WES Mariam Assefa Fund Intern - Partnerships (Remote)

Department: WES Mariam Assefa Fund

Duration: January to June 2025

Reporting to: Senior Associate, Partnerships & Strategic Initiatives

Weekly hours: Maximum 20 hours per week

Rate of Pay: $21 per hour

About WES:

World Education Services (WES) is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping immigrants, refugees, and international students achieve economic, social, and educational inclusion in the United States and Canada. For nearly 50 years, WES has helped people learn, work, and thrive in new places and helped society recognize the value of people’s education and experience.  

Description:

Launched in 2019, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund (the Fund) is a philanthropic initiative aimed at catalyzing economic inclusion, opportunities, and mobility for immigrants and refugees in the U.S. and Canada. Through grantmaking, impact investing, partnerships, and field-building, the Fund supports efforts to build inclusive economies and ensure all immigrants and refugees can achieve their aspirations. To date, the Fund has supported more than 100 grantee and investee partners in both U.S. and Canada, who share our commitment to building equitable economies where all immigrants and refugees can thrive. Ensuring that immigrant and refugee workers can access good jobs and advance in their careers requires a range of solutions and approaches. Our partners bring expertise in workforce training and adult education; immigrant and refugee integration; innovation and social finance; worker organizing; financial inclusion and community wealth-building; policy development and advocacy; and much more. Read more about our work here.

The Mariam Assefa Fund intern will have a mix of project administration responsibilities and research, analysis, data collection, which may evolve over the course of the semester as the Fund’s activities and operations continue to expand in 2024. They will report to the Senior Associate of Partnerships & Strategic Initiatives, support the Associate Director, and have exposure to other members of the WES team in both the US and Canada. This role will provide an exciting opportunity to gain exposure to multiple areas of funding strategy and operations while applying trust-based practices. The internship will run through the Fall of 2024. The position will be based remotely and welcomes candidates in both the US and Canada.

Duties included but not limited to:

1) Program Management and Administration

• Support the planning and preparation of key internal and external meetings and events; including supporting funder engagements, finalizing presentations, and coordinating other meetings with WES staff and philanthropic colleagues.
• Help to improve content and delivery for internal initiatives (e.g. Fund Ambassadors) in the United States and Canada
• Facilitate the input and updating of partner correspondence and documents into the team’s data management systems (Salesforce, Excel)
• Contribute to the development of partnership and funding-related reports, memos, and presentations.

2) Research and Ideas Sourcing

• Conduct literature reviews on key research topics related to the Fund’s partnership strategy and co-funding approaches, such as workforce development for newcomers, immigrants and refugees, powershifting to proximate leaders, best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion, movement building, participatory grant-making, pooled funding, trust-based philanthropy, and more, while researching common trends or themes regionally and nationally.
• Coordinate, compile, and disseminate the team’s monthly Partnerships updates, sourcing relevant news and articles relevant to the Partnerships portfolio, webinars, events and partner updates to share with the Fund team and key stakeholders in the Fund’s network.

3) Other Ad-hoc Support

• Provide administrative support to the Associate Director and Senior Associate as needed.
• Support the Fund and WES colleagues on special projects as they arise.

The Ideal Candidate will:

• Have a commitment to supporting immigrants and refugees and excitement about WES’ mission, the Fund’s impact goals, and advancing equity, inclusion, and diversity.
• Bring lived experience from immigrant and refugee communities and communities of color, as well the issues that the Fund focuses on.
• Have a deep-rooted intellectual curiosity, an openness to diverse ideas and perspectives, and a continued interest in learning and professional development.
• Bring a “can-do” attitude, have a willingness to stretch up and down in their role, take on additional responsibilities, and quickly establish credibility in new areas of work.
• Build collaborative working relationships with colleagues and external partners, mobilizing people at all levels towards collective goals.
• Bring an entrepreneurial mindset to generate new approaches, spot innovative opportunities, take calculated risks, and initiate action.
• Thrive in an environment that values transparency, collaboration, and an orientation for impact.

Requirements:

• Current candidate and/or recent graduate from a public policy, international relations, economics, business, and/or another relevant graduate program.
• Ability to research, analyze and present quantitative and qualitative data to various stakeholders.
• Demonstrate analytical skills to assess situations, break down complex problems, identify strategic tradeoffs, and apply learnings in a larger context.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Preferred professional experience focusing on workforce development, immigration, refugee resettlement, economic development, and/or justice or equity work in a related field
• Awareness of, or interest in, the philanthropic sector and trust-based practices.
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite, especially Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Our Commitment: 

World Education Services is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace that reflects the rich tapestry of our communities, both in the US and Canada. This commitment is underscored by our unwavering dedication to providing equal opportunities to all qualified individuals, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or genetics. This commitment extends to every aspect of employment, from recruitment and hiring to promotions, training, and benefits. We comply with all applicable federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws. For us, diversity goes beyond compliance – it's about embracing unique perspectives and cultivating an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to reach their full potential.   

 If you require assistance and/or accommodation at any point during the recruitment process, please contact us at hiring@wes.org, we're here to support you. Our Talent Acquisition team is happy to work with you to find solutions that meet your needs. 

 For more information about WES, please visit our website at www.WES.org