The Refugee Archive | Oral Histories of Displaced Mothers
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The Refugee Archive Careers

Build your portfolio. Grow your career. Do work that matters.

Join a U.S.-based nonprofit where interns and volunteers gain practical experience in advocacy, research, media, design, and digital storytelling.

Your work will support The Refugee Archive's mission to document female-headed refugee households, especially single mothers, while giving you real projects, mentorship, and portfolio-ready outcomes.

What your work supports

An archive built for the households policy often forgets.

We collect, organize, and preserve lists and stories of female-headed refugee households as a research tool for better humanitarian response.

01

Collect

02

Archive

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Policy

If you care about humanitarian advocacy, data, storytelling, design, or digital campaigns, this is a chance to gain experience around a mission with lasting public value.

Remote Global Team Portfolio Work

Why This Is Worth Applying For

This is not placeholder experience. Our interns and volunteers contribute to real advocacy, receive practical support, and leave with tangible proof of what they helped build.

Portfolio-Ready Work

Our team will assist you in building an interactive, web-based portfolio that showcases your strongest contributions, from campaign assets and reports to published social content.

Career Endorsements

Receive a certificate of completion and, for strong contributors, formal recommendation support that can strengthen future applications.

Public Recognition

Contributors may be highlighted through public appreciation posts, credited campaign work, and social media recognition where appropriate.

Global Collaboration

Work remotely with advocates, researchers, and creatives who care about making humanitarian policy more specific, humane, and useful.

From Our Team

What it feels like to work with The Refugee Archive

Our team is remote, global, and mission-led. You will be encouraged to bring your expertise into the work, build strong professional relationships, and grow beyond the limits of a traditional volunteer or internship role.

I have loved working with The Refugee Archive since the day I started. It has given me room to use my skills in software development, website building, design, and other technical work while still contributing to a humanitarian mission that matters. You are not limited here; you get to grow your craft, try real ideas, and work with global team members who support your career growth.

Ian

Social Media Manager

What I appreciate most is that creative work here is never treated as small work. You can grow as a storyteller, designer, writer, or strategist while learning how to communicate sensitive humanitarian issues with care. The team gives you space to improve, try ideas, and build work you can be proud to show.

Pia

Senior Digital Content Creator

I started working with The Refugee Archive as an intern, so I know what it feels like to come in still learning and wanting to prove yourself. Over time, I was trusted with more responsibility and grew into operations work. That is what makes this team special: if you show commitment, people notice, guide you, and give you room to build confidence.

Desmond

Operational Manager

Working with a global team gives you a wider view of the work and the people it serves. You are exposed to different regions, different ways of thinking, and practical advocacy challenges. That kind of experience helps you grow professionally while staying connected to the human reason behind the mission.

David

Regional Director for Africa

Choose the Work You Want to Be Known For

These openings are for emerging analysts, designers, editors, and advocates who want more than a title on a resume. Apply where your skills can grow, your work can be seen, and your contribution can support a clearer public record for displaced mothers and families.

About the Role

In this internship, your core focus will be social media analytics and campaign research. You will work with the Social Media Management team to track performance, understand audience behavior, and identify which messages move people to pay attention.

Your reports will help decision-makers see what is working, what needs refinement, and how our digital advocacy can better highlight female-headed refugee households in public conversations.

What We're Looking For

  • A strong interest in data analysis, social media metrics, advocacy campaigns, and digital strategy.
  • The ability to translate numbers into clear, useful insights that nontechnical team members can act on.
  • Excellent collaboration skills to work alongside content creators, campaign managers, and leadership.
  • Capacity to commit to 20 hours per week from January to May 2027.
  • Open to applicants in the US, Canada, UK, or countries where you can legally receive stipend payments through a U.S. bank-compatible account.

Application Notice

By submitting your application, you agree that The Refugee Archive may review your materials and contact you about this opportunity using the details you provide. You also agree to our terms, privacy, and application policies.

Apply for this role

Social Media Specialist

About the Role

Working with our social media team, your primary focus will be graphic design for digital advocacy. You will help transform testimonies, policy updates, and field research into thoughtful campaign assets that introduce The Refugee Archive's work across social media.

What We're Looking For

  • Familiarity with tools like Canva, Affinity, Adobe Illustrator, or Photoshop. You do not need to be an expert, but you should be eager to learn and create.
  • An interest in creating static graphics, campaign posts, and multi-slide educational carousels.
  • Ability to follow brand guidelines for typography, color, image use, and tone.
  • Capacity to commit to a minimum of 5 hours per week from September to December.

Application Notice

By submitting your application, you agree that The Refugee Archive may review your materials and contact you about this opportunity using the details you provide. You also agree to our terms, privacy, and application policies.

