IR Career Starters
February 2025
We have reached the first Thursday of February, and once again, it is time for another iteration of the #IRCareerStarters newsletter. This newsletter is issued amid massive international turmoil that is bound to impact the entire global international affairs sector for years to come.
This month has only a meagre haul of opportunities, and to the best of my ability, I can only explain this by two key events; first of all, January is typically a big intake month, so the job market usually dwindles a little bit in the wake of this, and secondly, the US job market imploded overnight with the immense shifts in policy since President Trump took office. Much of the international affairs domain is interconnected, and with the US historically being the largest individual donor, it has significant ramifications worldwide.
I wish I could bring better news, but I can only imagine that the foreseeable future will present more challenges for anyone pursuing a career in this domain. This is troublesome because, under normal circumstances, it is already incredibly competitive.
While I cannot resolve these new challenges, I will continue to pitch in where I can. The newsletter's shift to Substack has been a success, and I have not heard a single complaint about the change of format yet. However, I have taken note of the last edition's poll on where you prefer to read the newsletter. With LinkedIn+Email being clear winners, I will continue cross-posting to enable easy access for as many as possible.
While I am more or less at the max of what I can manage regarding gathering positions (please do continue to submit organisations). I know many are requesting help, and while I cannot respond to 30-40 individual inquiries per month, I can group things up, and address certain things in plenary or static formats.
Please drop suggestions on specific themes, topics and wishes in the comments here or on LinkedIn.
However, one update to the newsletter, a much-requested feature, is being implemented: categorising positions! This is done under the watchful gaze of Jens WickstrΓΆm, who has volunteered to assign labels to all positions in the newsletter so you can easily search for positions in a specific domain (CRTL+F) and quickly speed up your job hunt. Naturally, this is not an exact science and many positions touch upon several fields, but Jens is doing a great job of ensuring you have something solid to go by! Many thanks, Jens!
I hope this months edition is of use,
All the best,
Alex
Legend
ACA - Academia and Research
DEV - International Development
DIP - Diplomacy and Policy
ECO - Economic Affairs and Trade
EDU - Education and Culture
ENV - Environment and Climate
HEA - Global Health
HUM - Human Rights / Humanitarian Affairs
LAW - International Law and Justice
PUD - Public Diplomacy, Communication and Media
SEC - Peace and Security
TEC - Technology, AI and Cyber
Opportunities
π OECD π
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Policy Analyst(s) - Structural and Industry Policy, Paris (2) [ENV] [ECO]
https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/OECD/oecd---en
π GIZ π
ππ§πππ«π§, Transport and Climate Change, Bonn [ENV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communication internship in the Sustainable Energy Project Development, Berlin or Bonn [ENV] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications in the International Power-to-X Hub on climate action with green hydrogen and Power-to-X, Berlin or Bonn [ENV] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Technical Internship in the Sustainable Energy Project Development, Berlin or Bonn [ENV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Transport and Climate Change, Bonn [ENV]
π International Crisis Group π
ππ§πππ«π§, Video & Photography, Brussels [PUD] [SEC]
π DCAF π
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Project Officer - Operations Department [SEC] [HUM]
https://www.dcaf.ch/vacancies#/
π AIIB π
ππ§πππ«π§, Board Operations, Beijing [DEV] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Strategic Planning and Membership, Beijing [DEV] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Ethics, Beijing [LAW] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Information Management, Beijing [PUD] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Financial Institutions and Funds Clients, Beijing [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Financial and Data, Beijing [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, AI, Beijing [TEC] [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Counterparty Data, Beijing [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Project and Corporate Finance, Beijing [ECO] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Investment - Transport, Beijing [ECO] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Investment - Urban & Water, Beijing [DEV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Investment - Urban, Beijing [DEV] [TEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Capital Markets Risk and Quantitative Analytics, Beijing [ACA] [TEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Compliance, Beijing [TEC] [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Investment Solutions, Beijing [ACA] [DIP] [ENV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Environment and Social, Beijing [ENV] [DEV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Budget, Beijing [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Corporate Strategy, Beijing [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications Department Collaborative Project, Beijing [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Portfolio Associate (Data Analytics), Beijing [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Portfolio Associate (Financial Institution Finance), Beijing [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Portfolio Associate (Project & Corporate Finance), Beijing [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Portfolio Associate (Middle Office), Beijing [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Budget Associate - Strategic Staffing, Beijing [ECO]
