Refugee Barrier Reduction Intern (Fall 2026)

About the role

The IRC responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping refugees become economically self-sufficient and supporting their acclimatization within the United States. This role supports the IRC’s economic empowerment program by assisting clients in completing and submitting applications to reduce barriers to employment.

Responsibilities

• Support clients in the completion and submission of various applications to assist the reduction of barriers to employment in the United States (e.g., childcare voucher applications, LifeLine phone applications).
• Conduct training on public transportation, childcare options, digital literacy, job readiness, and understanding public benefits to reduce barriers to employment.
• Participate in supporting clients in Job Application Hours to understand the process of applying for jobs in the United States and submit needed employment applications to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
• Cookordinate with economic empowerment service teams to support clients over the course of their service provision at the IRC in issues of barrier reduction.
• Engage respectfully with all clients regardless of background.
• Facilitate and conduct client outings (contingent upon office status) to financial institutions, libraries and various other venues to support client engagement with needed resources.

Qualifications

• Self-motivated and able to work independently.
• Excellent communication and writing skills, including cross-cultural communication skills.
• Works well in a fast-paced environment and adapts quickly to change.
• Strong interest in refugee and asylee issues.
• Language skills in Spanish, Amharic, Dari, Pashto, Haitian-Creole, French, Kinyarwanda or Swahili are a plus.

Learning Objectives

• Gain insights into IRC casework and workforce programs and the process of refugee and asylee integration within the United States.
• Learn to communicate effectively with clients across cultures and with interpreters.
• Learn individual coaching techniques to engage and empower adults.

Requirements

• Three-month minimum.
• Required 24 hours/week.
• PREFERRED: Full-time.
• Preference to current students and recent graduates.

Benefits

• Medical insurance starting at $163 per month.
• Dental starting at $6.50 per month.
• Vision starting at $5 per month.
• FSA for healthcare and commuter costs.
• A 403b retirement savings plan with immediately vested matching.
• Disability & life insurance.
• An Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

Pay

Unpaid.

Schedule

Minimum commitment of 24 hours per week. Ability to work in-person at the Silver Spring office and at a minimum of 15 hours per week is required.