Background: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. At work in over 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope, the IRC leads the way from harm to home. Domestically, our 26 offices across the U.S. ensure new arrivals have food, shelter, and clothing, and work with refugees to help them gain self-sufficiency. 

Scope of Work: The Refugee TANF Coordination Program (RTCP) specializes in providing holistic services to humanitarian immigrant parents receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The goal of the program is threefold: 1) assist households in maintaining compliance with their TANF benefits, 2) reduce barriers to self-sufficiency and employment, for both spouses if a two-parent household and 3) assist the employment ready spouse(s) in securing full-time employment. The intern will work directly under the supervision of one of the RTCP employment specialists. 

Responsibilities: 

Assess new clients through creating their individual initial employment plan and pre-employment budget. 

Conduct bulk Zoom or in-person skill-building or information sessions, including on job readiness, interviews, digital literacy, public transport, childcare options, driver’s licenses, GED courses and credential evaluation. 

Assist clients with public benefit application follow-up, calls to external service providers and referrals to internal and external services. 

Create individualized resumes and cover letters, assist with finding job leads and complete job applications with clients. 

Strategically research potential employer partners and conduct outreach. 

Regularly track service provision through electronic data entry and organize required client documentation. 

Other duties assigned by the RTCP team.

Learning Objectives: 

Intern will gain US resettlement agency experience in assessing new clients. 

Intern will learn how to train and communicate with a diverse population, including how to effectively utilize interpreters. 

Intern will acquire knowledge of programs and public benefits available to humanitarian immigrants. 

Intern will learn how to effectively create resumes and job search for clients. 

Intern will gain skills in strategic research and outreach strategies. 

Intern will learn reporting requirements for resettlement agencies and how capturing this data improves services.