https://www.aiib.org/en/opportunities/career/job-vacancies/staff/index.html
π Caribbean Development Bank π
ππ§ππ«π², Project Assistant, EU-CDB Food Security Programme, St. Michael [DIP]
https://www.caribank.org/work-with-us/careers/open-positions
π MSF π
ππ§πππ«π§, Desk research on the humanitarian implications of the use of AI in warfare, Geneva [TEC] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Manson Unit Resources, London [HEA] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Recruitment Support & Marketing, Brussels [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Community Fundraising Assistantβ―, London [HUM]
https://www.msf.org/jobs#signposting-tool-list
π Human Rights Watch π
ππ§πππ«π§, Development & Outreach, Amsterdam [PUD] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Associate, Los Angeles [PUD] [HUM]
π European Council on Foreign Relations π
ππ§πππ«π§, Programme Support - Events & Advocacy, Sofia [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Event & Communication, Paris [PUD]
π European Institute of Peace π
ππ§ππ«π², Grant & Finance Assistant, Brussels [ECO]
https://vacancies.eip.org/jobs
π Council on Foreign Relations π
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, Fellow/ Senior Fellow for Climate Change Policy, New York or Washington DC [ENV] [ACA]
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, Stanton Nuclear Security Senior Fellow, Washington DC [SEC] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Executive Assistant, Global Communications, New York [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Executive Assistant, Human Resources, New York [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Program Assistant, Corporate Affairs, New York [PUD] [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Research Associate, History and Foreign Policy, New York [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Research Associate, Digital and Cyberspace Policy, Washington DC [ACA] [TEC]
https://www.cfr.org/career-opportunities/open-positions
π FINABEL π
ππ§πππ«π§, Defence & Security Research, Brussels [ACA] [SEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Legal Research, Brussels [ACA] [LAW]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications, Brussels [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Editor, Brussels [PUD] [ACA]
π Brookings Institution π
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, Fellow/Senior Fellow, Center on Health Policy [HEA] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Research Assistant, Center for Economic Security and Opportunity [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Research Assistant, The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy [ACA] [ECO]
https://careers-brookings.icims.com/
π RAND Corporation π
ππ§ππ«π², Administrative Assistant (Security Clearance), Washington DC [SEC]
ππ§ππ«π², Administrative Assistant (Service Desk/Floater), - [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Administrative Assistant, Boston [ACA]
https://www.rand.org/jobs.html
π Carnegie Endowment for International Peace π
ππ§πππ«π§, Communication, Beirut [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Security Studies, New Delhi [ACA] [SEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Research, Beirut [ACA]
https://carnegieendowment.applicantpro.com/jobs/
π CSIS π
ππ§πππ«π§, Global Health Policy Center (Spring 2025), Washington DC [HEA] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Renewing American Innovation Project (Spring 2025), Washington DC [TEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program (Spring 2025), Washington DC [ACA] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Project on Trade and Technology (Spring 2025), Washington DC [ACA] [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Hidden Reach/ iDeas Lab (Spring 2025), Washington DC [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Multimedia Production - iDeas Lab (Spring2025), Washington DC [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, The Critical Minerals Security Program (Spring 2025), Washington DC [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Economic Security and Technology Department (Spring 2025), Washington DC [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Aerospace Security Project (Spring 2025), Washington DC [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Project on Prosperity and Development (PPD) (Spring 2025), Washington DC [PUD] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Data Visualization - iDeas Lab, Washington DC [PUD] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications (Spring 2025), Washington DC [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Arleigh Burke Chair in Strategy / Defense & Security Department (Spring 2025), Washington DC [SEC]
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, Critical Minerals Security Program, Washington DC [ACA] [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², CRM Associate - External Relations/ Information Technology, Washington DC [PUD]
https://careers.csis.org/opportunities
π Geneva Centre for Security Policy π
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Professional Officer Community Engagement and Communications, Brussels [PUD]
https://www.gcsp.ch/work-with-us
π Asian Development Bank π
ππ§ππ«π², Strategy and Policy Assistant, Manila [DIP]
https://www.adb.org/work-with-us/careers/current-opportunities
π EBRD π
