Spring 2026 Youth Education Intern (Unpaid)

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.

Job Description:

Resettlement is at the heart of the IRC’s work with refugees. Services provided meet refugees’ basic needs for food, shelter and legal rights in the early, critical stages of the long-term resettlement process. All activities lay the foundation for clients to become self-sufficient and contribute positively to their new community. The Youth Education Interns will assist the Youth Education department in supporting refugee and asylee children, and meet their short-term and long-term education goals.
 

Please note that this is an unpaid position and is not eligible for benefits..

This is a hybrid position, with opportunities to be online and in-person in our midtown Manhattan office at 263 W 38th Street.

The IRC- RAI New York Office’s Youth Education department is looking for strong intern candidates to work on five core programs for youth: Youth Tools for Opportunities and Academic Development (TOAD), Youth English Classes (YESOL), Leaders in Training (LIT), Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) and NYSA. Upon hire, interns will be assigned one of the aforementioned primary programs; all candidates should be prepared to engage fully with the responsibilities of each program as needed.

Youth Tools for Opportunities and Academic Development (TOAD) Program:

• The IRC Tools for Opportunities and Academic Development (TOAD) program provides academic, linguistic, social-emotional and developmental support for newly-arrived refugee and migrant youth. TOAD encompasses 4 sub-programs within the weekly schedule: Homework Help, English Practice Workshops (EPW), and Math Class.
  • Youth TOAD Intern duties include:
    • Assist in organizing and facilitating online after-school and in-person Saturday TOAD programming, focusing on areas such as English language skills, math, and other subjects as needed.
    • Youth TOAD Interns may have the opportunity to choose which role they would like to take in addition to the previously outlined duties: Curriculum, Community Event Programming, Student and Family Engagement, or Volunteer Tutor Coordination.

Youth ESOL Program:

• The Youth ESOL Program offers online classes for students aged 12-20. The Fall Term will meet between January 5, 2026 - May 31, 2026,  with students attending class twice per week. We currently offer English classes at five levels (schedule subject to change based on student needs)
  • Middle School Beginner: Spanish-Speakers (Mondays and Thursdays, 4-7pm)
  • Middle School Beginner: Multilingual* (Mondays and Thursdays 4-7pm)
  • Middle School Intermediate: Multilingual (Wednesdays and Fridays 4-5:30pm)
  • Middle School Intermediate: Multilingual (Wednesdays and Fridays 4-5:30pm)
  • Parent ESOL classes (in-person, Saturdays 11-1pm)
  • High School Beginner: Multilingual (in-person, Saturdays 1pm-3pm)
    • Our Multilingual groups will most likely include speakers of Spanish, Persian, Arabic, Ukrainian, Russian, French, Mandarin, and Haitian Creole.
    • Schedule subject to change per term

• Youth ESOL Intern will be expected to:
  • Support Youth ESOL Specialist with creation of class material and direction of the class through regular feedback
  • Assist with instruction during online youth classes, including providing opportunities for differentiation and scaffolding
    • This may include: leading activities and classes, providing one-to-one support to students, assisting with “emotional scaffolding” (monitoring students’ affect during class), providing translation when necessary, and participating in the chat to respond to students comments and questions
    • You are expected to attend 6 class sessions a week (preferably choosing three out of the five English levels to consistently assist with and attend the class session for)
  • Support with material and program development
    • This may include: recommending class materials and activities to the Youth ESOL Specialist
  • Lead in-person Saturday Parent ESOL classes with guidance from Youth ESOL Specialist
  • Assist with intake process and assessments for students entering and exiting the program
    • This may include: holding video calls with students to facilitate assessments, scheduling check-ins with students throughout the term to see how they are feeling in the program, and helping to collect student feedback
  • Complete logistical tasks as needed
    • This may include: zoom management, sending extra study materials to students via email,  and communicating with parents and families

Youth Leaders in Training (LIT) Program:

• Leaders in Training (LIT) program is a college access and career readiness program that meets once a week, and it includes workshops that support students with college applications, resume building, and more. In the Spring, the program will be focused on career readiness, and less on college access.

• Youth LIT Intern duties include:
  • Assist with organizing and facilitating weekly LIT Workshops held every Saturday.
  • Support the Youth Education Specialist with reviewing and proofreading student documents (e.g., essays, résumés, personal statements) and providing thoughtful, constructive feedback.
  • Assist with recruitment, outreach, and maintaining regular engagement with participants.
  • Support the planning and coordination of field trips, campus visits, and enrichment activities.
  • Provide general program support including communications, curriculum planning, and documentation.
  • Participate in team meetings and contribute to the growth and improvement of the program.
  • Perform other related Youth Education tasks as needed.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E):

• The Youth Education Department’s M&E team designs assessments, collects and analyzes data, and produces actionable insights that support strategic decision-making, curriculum planning, and reporting to stakeholders.

