Program Support 2016 Summer Fellowship

Founded in 2004, Building Markets is an award-winning nonprofit that creates jobs and encourages economic growth in developing countries by finding, building and connecting competitive local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to supply chains and investment. Through this approach, the organization has built a network of more than 20,000 verified SMEs, assisted them in winning over $1.2 billion in contracts, and helped create over 70,000 jobs in some of the world’s poorest economies. Building Markets is headquartered in New York City and currently operates programs in Liberia, Myanmar and Mozambique. It will soon open a country office in Turkey. For more information, please visit www.buildingmarkets.org.

Background and Program Description

Syria is facing one of the largest humanitarian crises of the 21st century. Now approaching its sixth year, with no end in sight, the conflict has resulted in the deaths of over 250,000 people. It is estimated that 6.5 million Syrians are internally displaced and over 4.3 million people are currently living in neighboring countries.

As part of the Syrian response effort, Building Markets is establishing a program that will facilitate the delivery of humanitarian and development assistance in Syria through increased partnerships with Syrian organizations and enterprises. This will include a screening mechanism to help international organizations identify capable local partners, a targeted training and capacity building program, the development of an information-sharing platform and an analysis of monitoring and evaluation approaches.

Position Overview

The Summer Fellowship is open to graduate students interested in gaining hands-on experience with program design and implementation, by supporting Building Markets with the launch of its new country office in Turkey. The Fellow will support the start-up team from Building Markets’ headquarters office in New York City. The Fellow will report to the Project Director. Specific start dates are flexible, but the Fellow would be expected to work for approximately four months (May to August). A modest monthly stipend will be provided.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Conduct research and analysis to support the launch of Building Markets’ country office in Turkey. This will include context-specific background information, regulatory and compliance practices, identifying stakeholders, and other prospective local partners;
• Contribute to the development of country office policies and standard operating procedures;
• Support the establishment of program monitoring and evaluation systems;
• Support the establishment and maintenance of an online project management system;
• Develop communications materials - including one pagers, presentations, templates and other resources;
• Provide administrative support to the start-up team, as required.

Qualifications

• Enrolled in a graduate program in international studies, business administration or a related discipline, with a keen interest in humanitarian and development programming in the Middle East;
• Relevant experience with research, analysis, monitoring and evaluation methods, and best practices;
• Excellent written and spoken English language skills, with the ability to explain complex issues in simple and relevant terms;
• Advanced skills with Microsoft Excel;
• Strong attention to detail.

Location: New York City

Duration: 4 months

HOW TO APPLY:

Please send your cover letter and CV to vacancies@buildingmarkets.org with the subject line: Program Support Summer 2016 Fellowship