ππ§πππ«π§, Economics, London [ECO] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Associate Treasury Accounting, London [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Associate, Optimization Process Improvement, London [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Associate, Cost Management FP&A, London [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Assistant, Banking, Istanbul, London [ECO]
π IRI π
ππ§ππ«π², Program Associate, Kazakhstan,- [SEC] [DEV]
https://www.iri.org/work-with-iri/#career-opportunity
π Seed Madagascar π
ππ§πππ«π§, Senior Operations and Administration Officer, Fort Dauphin [DEV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Conservation Research Coordinator, Fort Dauphin [ENV] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Senior Conservation Research Assistant, Fort Dauphin [ENV] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Programmes Manager - Schools, WASH and Solar, Fort Dauphin [EDU]
ππ§πππ«π§, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Project Lead, Fort Dauphin [HUM] [DEV]
π Brugel π
ππ§πππ«π§, Development, Brussels [ECO]
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, Visiting, Brussels [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Micro-economist with expertise in trade policy, Brussels [ACA] [ECO]
https://www.bruegel.org/careers
π Egmont Institute π
ππ§πππ«π§, Africa Programme, Brussels [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Doctoral Researchers for the Europe in the World Programme, Brussels (2) [ACA] [SEC]
https://www.egmontinstitute.be/jobs-internships-and-opportunities/
π European Patientsβ Forum π
ππ§ππ«π², Capacity Building Assistant, Brussels [HEA]
https://www.eu-patient.eu/about-epf/Job-vacancies/job-openings/
π A Drop in the Ocean π
ππ§πππ«π§, HR Support, Athens or Lesvos [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Humanitarian Aid, Athens or Lesvos [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Community Empowerment Mobilization, Athens or Lesvos [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Integration Support, Athens or Lesvos [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Voluntary Fieldworker, Athens or Lesvos [HUM]
https://www.drapenihavet.no/ledige-internship/
π Civil Rights Defenders π
ππ§ππ«π², Press and Communications Officer (temporary position), Stockholm [PUD]
π EERA π
ππ§ππ«π², European Policy Officer, Lorraine [ACA] [ENV]
https://www.eera-set.eu/vacancies.html
π Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum π
ππ§ππ«π², Finance Assistant, Brussels [ECO]
https://eap-csf.eu/work-with-us/
π Environmental Justice Foundation π
ππ§ππ«π², Oceans Research Assistant - Taiwan, Taipei [ENV]
π Consortium on Gender, Security & Human Rights π
ππ§πππ«π§, Research and Administrative, Boston [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Social Media and Communications, Boston [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Graphic Design, Boston [PUD]
https://genderandsecurity.org/internship-program
π Internews π
ππ§πππ«π§, Volunteer, -
ππ§ππ«π², Project Associate - Thailand, Bangkok [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Project Associate, Indo-Pacific Media Resilience Project, Jakarta [PUD]
https://internews.org/careers/
π Manushya Foundation π
ππ§ππ«π², Accounting, Finance, and Administration Officer, Bangkok [ECO] [HUM]
https://www.manushyafoundation.org/work-with-us
π Justice in Motion π
ππ§πππ«π§, Law Student, Remote [LAW] [ACA]
https://www.justiceinmotion.org/join-us
π Adam Smith International π
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Audit Expert: Junior Non-Key Expert - ToR, Garowe [ECO] [DEV]
https://adamsmithinternational.com/join-us/
π International Center for Transitional Justice π
ππ§πππ«π§, Programs, New York [HUM] [DEV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications, New York [PUD] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation, New York [HUM] [DEV]
https://www.ictj.org/careers-0
π IFRC π
ππ§πππ«π§, Executive Office, Geneva [HUM] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Audio Visual Archives, Geneva [HUM] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Paper Archives, Geneva [HUM]
π POLITICO π
ππ§ππ«π², Business Development Associate, Professional Subscription [ECO]
https://www.politico.com/employment
π Open Society Foundation π
ππ§πππ«π§, Masters Associate, New York (2) [ECO]
https://osfglobal.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/OSF
π MyAgro π
ππ§ππ«π², Program Associate, - (32) [DEV]
https://www.myagro.org/careers/
π Fortify Rights π
ππ§ππ«π², Data Management Associate, Bangkok [TEC] [HUM]
https://www.fortifyrights.org/join-us/
π United Nations University π
ππ§πππ«π§, Research Fellow β Generative AI and Education Research, Macao (remote) [TEC] [EDU]
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, Government Fellow, Guimaraes (8) [TEC] [DIP]
ππ§ππ«π², Communication Design Associate, Bonn [PUD] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Communications and Project Assistant, Maputo [PUD]
π Stockholm Environment Institute π
ππ§πππ«π§, Climate Adaptation and Resilience, Tallinn [ENV] [ACA]
https://www.sei.org/people/jobs/
π Welthungerhilfe π
ππ§πππ«π§, Student Assistant Measuring Success, Bonn [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Student Assistant Data Ambassador, Bonn [ACA]
https://www.welthungerhilfe.org/jobs
π Baan Dek Foundation π
ππ§πππ«π§, Volunteer Video Editor & Translator, Bangkok [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Account and Finance, Bangkok [ECO] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Health Literacy Empowerment Program, Bangkok [HEA] [DEV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Community Empowerment Program, Bangkok [PUD] [DEV]
https://www.baandekfoundation.org/work-with-us#workwithus
π Triangle π
ππ§πππ«π§, Project Development, Beirut [DEV] [ACA]
