General Internship
International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to ensuring the basic legal rights of ordinary citizens in fragile or conflict-affected countries. Specifically, IBJ works to guarantee the right to competent legal representation, the right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment and the right to a fair trial for every man, women, and child. IBJ is looking for outstanding, self-motivated candidates with a background in various fields who want to be part of our ongoing mission to end investigative torture and provide access to legal representation to everyone around the world.
Timeline & Requirements
• IBJ welcomes students and graduates who wish to intern with us both in Geneva and in our field offices. • We accept international students throughout the year on a rolling basis. Fellows may be placed in our head office in Geneva or field offices for our programs in Burundi, Cambodia, China, India, Rwanda, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Syria and DR Congo
• Proof of institutionalized funding of more than $2600/month is required by Swiss law to participate in an internship in Geneva.
Benefits
• IBJ interns will get to work in an international, friendly, challenging and rewarding environment with direct supervisors based in both Geneva and/or any other country where the intern is based.
• Depending on where they are based, IBJ interns will work on a variety of tasks and initiatives. Please see below the types of internship opportunities typically available:
Geneva headquarters
Programmatic Intern
1. Training support
Support the development of our eLearning initiative and Defense Wiki pages. • Sample tasks include: researching criminal procedures, assist with the development elearning modules, and preparing other kinds of materials for live and online learning events.
2. Program Management
Support our Program Associates with the management of our country programs
• Sample tasks include: developing and maintaining the project workplans for country programs, logistical planning of activities and events.
3. Grant work
Support our Resource Development Officer in writing grant proposals.
• Sample tasks include: writing grant applications to funders, researching grant opportunities and requirements, and obtaining other kinds of information for grant writing.
4. Technology Initiatives
Support our technology initiative to build a worldwide community of lawyers.
• Sample tasks include: thinking big picture about our technology initiative, helping out staff to build it, contacting developers, funders, and others for opportunities to leverage this initiative.
The ideal candidate for a programmatic internship should demonstrate good legal research skills, and excellent writing skills in English. Proficiency in other languages (French being particularly desirable) is very helpful.
Graphic Design Intern
We are currently in immediate need of a talented graphic design intern who can help us edit and design our website. Experience with Elementor, Adobe, WordPress and HTML is definitely a bonus. If you are interested in this position, send send a portfolio, your CV and cover letter to: opportunities@ibj.org. The portfolio should include websites you have designed.
The ideal graphic design intern candidate must have prior experience with web design and creating graphics for social media purposes. Knowledge of InDesign, Elementor and WordPress is also useful. Work of previous interns has been used at high profile events including the World Economic Forum in Davos. Social Media Intern Support our community building initiatives via the use of social media.
• Sample tasks include: making regular posts on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts to showcase our work and achievements, interviewing our lawyers for stories, arranging live-stream discussions. being responsible for website edits and development under the guidance of our staff, designing banners and invitations for events, developing visual timelines to showcase IBJ’s work and achievements.
Finance Intern
Support our Finance & Accounting Officers in financial analysis and revenue processing.
• Sample tasks include: financial analysis of actual projected expense, working with balance sheet schedules, assist with audit preparations, and record keeping.
The ideal finance intern candidate will have prior experience will have excellent knowledge of Microsoft Excel and an understanding of how NGO funding works.
Non-Geneva Offices
Internship tasks and opportunities in our non-Geneva offices are based on the needs of each individual programs. Internships are available for our programs in Burundi, Cambodia, China, India, Rwanda, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Syria and DR Congo. Accepted interns will have the opportunity to talk with both the Program Director in the prospective country and the Internship Coordinator in Geneva to decide on their responsibilities.
A sample of what an internship in our field offices could look like:
• Opportunities to shadow local lawyers.
• Assisting with fundraising efforts and proposal writing.
• Assisting with the implementation of program activities including rights awareness campaigns, legal training workshops, and roundtables.
Currently Seeking / Prioritised Applications: Online Elearning
We have a particular interest in improving our online learning resources that are hosted on a Moodle powered website. Anyone looking for a rewarding volunteering position, who has experience with Moodle based eLearning and HTML should contact us at opportunities@ibj.org. This position can be remote.
To apply, please send a CV, and cover letter to: opportunities@ibj.org.