USG Award Support Intern (unpaid)

About the role

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities.

Department: U.S. Resettlement, Asylum, and Integration (RAI) | Team: Resource Acquisition and Management (RAM) | Location: Remote | Start date: September/October 2026 | Duration: 5–6 months, 10–15 hours per week | Supervised by: Deputy Director and Post-Award Program Officer

Scope of Service

The IRC is one of the leading providers of high-quality programming for refugees, immigrants and asylees. The IRC Resettlement, Asylum and Integration (RAI) network creates opportunities for refugees and other vulnerable migrants to survive and thrive in the United States and in Europe, currently operating 28 U.S. offices. The RAI Resource Acquisition and Management (RAM) team stewards a diverse and growing portfolio of public and private awards, including federal and state grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and private philanthropic funding. The RAM Post-Award team stewards a portfolio of approximately 100 federal awards, providing high-level post-award oversight, cultivating donor relationships, and coordinating cross-functional support across program teams, technical units, and other HQ support functions.

The USG Award Support Intern will provide crucial support to the RAI USG grant portfolio at a high-volume time of year. Needed support includes report review and submission; scheduling key award management meetings for both start-up and closeout; inputting and analyzing financial and other data; monitoring spending and programmatic indicators; maintaining grant documentation; and supporting cross-team coordination throughout the federal award lifecycle. With oversight from the Deputy Director and Post-Award Program Officer, the intern will play a central role in supporting post-award management activities across the RAI network, receiving mentorship and guidance from experienced professionals and participating in activities designed for educational development.

Impact

The USG Award Support Intern will expand the team's capacity to manage critical grant deadlines, maintain accurate documentation and compliance, and coordinate timely reporting, supporting a national network of 28 U.S. offices serving refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable populations.

Learning Objectives

• Gain knowledge about the federal award lifecycle, including award start-up, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and closeout processes.
• Deepen knowledge in grant administration, compliance, and project coordination and best practices related to federal post-award management and donor reporting.
• Gain skills in data analysis, document quality assurance, project tracking, and professional communication used to support effective grants management and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

Start of Fiscal Year

• Support grant Opening Meetings for Survivors of Torture (SOT) federal awards beginning in September (approximately 4 ORR grants).

End of Fiscal Year

• Support Grant Closing procedures for federal awards ending in September (approximately 20 ORR grants) by:
  • Organizing files in IRC database and filing systems
  • Reviewing SF425 Federal Financial Forms and entering spend-down data into internal Federal Award Tracker
  • Creating Cover Pages to be submitted along with final reports to federal donors
  • Conducting thorough quality assurance reviews of final reports prior to formal submission

Other duties

• Attend weekly Resource Acquisition and Management (RAM) team meetings
• Conduct strategic analysis of closing awards by comparing outcomes and spending across program years; present findings and lessons learned at conclusion of internship

Qualifications

• Strong interest in public administration, grants management, or federal programs
• BA or MA in related field (Government Affairs, International Relations, Nonprofit Management)
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Clear and professional written communication
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines at once
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office and file-sharing platforms (e.g., Box)

Schedule

• 10–15 hours per week of availability
• At least half of hours must be between 9am–5pm PST, Monday–Friday for the duration of the semester or service commitment
• Fully virtual; intern must use their own laptop/equipment and have a workspace where they can effectively complete service during regularly scheduled service hours
• Must show up on-time, reliably and consistently

Eligibility & Onboarding Requirements

• Interns must be located in the U.S. during the duration of the internship.
• All positions are contingent upon clearing an IRC background check through HireRight before service.
• Review and sign IRC intern policy documents and commitment paperwork.
• IRC onboarding and training:
  • IRC Way, Every Day
  • RAI Safety and Security
  • Fundamentals of Safeguarding
  • Information Security Awareness Training
  • Additional quarterly organizational trainings
• Program-specific training:
  • IRC RAM Orientation
  • Introduction to RAM team
  • Role-specific training

Training Activities

• Observation
• Participation in team meetings
• Guided assignments
• Supervised practice