https://www.thinktriangle.net/team-and-vacancies/vacancies/
π GOAL π
ππ§πππ«π§, General, Dublin or UK [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Volunteer, Dublin [HUM]
https://www.goalglobal.org/careers/#current-openings
π Search for Common Ground π
ππ§πππ«π§, Communication, Brussels [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Global Programmes, Washington DC [SEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Program Development Asia Regional Team, Bishkek [SEC] [DIP]
π Global Center on Adaptation π
ππ§πππ«π§, Infrastructure and Nature-based Solutions, Rotterdam [ENV]
https://opportunities.gca.org/
π Hague Centre for Strategic Studies π
ππ§ππ«π², Data Scientist & Software Developer, The Hague [ACA]
π Asia Foundation π
ππ§ππ«π², Regional Program Assistant β AMPLIFY, WPS, San Francisco [DEV] [DIP]
https://asiafoundation.org/about/careers/
π Samuell Hall π
ππ§πππ«π§, Partnerships, Nairobi [DEV]
https://www.samuelhall.org/careers
π Pacific Community π
ππ§ππ«π², ICT Support Assistant, Suva (3) [TEC]
https://careers.spc.int/all-jobs
π Project Hope π
ππ§ππ«π², Finance Assistant [ECO] [HEA]
https://projecthope.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/2/home?c=projecthope&date=WithinThirtyDays
π Impact Initiatives π
ππ§πππ«π§, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, Geneva [ACA] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Junior Research Officer (Mixed Methods), Geneva [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Data Management, Geneva [ACA] [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Data, Geneva [ACA] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Data Officer based, Geneva [ACA]
https://www.impact-initiatives.org/work-with-us/#vacancies
π ACTED π
ππ§πππ«π§, Democratic Republic of Congo: Country Finance Volunteer β Kinshasa [ECO] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, France: AML/CFT Vetting Intern β Paris [ECO] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Mozambique: Country Security Officer β Pemba [ACA] [SEC]
ππ§ππ«π², Chad: Country Finance Officer β NβDjamena [ECO] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Democratic Republic of the Congo: Country Finance Officer β Kinshasa [ECO] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Uzbekistan : Project Development Officer β Tashkent [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Bangladesh: Country Transparency & Compliance Officer β Coxβs Bazar [ECO] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Ukraine: Country Logistics Officer β Kyiv [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Lebanon : Project Development Officer β Beirut [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Sudan: Information Management Officer β Port-Sudan [ACA] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Syria : Project Development Officer β Amman [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Sudan: Country Finance Officer β Gedaref [ECO] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Democratic Republic of the Congo : Area Finance Officer β Bukavu [ECO] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Mali : Country Finance Officer β Bamako [ECO] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², France : Security Officer β Paris [SEC] [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Burkina Faso: Country Transparency & Compliance Officer β Ouagadougou [ECO] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Mali : Country Security Officer β Bamako [SEC] [DEV]
https://www.acted.org/en/get-involved/join-us/vacancies/
π Danish Refugee Council π
ππ§πππ«π§, Peacebuilding, Tripoli [SEC] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Economic Recovery Assistant, Sanurfa (2) [DEV] [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Economic Recovery Assistant, Kilis (2) [DEV] [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Economic Recovery Assistant, Hatay (2) [DEV] [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Humanitarian Mine Action Assistant, Mocha (4) [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Humanitarian Mine Action Assistant -Interpreter, Mocha [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Protection Assistant, Dnipro [HUM]
π IISS π
ππ§πππ«π§, Cyber Power and Future Conflict Programme, IISS-Asia, Singapore [SEC] [TEC]
π BIED Society π
ππ§πππ«π§, 2025 Research Specialists, Washington DC [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, 2025 Young Professionals Program, Washington DC [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, 2025 Publication Fellows, Washington DC [ACA]
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, 2025 International Affairs Fellows, Washington DC [ACA]
https://www.biedsociety.com/jobs-new
π World Concern π
ππ§πππ«π§, Monitoring and Evaluation, Shoreline [ACA] [DEV]
https://worldconcern.org/getinvolved/internships
π ICMPD π
ππ§ππ«π², Project Officer, Abuja [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², MEL Officer, Islamabad [DEV] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Team Assistant, Tunis [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Project Management Assistant, Vienna [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Project Officer, Baghdad [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Project Officer, Abuja [DEV] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Project Officer, Istanbul [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Project Management Assistant, Istanbul [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Risk Management and Internal Controls Officer, Vienna
ππ§ππ«π², MEL Officer, Vienna [DEV] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior ICT Officer - Service Desk, Brussels [TEC]
π NORA π
ππ§πππ«π§, Nordic Atlantic Cooperation, Torshavn (2) [DIP]
https://nora.fo/news/232/nora-soger-praktikant?_NewsarticleId=232&_l=no