Apply for this role

Graphic Design Volunteer

About the Role

Working with our social media team, you will focus on video and motion editing for digital advocacy. You will take raw audio clips, interviews, captions, and research material and turn them into polished Reels, Shorts, and social media videos that move our narrative forward.

What We're Looking For

  • Familiarity with, or eagerness to learn, video editing tools such as Premiere Pro, CapCut, DaVinci Resolve, or After Effects.
  • An understanding of pacing, captioning, accessibility, and visual storytelling for modern social media platforms.
  • Capacity to commit to a minimum of 5 hours per week from September to December.

Application Notice

By submitting your application, you agree that The Refugee Archive may review your materials and contact you about this opportunity using the details you provide. You also agree to our terms, privacy, and application policies.

Apply for this role

Video Editor Volunteer

About the Role

Working with The Refugee Archive team, you will help manage and grow our Substack as a platform for refugee voices, oral histories, research, and organizational updates. You will coordinate contributors, support light editorial work, publish and format content, and help build relationships with NGOs, field partners, and potential contributors.

You will also help turn existing oral histories, Across Archives episodes, and policy work into engaging Substack content while supporting audience growth and subscriber engagement.

What We’re Looking For

  • Strong writing, editing, and written communication skills.
  • An interest in storytelling, migration, humanitarian issues, international development, or nonprofit communications.
  • Comfortable communicating professionally with contributors, NGOs, and partner organizations.
  • Able to edit personal stories carefully while preserving the contributor’s original voice.
  • Organized and able to manage contributor outreach, content schedules, and follow-ups.
  • Willing to learn Substack publishing, audience engagement, and basic performance tracking.
  • Capacity to commit approximately 5 hours per week from September 15 to December 15, 2026.

What You’ll Gain

Practical editorial and publishing experience, visible contributor credit, international nonprofit experience, a certificate of service, and recommendation opportunities where appropriate.

Apply for this role

Content & Editorial Specialist

About the Role

Working closely with our Operations team, you will help prepare oral histories and accompanying records for long-term preservation and our developing university archive partnership. Your work will include organizing digital collections, reviewing transcripts and records, maintaining collection inventories, and preparing archival packages for review.

This role offers practical experience in archival processing, digital collections management, oral history documentation, and nonprofit project coordination.

What We’re Looking For

  • Exceptional attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
  • Comfortable working with documents, records, spreadsheets, and structured digital files.
  • Familiarity with Google Workspace and an ability to learn new archival systems and standards.
  • Careful and responsible when working with sensitive or confidential information.
  • Able to identify missing or inconsistent information and flag concerns rather than make assumptions.
  • An interest in archives, oral history, libraries, museums, research, documentation, or nonprofit work.
  • Capacity to commit 5-8 hours per week on a flexible, remote schedule.

What You’ll Gain

Practical archival project experience, exposure to a university archive partnership, a certificate of service, a service letter, and recommendation opportunities where appropriate.

Apply for this role

Archival Project Assistant

About the Role

Working with The Refugee Archive team, you will help identify funding opportunities that can support our oral history, archival, research, and community-based initiatives. You will research prospective funders, monitor grant opportunities, maintain funding trackers, and contribute to proposals, concept notes, and other development materials.

The role provides hands-on experience in nonprofit fundraising, grant research, proposal development, donor research, and development strategy within an international nonprofit environment.

What We’re Looking For

  • Strong research, analytical, and written communication skills.
  • Able to evaluate funding opportunities based on eligibility, priorities, and organizational fit rather than simply compiling grant lists.
  • Highly organized and comfortable tracking deadlines, requirements, funders, and application stages.
  • Comfortable researching foundations, institutions, funding programs, and nonprofit development opportunities.
  • Familiarity with Google Workspace and collaborative online work.
  • An interest in nonprofit development, international development, public policy, humanitarian work, communications, or related fields.
  • Capacity to commit 5-8 hours per week on a flexible, remote schedule.

What You’ll Gain

Practical experience in grant research and nonprofit development, direct exposure to real funding initiatives, a certificate of service, a service letter, and recommendation opportunities where appropriate.

Apply for this role

Grant Research & Development

Coming Soon

University Internships &
On-The-Job Training (OJT)

We are finalizing university partnerships for students seeking academic credit and hands-on humanitarian experience. Future cohorts will give students the chance to contribute directly to research, advocacy, digital storytelling, and nonprofit operations.

Check back soon for official launch details, eligibility, and university guidelines.

If you do not see a role that fits yet, we also open applications for Policy, Research, and Editorial Fellowships periodically. View our Fellowship Programs.

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