United States of America: ABA ROLI International Development Internship Program

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Internship/Fellowship Program

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) is pleased to consider applications for its Spring 2017 Internship/Fellowship Program. ABA ROLI serves as the international development wing of the American Bar Association and seeks to promote justice, economic opportunity, and human dignity through the rule of law. ABA ROLI seeks interns and fellows to assist headquarters staff with a wide variety of the day-to-day support functions that are pertinent to the operations of an international NGO. Internships and fellowships are available to undergraduate, graduate, and law students depending on current staffing needs. Dates and daily schedules may be flexible in response to departmental needs, and correspond roughly to academic terms for spring, summer, and fall semesters. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.

Terms of the Program:

Interns and fellows for ABA ROLI will work with staff of their assigned division to gain an understanding of international development programs and international rule of law issues. In general, ABA ROLI offers International Development and Legal internships/fellowships, which differ somewhat in their expected responsibilities and desired applicant profiles. International Development openings will support various aspects of program implementation for DC-based regional and support teams, while Legal openings will be more heavily research-based and tailored toward graduate and law students.

Although these are unpaid positions, interns at ABA ROLI are eligible for a wide variety of perks and learning opportunities including:

• Transportation reimbursement up to $15.00/day
• Field trips to D.C. legal destinations such as the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Supreme Court and Library of Congress
• Brown-bag lunches with ABA ROLI staff and guest speakers

Qualifications:

While the hiring needs of each individual opening may differ, ABA ROLI generally requires the following qualifications for all internships/fellowships:

• Student or recent graduate seeking an undergraduate or graduate degree in international relations, political science, international development, or a related field OR current JD/LL.M students or recent graduates;
• Strong commitment to public interest law and/or international development, as evidenced by relevant experience and coursework;
• Excellent research, writing, and analytical skills;
• Proficiency with MS Office;
• International development experience highly desirable but not required; knowledge of foreign languages is a plus;

Available Internships:

Please indicate your internship/fellowship preference in your cover letter. ABA ROLI welcomes “Generalist” internship applications.

International Development Internships:

• Latin America and the Caribbean Program Intern (undergrad, grad, or law students, Spanish required, French preferred)
  • Assist the division with several tasks associated with the management of current programs and development of new ones in judicial reform, legal education reform, LGBT rights, among other things; assist with monitoring the political and economic developments in the region, producing outreach materials, researching areas of interest and working with program and in-country staff with day-to-day support tasks
• Africa Program Intern (grad or law students only, French required)
  • Help with research for new proposals, project design for ongoing projects and cost-extension proposals, and to assist the Division in developing a regional strategic plan
• Asia Program Intern (grad or law students only)
  • Conduct necessary research projects for program staff on rule of law issues in Asia; monitor political, economic, and security developments in the region and produce regular status briefs; assist with proposal research and writing efforts; contribute to the development of outreach and communication reports
• Development and Operations Intern (undergraduate students only)
  • Support internal knowledge management initiatives; liaise with the Outreach and Development teams to work on ongoing projects such as a donor database
• Anti-Corruption, Health & the Environment Intern (grad or law students only)
  • Review ABA ROLI programming in these areas to date in order to identify institutional strengths; conduct research on key and emerging issues in these fields; and identify strategies to increase and showcase ABA ROLI’s capacity in these fields.
• Outreach & Communications Intern (undergraduates only)
  • Research and monitor ongoing global trends to be integrated into appropriate ROLI outreach and communications channels; assist with development of materials for and monitoring of ROLI websites, newsletters, collateral, social media outlets, etc.

Legal Internships:

• Anti-Trafficking in Persons Legal Intern/Fellow (grad or law students only)
  • Conduct legal and contextual research on topics of mutual interest identified through discussion with ROLI regional divisions and the Research, Evaluation, and Learning office; analyze de jure information to examine the legal and policy frameworks related to trafficking in persons in sub-Saharan Africa
• Transitional Justice Legal Intern/Fellow (grad or law students only)
  • Conduct a desktop review of the impact of participatory methodologies used in programs and interventions in the fields of transitional justice, human rights, peace-building, humanitarian aid and development; conduct research in post-conflict countries where ABA ROLI works to identify trends in reparations programs
• Research & Assessments Legal Intern/Fellow (grad or law students only)
  • Conduct in-depth research on topics of mutual interest identified through discussions with ROLI regional divisions and the Research, Evaluation, and Learning office

How to apply: If you are interested in an ABA ROLI internship/fellowship**,** please submit a resume and cover letter indicating your preference from the list of positions below. If you are interested in being considered for all openings, please indicate that you are interested as a “Generalist.” ABA ROLI will try to match candidates to their top choice whenever possible, but highly value candidate flexibility throughout the selection process.

To apply, please visit:https://www.devex.com/jobs/aba-roli-international-development-internship-program-461066