Internship Opportunities with OSIWA

The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is an advocacy and grant making Foundation that forms part of the global Open Society Foundations Network. OSIWA is based in Dakar, Senegal with country offices in Abuja, Monrovia, Freetown and Conakry. The Foundation works in the following thematic program areas: economic governance; political governance; and law, justice and human rights. OSIWA’s work supports the creation of open societies in West Africa marked by functioning democracy, good governance, rule of law, basic freedoms, and widespread civic participation.  

OSIWA seeks an Intern for any of its offices in Dakar, Abuja, Conakry, Freetown and Monrovia who will work with the various thematic programs, country offices, and units to meet the Foundation’s objectives. 

If you are a graduate and currently unemployed, i will encourage you to give internship with OSIWA a try in order to increase your skills and capacity.

The internship is envisioned to 1) provide interns with greater insight into the work of a grant-making institution; 2) deepen interns’ knowledge about OSIWA’s thematic issues; and 3) provide interns with the opportunity to network with diverse actors in the sub-region.

Internship positions are available in the following programs and units. Tasks will include those described below. Other tasks may be assigned as needed.

• Economic Governance, Political Governance, Law, Justice and Human Rights
• Conduct in-depth prospective partner research and support due diligence processes.
• Support the management of approved grants, and provide research and analysis where required.
• Research emerging themes, trends and directions in OSIWA thematic areas and synthesize key policy documents/reports.
• Support the development of program strategies, work plans and activities.
• Manage relationships with OSIWA partners, grantees and other stakeholders in a professional and collegial manner.
• Assist with the organization of conferences, meetings and other programmatic events.
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Assist with the review of project documents (recommendations, M&E plan, PIP).
• Help review/assess projects reports and produce missions’ reports.
• Provide timely support to program staff and partners to for project implementation and delivery.
• Perform performance reviews of partners, programs and the Foundation as a whole.
• Assist in the organization of M&E field visits and participate in such missions.
• Help build the capacity of staff and partners on M&E practices, tools and requirements.
• Advocacy and Communications
• Assist with the editing of OSIWA publications and website content including blogs, op-eds and policy briefs.
• Upload activities and events on social media platforms such as facebook, youtube and twitter.
• Provide ideas on innovative ways to disseminate information about OSIWA’s work.
• Human Resources
• Assist HR team with the recruitments process:  drafting of job descriptions, announcements and advertisements; compilation of eligible candidates lists; and coordination of candidate screenings as required.
• Help maintain staff records to ensure timeliness and accuracy.
• Finance
• Assist with month end-financial reporting, balance sheet reconciliation, audits;
• Assist with grant recommendation budgets and grants financial report reviews
• Assist with AR, AP, and bank statement reconciliation
• Work with the finance team on yearly forecasting efforts
• Assist with the monthly tracking of the organization’s physical inventory
• Support the payment processing team
• Perform data entry duties and post journal entries
• Grants
• Assist the grant unit in the review of project recommendations and grant contracts
• Help maintain updated grant records in the Grants Management system (GMS)
• Help update grantee contact information on GMS working in collaboration with the program staff
• Update grantee mailing list
• Develop approved grantee list; maintain proper documentation for approved grantees in GMS
• Follow up on grant payments swift codes and liaise with respective programs
• Assist colleagues to upload documents on GMS

Qualifications

• Registered in university/college or have completed university within the past two years;
• General knowledge of democracy, governance, and security issues in West Africa;
• Studies relevant to International Relations, Law, Political Science, Economics, Business, Finance, Accounting, Project/Program Management, M&E, HR, Communications, etc.
• At least 6 months of volunteer or work experience; experience working with non-governmental organizations at a community, national or global level preferred;
• Fluency in one of OSIWA’s two working languages (FR/EN), with a working ability in the other;
• Strong research, analysis and writing skills;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• Willingness and aptitude to learn, ability to take initiative;
• Ability to work under pressure, multitask and deliver in a fast-moving environment;
• Extensive experience with Internet resources and electronic databases;
• Proficiency with Access or another contact database

Salary: None. However, stipends may be offered to cover local transportation for West African candidates based in any of the countries OSIWA works in. All other associated costs including air travel, accommodation and insurance are the responsibility of the intern.

Start Date: Negotiable

Duration: Negotiable

Location: Dakar, Abuja, Conakry, Freetown or Monrovia

To Apply: Send resume (in English), cover letter explaining your background, your research interest, and why you think OSIWA would suit your needs and a brief writing sample to: OSIWA (click for email) 

Include job title and office location in the subject line, i.e. OSIWA Internship, Dakar

Deadline: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis all year round. Please note that internship opportunity will not lead to employment.

Note: Internships will be awarded on competitive basis. Due to the number of applications received, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted by OSIWA. No phone calls, please.