• M&E Intern duties include:
  • Collaborate with the Youth Education Specialist to design and revise pre- and post-assessments, school readiness surveys, and response surveys.
  • Support the collection, organization, and cleaning of quantitative and qualitative data related to Youth Education programs.
  • Maintain accurate records of assessment results and ensure timely data entry and verification.
  • Assist in analyzing assessment and survey data to help inform program development and curriculum adjustments.
  • Contribute to summary reports, annual report, visualizations (e.g., charts or dashboards), impact summaries and presentations of findings.
  • Help track progress against program indicators and support documentation of lessons learned.
  • Participate in team meetings and offer insights from data trends to support decision-making.
  • Perform other related M&E/Youth Education tasks as needed.

NYSA and Mini-NYSA Planning and Curriculum Intern

• The Newcomer Youth Summer Academy (NYSA) is an in-person summer school for newcomer youth ages 5-21. The program will be held for 6 weeks during the summer and provide an enriching multicultural experience for participants including classes including but not limited to ESOL, Visual Art, Sports, and Dance.
• Mini-NYSA is an abbreviated version of NYSA held during the week long winter and spring breaks and includes academic lessons, field trips, and activities.
• The NYSA Planning and Curriculum Interns will be an essential support to the Youth Education Supervisor in creating class objectives and guidelines for Upper School classes (grades 6-12) across all classes to create a cohesive linguistically supportive, trauma informed, and culturally inclusive program.
• The NYSA Planning and Curriculum Interns duties will include:
  • researching best practices in newcomer youth education to put into practice at mini-NYSA and NYSA
  • assist in the facilitation of Mini-NYSA including planning and leading some lessons as assigned
  • assist in creating a scope and sequence for NYSA classes
  • create sample lesson plans for incoming NYSA instructors
  • assist in the update of NYSA teacher training
  • collaborating with youth education team on creating Math, English, and School Readiness assessments
  • facilitate assessments to enrolling NYSA students online and in-person
  • create elective schedules for Upper School NYSA students
  • other duties as assigned

All interns must:

• Be available for Saturday programming (either in-person or online depending on program scheduling.)
• Track and document all activities related to youth education and tutoring in the appropriate internal database system.
• Complete and submit all trainings and professional development by deadline, as assigned.
• Uphold and promote policies and practices necessary to create a linguistically supportive, culturally responsive, trauma-informed learning environment.
• Uphold all IRC and program and child safeguarding policies and directives.
• Work and communicate with IRC staff and volunteers as needed.
• Complete assigned surveys and data tracking tasks, as assigned.
• Complete and submit a weekly timesheet on Salesforce platform to track and codify IRC volunteer hours.
• All interns must be available to support Mini-NYSA and NYSA programming, in-person programming held during NYC DOE school breaks.
• Additional related duties as assigned.

Learning Objectives:

• Design and implement effective teaching strategies for multilingual classrooms
• Understand trauma-informed education and programming
• Develop engagement strategies with refugee families and communities
• Develop assessment and monitoring and evaluation skills
• Build nonprofit program development and volunteer management skills
• Collaborate on professional development initiatives
• Gain familiarity with the U.S. educational system and develop strategies for supporting refugee youth within it.

Qualifications:

• Current undergraduate or graduate student, or recent graduate
  • Preference will be given to candidates with degrees in Education or related fields
• Experience in ESOL, ENL, ELL highly preferred)
• Experience or strong interest in working with refugee and immigrant children
• Punctuality, excellent time management skills, and a flexible schedule
• Outstanding intercultural and interpersonal communication skills with demonstrated ability to work effectively with people from other cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality regarding client information
• Excellent organizational and leadership skills
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work with minimal supervision
• Fluency in written and spoken English required. Second language proficiency in relevant language highly desirable (including Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Pashto, French, Fulani, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish)
• All offers are contingent on successfully passing background and criminal history checks as required by federal and state law or by IRC policy.

Commitment:

• Start date: January 5, 2026 or earlier
• End date: May 31, 2026, with an opportunity to extend.
• Minimum of 15 hours per week for the period of the internship. Preferences will be given to candidates who can commit to more hours.
• Primary availabilities:
  • Monday to Friday, after-school hours preferred (3pm-7:30pm) with the ability to commit at least 2 shifts per week
  • Additional availability for team meetings and asynchronous tasks during standard work hours of 9am-5pm
  • Saturdays mandatory between the hours of 10am-5pm
  • Specific schedules will be determined for each intern upon hire

We plan to start interviews on December 1, 2025.

Applications are rolling until all positions are filled.

Reports To:

Youth Education Supervisor

Youth Education Specialists - Tutoring, LIT, YESOL

Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

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US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $143 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and 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. 

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.