Expat Program Management Intern At Mercy Hands for Humanitarian Aid

Introduction

In late 2020 Mercy Hands started an internship program for expats, called Program Management Internship Program. Through the program, Mercy Hands matched skilled expats who have limited field experience to program managers who have tremendous field experience but limited program management skills. It was an all win situation with the biggest winner were the people we serve. Here is a testimony of two of the first group of expat interns: https://youtu.be/VPB-uDzxXGon

Following 4 years of successful implementation of the expat internship program, this year Mercy Hands is expanding the program to place more expat interns within Mercy Hands as well as other civil society organizations (CSOs) in Iraq.

Mercy Hands has developed a database of CSOs operating in Iraq that are interested in recruiting expat interns. Mercy Hands will interview the candidate interns and then upon passing the first interview, Mercy Hands will share with the candidate the list of CSOs that match her/ his interests. If there will be a mutual interest, Mercy Hands will facilitate a second interview between the candidate intern and the CSO to negotiate terms of the internship.

While the terms and conditions of the internships will vary, all internships will have the following terms:

• The duration of the internship is 6 months, renewable.
• Paid internship.
• This is an in-person internship. The intern will be based inside Iraq.
• Mercy Hands will arrange for visa and residency, as well as affordable lodging and health insurance. The fees will be shared between the intern and the hosting CSO.

Note: Due to governmental visa constraints, only candidates from United Kingdom, European Union countries, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, China, and Russia can apply.

Intern Duties

The Intern will provide programmatic support to the Program Manager. The Intern’s activities may include the following:

• Support in the managing of internal and external communications, including preparation of program updates, social media posts, and success stories;
• Support on implementing and improving project management systems and mechanisms;
• Review and edit grant supporting documents and reports;
• Design and implement community needs assessments related to their program;
• Support preparation for execution of meetings including scheduling and taking/distributing minutes.

Qualifications

• Education: A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in International Affairs, Global or International Studies, Non-Profit Management, or other relevant field
• Demonstrated interest in humanitarian and development contexts and refugees and/or Middle East region
• Ability to work at least 35 hours/week;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Computer skills: Should be proficient in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint; experience with Microsoft Teams or similar team coordination/communication technology (such as Zoom) a plus;
• Basic fluency with budgets and financial records a plus;
• Candidates with some Arabic language knowledge a plus;
• Experience: Experience working across diverse cultural contexts; some experience managing projects preferred.