Internships and Volunteerships: Humanitarian Knowledge Management At Shelter Centre

This volunteership or internship is designed to involve participants in developing strategies and content on Shelter Centre’s online Humanitarian Library www.humanitarianlibrary.org, initially funded by USAID. The role will also include exploration of humanitarian innovation approaches, such as Artificial Intelligence (Small Language Models within NLP) linked to the Humanitarian Library. Additional responsibilities may include collaborating on various practical projects.

Background

Founded in 2004, Shelter Centre is a Swiss humanitarian NGO dedicated to supporting organisations involved in providing shelter to populations affected by conflict and natural disasters. Shelter Centre emphasises collaboration, consensus, and capacity-building but does not directly implement operations. Shelter Centre also runs the Humanitarian Library which is a knowledge management platform bringing together multi-sectoral strategic guidelines and technical training for field use, always involving broad consensus within the humanitarian community.

Volunteership and Internship Description and Requirements

Role and Objectives

The volunteership and internship is designed to involve participants developing strategies and content for Shelter Centre’s online Humanitarian Library www.humanitarianlibrary.org, initially funded by USAID. The role will also include exploration of humanitarian innovation approaches, such as Artificial Intelligence (Small Language Models within NLP) linked to the Humanitarian Library. Additional responsibilities may include collaborating on various practical projects.

Following Swiss employment law, we are able to offer two opportunities, for volunteers and interns, who will both receive the same mentoring support.

Volunteer Opportunities

Shelter Centre invites young professionals with diverse skills to remotely contribute to humanitarian activities within a dynamic and global team. Both full-time and part-time volunteer positions are available. Due to team collaboration requirements and varying time zones, a consistent schedule is essential for arranging meetings and ensuring effective project coordination.

Internship Opportunities

Shelter Centre invites young professionals with diverse skills to remotely contribute to humanitarian activities within a dynamic and global team. Both full-time and part-time internship positions are available. Due to team collaboration requirements and varying time zones, a consistent schedule is essential for arranging meetings and ensuring effective project coordination.

Candidates must be currently enrolled in a university and capable of obtaining a tripartite agreement with their institution, either as part of their curriculum (intra-curricular) or outside their curriculum (extra-curricular). Internships that are part of the curriculum and aimed at earning academic credits will be given priority.

Main Responsibilities and Tasks

Informed by preliminary feedback, the volunteer and or intern will contribute to the success of humanitarian knowledge management. This may involve activities including, but not limited to:

• Produce publications, marketing materials, and social media content.
• Manage social media platforms and assist with database management.
• Support the continuous improvement of the organization’s website.
• Attending meetings and workshops with government, international organizations, and NGOs.
• Data and document management.
• Collaborating on report writing.
• Perform translation and proofreading tasks.
• Assisting with other projects and activities as needed.

Education, Skills, and Experience

Required:

• Commitment to humanitarian action.
• Strong self-motivation and self-discipline.
• Excellent research and writing skills.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation.
• Strong organizational skills and experience in project management.
• Proven ability to work effectively in diverse teams.
• Fluent in spoken and written English (minimum Level C1 proficiency).
• General computer literacy, including Microsoft Office and Google Drive.

Desired:

• University degree involving structured research, preferably in innovation, software development, communication, or graphic design (not mandatory).
• Knowledge of innovation and database management.
• Experience with Adobe products (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Canva).
• Experience with communication and social media platforms (MailChimp, Eventbrite, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram).
• Fluency in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, or other languages.

Volunteer Benefits

Volunteers and interns are fundamental to Shelter Centre’s work and receive weekly personal development opportunities, including mentoring sessions and career guidance. Additionally, volunteers and interns will receive a certificate of completion and recommendation letters upon successful completion. They will also have opportunities to network with professionals in International Geneva and benefit from weekly one-on-one career development meetings.

Conditions

• Availability: Full-time (35 hours/week) or part-time (20 hours/week) fully-remote positions, with flexible scheduling to accommodate different time zones. The volunteership and internship is unpaid and requires a minimum commitment of three months and a maximum of six months. Preference is given to full-time applicants.
• Location: Fully remote. Applicants must hold or obtain a valid permit allowing them to reside and undertake the volunteership or internship where they are located.
• Development: Shelter Centre, with over a decade of experience in remote collaboration, provides a structured and supportive environment for volunteers and interns.

Successful candidates will bear their own insurance, accommodation and living costs. Travel is not required.