Be Supported
MiR is small but structured. Every intern is assigned a direct point of contact within our team who will oversee your work and provide regular feedback. You will receive a structured induction covering MiR’s mission, values, safeguarding framework, and current priorities. We hold regular team check-ins and will not leave you to figure things out alone.
We take your development seriously. We want you to leave with more skills, more confidence, and a clearer understanding of how impactful organisations communicate in complex environments, and how humanitarian organisations respond to large scale disasters and migration crises.
Eligibility
You have a genuine interest in MiR’s mission and strong research or writing skills, with a specific fit to your chosen track:
- Fundraising: a background in international development, business, law, public policy or social sciences is an advantage; prior grant-writing experience is welcome but not required.
- Global University Outreach: any discipline welcome; experience with student societies, outreach or event organising is an advantage.
- Host Community Research: a background in economics, international development or public health, with strong analytical writing skills.
- Refugee Research: a background in psychology, public health or gender equity studies, with strong academic writing skills.
Please indicate clearly on the application form which track you are applying for.
How to apply
Fill out the form on the link to apply:Â https://forms.gle/hSvTVbHLYPPUALYK7
Please specify which track (Fundraising, Global University Outreach, Host Community Research, or Refugee Research) you are applying for.