Internship – Partnerships Officer

IIRR is one of the world’s leading rural development NGOs. Founded in 1960, IIRR’s programs have impacted more than 62 million rural lives across five continents. The organization’s programs address the health, education, and environmental conditions of rural communities and prioritizes the delivery of sustainable and scalable solutions that empower people to improve their lives and livelihoods. IIRR maintains offices in Africa, Asia, and North America.

IIRR is looking for intelligent, strategic, and resourceful thinkers to help the organization expand and strengthen its partnership efforts with foundations, corporations, and other implementation collaborators. Partnerships Officer Interns will work under the direction of the Director of Global Operations.

This is an unpaid internship but available for class credits. We have two internship models:

(i) full-time – requires a 5 days (40 hours) a week commitment of 3 months

(ii) part-time – required 3 to 4 days (20 hours) a week commitment of 6 months.

Please note that internship hours must be scheduled during regular New York/East Coast business hours.

Your Role

Responsibilities may include one or more of the following:

• Lead the identification, mapping, and profiling of potential partners, including NGOs, community-based organizations, private sector actors, academic institutions, and government agencies
• Assist in researching donor priorities, partner capacities, and sector trends to inform partnership opportunities
• Develop concept notes, fact sheets, and other informational materials about IIRR and its projects and programs for potential donors
• Maintain and update the partnership database, contact lists, and related documentation
• Track partnership deliverables, reporting deadlines, and key performance indicators, flagging any issues to be addressed
• Maintain good working relationships with partners through timely responses, professional correspondence, and follow-up
• Monitor partner communications channels (newsletters, social media, press releases) to identify updates, opportunities, or risks
• Perform other duties as needed to support the partnership, fundraising, and program teams

 Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in any discipline (completed prior to internship start date)
• Well-organized, reliable, and self-motivated
• Helpful and responsive (e.g., when dealing with ad-hoc requests for providing support)
• Resourceful, creative, who enjoys problem-solving
• Impeccable writing skills with meticulous attention to detail and organizational skills
• Curiosity, creativity, and fearlessness in contributing new and bold ideas
• Exceptional interpersonal skills
• Ability to meet deadlines and effectively multi-task
• A willingness to fail fast and forward while respecting and valuing input from a global and diverse team
• Ability and willingness to work in a startup culture that may require fluidity in roles from week to week
• Intermediate experience with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Applications
• Responsive to manager’s feedback, ability to take direction and execute work independently with minimal oversight in a remote working environment
• Passionate about making a positive difference