Crisis Response Intern Spring 2025

If you are interested in further information about the internship program, please join us on Friday, January 3 from 11:30 am to 12:00 pm EST for our Prospective Intern Event. The event will feature an overview of the program as well as a Q&A session with intern managers and former interns. Register here to attend. 

Organization Description 

Vital Voices Global Partnership is a leading international non-profit organization. We invest in women leaders who are tackling the world’s greatest challenges – from gender-based violence to the climate crisis, economic inequities, and more. We are “venture catalysts,” identifying leaders with a daring vision for change and partnering with them to make that vision a reality. What sets Vital Voices apart is that we make long-term, holistic investments in leaders with bold ideas for change — providing them connections, capacity, a network of their peers, financial support, and visibility for their work. We have provided early support for leaders who went on to become Nobel Peace Laureates, US Youth Poet Laureates, Prime Ministers, award winning innovators and breakthrough social entrepreneurs. Over the past 24 years, we have directly invested in more than 20,000 change-makers across 184 countries, who in turn have improved the lives of millions of people in their communities and countries. 

Today, Vital Voices has a staff of nearly 100 headquartered in Washington, DC. In the coming years we have a bold vision to dramatically scale our impact. In early 2022, we opened the first ever Global Headquarters for Women’s Leadership, a 30,000+ sq. ft. historic building just blocks from the White House on 16th Street. It is a hub of activity, events, and collaborations — bringing together women leaders and their allies to tackle the world’s greatest challenges. 

Mission

Vital Voices invests in women leaders taking on the world’s greatest challenges and accelerates collective action towards an equitable and sustainable world. 

Organizational Goals 2030

1. Scale our proven investment model from 20,000 to 50,000 women leaders - who together will positively impact the lives of one billion people.
2. Make a measurable impact on 1-2 of the greatest challenges as defined by the Vital Voices Global Network - proving the power of collective action. 

Summary 

The Vital Voices team is seeking a motivated intern who will provide administrative and programmatic support to the Crisis Response department and assist with research of global crisis, development of communication materials, grant documentation and case management. The Intern will work across a portfolio of projects alongside the Crisis Response team and learn from cross-functional teams with leaders and peers with various backgrounds, education, and experiences. 

In early 2022, Vital Voices launched a new Crisis Response department, to respond to the emergency support needs of global women leaders and activists facing persecution due to their voice and leadership. Informed by ongoing consultations with experts and members of the impacted communities, the Crisis Response Team provides training, casework support, and direct funding to nonprofit and political leaders, journalists, businesswomen, lawyers, judges, teachers, and other activists who are being targeted because they are women changemakers. 

Responsibilities include: 

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.   

• Program Support: Support the development of crisis management programmatic plans and systems, including but not limited to policies, standards, procedures, casework management tools and templates; 

• Research: Conduct research of global crisis and gender related topics based on department priorities. 

• Monitoring and Evaluation: Support M&E activities to assess the impact of the Crisis Response Programs and identify areas for improvement.  

• Administration: Support overall organizational tasks such as scheduling meetings, note-taking, and tracking progress towards weekly and quarterly goals. 

• Planning and Logistics: Assist with travel planning and logistics of the Crisis Readiness Cohort. 

• Communication: Support communication efforts, including issue briefs and blog posts to showcase the work of the Crisis Response Team 

• DE&I Commitment:  Embrace and model the Vital Voices guiding principles, values, investment, and leadership models with the goal of supporting Vital Voices’ organization culture and success; 

• Other duties as assigned.   

Professional Qualifications:   

• Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program and majoring in International Studies/Relations/Affairs, Political Science, or other relevant fields;   

• Strong demonstrated interest in global women’s issues;    

• Excellent oral and written communications skills in English;   

• Ability to prioritize tasks, swiftly shift priorities, and work in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines, sometimes under difficult or challenging circumstances;    

• Ability to work independently and as part of a dynamic team;    

• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and self-awareness;    

• Strong computer skills including MS Office applications (esp. Excel, Word, and PowerPoint), social networking tools, and database software (i.e., Salesforce).

The stipend for this 12-week position is $3,500 based on a 30-40 hour work week and will be paid in 3 increments throughout the program. For part time interns, the stipend is $1750 and based on a 15-20 hour work week. This role will begin on February 4 and run through April 26, 2025.
 
The internship program is a hybrid position and requires at minimum 2 days in our DC office per week (1 day for part-time interns). Remote interns may be considered on a case by case basis.

Vital Voices provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Vital Voices complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.  

Vital Voices expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Vital Voices’ employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.  

Staff may experience secondary trauma due to exposure to descriptive and/or graphic gender-based violence content in their work on the urgent assistance program. Vital Voices does not provide work visa sponsorship or relocation assistance for this position.  
 

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.