Refugee Barrier Reduction Intern (Summer 2026)

International Rescue Committee•Silver Spring, MD

3d•Onsite

About The Position

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. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future. SCOPE OF WORK: IRC programming assists refugees to become economically self-sufficient and supports acclimatization within the United States by providing access to casework services. This role will support the IRC’s economic empowerment program in effectively reducing the barriers of humanitarian migrants to achieve self-sufficiency in the United States.

Requirements

Self-motivated and able to work independently
Excellent communication and writing skills, including cross-cultural communicative skills
Works well in a fast-paced environment and adapts quickly to change
Strong interest in refugee and asylee issues.
Three-month minimum.
Required 24 hours/week.
Ability to work in-person at the Silver Spring office and at a minimum of 15 hours per week is required.

Nice To Haves

Language skills in Spanish, Amharic, Dari, Pashto, French, Kinyarwanda or Swahili are a plus
Preferred full-time.
Preference to current students and recent graduates
Candidates applying not enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program and outside of 12 months from graduation are welcome to apply.

Responsibilities

Provide clients with support in the completion and submission of various applications to assist the reduction of barriers to employment in the United States (childcare voucher applications, SafeLink phone applications, etc.).
Conduct training on the topics of public transportation, childcare options, digital literacy, and understanding public benefits to reduce barriers to employment.
Participate in supporting clients in Job Application Hours to understand the process of applying for jobs in the United States and submit needed employment applications to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
Coordinate with economic empowerment service teams to support clients over the course of their service provision at the IRC in issues of barrier reduction.
Engage respectfully with all clients regardless of background.
Facilitate and conduct client outings (contingent upon office status) to financial institutions, libraries and various other venues to support client engagement with needed resources.
Other duties as identified by RTCP Program Coordinator.

Benefits

10 sick days
10 US holidays
20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure
medical insurance starting at $163 per month
dental starting at $6.50 per month
vision starting at $5 per month
FSA for healthcare and commuter costs
a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching
disability & life insurance
an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles