BioTrade Africa and Research Intern

ABOUT ALU

ALU provides higher education for a higher purpose. Our students declare missions, not majors.They develop the real-world skills to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. And they take ownership of their learning from day one through our peer and student-led approach – because ALU believes in the power and agency of young people to start shaping the future right now. Together with a world-class faculty and staff, our students are igniting a ripple of positive impact across Africa and the world.

We are dedicated to fostering an open yet secure environment, balancing the safety of students, staff, and visitors with respect for individual rights, and safeguarding responsibilities.

HOW WE WORK

The ALU Team works in starkly different ways to traditional academic bureaucracies. We approach education from first principles, empower individuals to design, test, and implement creative new ideas, and work closely together to craft transformative learning experiences. We are deeply passionate about our students and excited by the challenge of building something entirely new.

The African Leadership University is committed to ensuring the safety and Well-being of all students under our care. As part of this commitment , we have a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place , which outlines our Zero-tolerance approach to any violation of safeguarding.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The School of Wildlife Conservation (SOWC) at the African Leadership University (ALU) is supporting research on the scale, potential, and regulatory frameworks of the wildlife economy across Africa, including the development of country case studies. 

SOWC also serves as the Secretariat for the African BioTrade Advisory Group (BioTrade Africa), a multi-stakeholder initiative advancing sustainable BioTrade and biodiversity-based value chains across Africa. BioTrade Africa is seeking a part-time intern to support communications, digital presence, research, and organisational visibility, while gaining practical experience in the conservation and BioTrade sector. 

Nature and scope of work: The intern will support the BioTrade Africa Steering Committee and Secretariat with communications, marketing, and digital coordination activities. Responsibilities include: 

• Assisting with the development and maintenance of the BioTrade Africa website; 
• Supporting the setup and management of social media platforms, including LinkedIn and Instagram; 
• Assisting with the development of digital communication and marketing materials; 
• Supporting the development of Steering Committee and member profiles for the website and promotional purposes; 
• Assisting with organising and maintaining shared digital resources and content libraries; 
• Supporting all communications related to meetings, events, and stakeholder engagement activities; 
• Assisting with basic graphic design and content preparation for social media and outreach purposes; 

The research intern will also support the SOWC team in collecting, collating, analysing, and reporting on data from various African countries, databases, and literature to be included in the relevant country case studies and related reports 

The intern will report directly to Leigh-Ann Kant and work closely with the BioTrade Africa Secretariat and the SOWC Research Team. 

Skills: 

• Strong organisational and communication skills; 
• Excellent communication skills: written and spoken English skills, as well as editing skills; 
• Excellent communication skills in French and/or Portuguese would be an added advantage;
• Proficiency in Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Drive); 
• Basic website development or website management skills; 
• Familiarity with social media platforms and digital marketing; 
• Attention to detail and good time management; 
• Ability to work independently and remotely; 
• Basic graphic design skills, for example, Canva;
• Interest or background in conservation, biodiversity, BioTrade, sustainability, or environmental issues would be advantageous. 

Skill development plan: The intern will gain practical experience in:  

• Communications and stakeholder engagement;
• Website development and digital platform management; 
• Social media strategy and marketing; 
• Working within international conservation and BioTrade networks; 
• Professional coordination and organisational support within a growing Africa-wide initiative. 
• Data collection, collation, analysis, reporting and presenting, as well as a greater understanding of the wildlife economy in Africa and the related data and information gaps. 

These are the appointment dates:
Start Date:01 July 2026
End Date: 30 November 2026
Deadline: Midnight CAT on Wednesday, 20th June 2026 (no late applications will be accepted)

Number of vacancies: 1 part-time intern 

Working time: Part-time (20 hours a week) 

Application instruction: 

1. A short CV;
2. A brief motivation letter outlining your interest in the role;
3. Examples of any relevant communications, social media, website, or design work (if available).