Refugee Walk-In Service Intern (Spring 2027)

About the role

The Walk-In Services team is the first point of contact for the nearly 2,000 new walk-in clients who visit the IRC in Silver Spring each year. The team works directly with humanitarian immigrants of varying statuses resettling in the DC Metro area to ensure that they have timely access to both internal and external programming and benefits. This service opportunity will be trained and supervised by an Intake Specialist or the Intake Coordinator.

Responsibilities

• Conduct in-person screenings to assess clients for their eligibility for referral to internal IRC programming, including casework, employment, and immigration services & for external public benefits and resources.
• Complete program enrollment forms with clients to inform them of their rights and responsibilities & ensure all required client documentation is scanned and electronically on file.
• Assist clients with applying for eligible public benefits, including cash assistance and medical insurance.
• Conduct follow-up calls with new potential clients inquiring about IRC services, including providing them with walk-in day information, rescheduling, and responding to general inquiries.
• Assist the team with scheduling contract interpreters for appointments.
• Regularly track service provision through electronic data entry and organize required client documentation.
• Other duties as assigned by the Walk-In Services team.

Learning objectives

• Gain US resettlement agency experience, including assessing a high volume and broad range of new potential clients.
• Acquire knowledge of internal programs and public benefits available to humanitarian immigrants.
• Learn how to communicate with a global population, including how to effectively utilize interpreters.
• Learn tracking and reporting requirements for resettlement agencies and how capturing this data improves services.

Qualifications

• Current undergraduate, graduate student or less than 12 months out of school.
• Minimum 24 hours per week, three-month commitment and three full working days per week.
• Proficient digital literacy skills (e.g., MS Excel, Outlook, and Word) and the ability to learn new software and tasks.
• Organized and attentive to detail.
• Ability to work independently and multi-task.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Interest in working with humanitarian immigrants.
• Knowledge of or interest in learning about public benefits and other community resources.
• Fluency in French, Spanish, Amharic or other languages spoken by the client base is a plus.
• Candidates not enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program and outside of 12 months from graduation are welcome to apply and will be processed as volunteers.
• All selected applicants must complete background checks; a $30 donation is requested to help cover associated costs.

Schedule

This position is for the Fall semester and requires a 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. Spring 2027 interns are expected to begin their internship term by attending an in-person intern orientation on Jan 25th, 2027, from 9:15AM-3:30PM. Internship semesters: Spring (January–May), Summer (June–August), Fall (September–December). Internships are typically posted 2-3 months prior to the anticipated start date.

Benefits

Spring 2027 interns may be eligible for per diem reimbursement at the rate of $15/day to offset the costs of food and travel. For information on scholarship opportunities, contact your university or the IRC Silver Spring Community Engagement Coordinator Lalah Ehrari at Lalah.Ehrari@rescue.org.

Pay

Internships with the IRC in Silver Spring are unpaid.