All Things Urban

Cordaid is the Catholic Organisation for Relief & Development Aid, with its headquarters in the Netherlands. We have been fighting poverty and exclusion in the world's most fragile societies and conflict-stricken areas for almost a century. We support people in vulnerable regions and areas of conflict to build flourishing communities.

Over the past decades, Cordaid has gained extensive experience in urban contexts, in countries like Haiti, Kenya and the Philippines, initially through the Urban Matters programme from which the current urban resilience and multi-stakeholder approaches originate. Urban Resilience projects are currently ongoing in the cities of Cebu, Freetown, Jakarta, and Yangon; the prospects for growth of Security & Justice projects include a range of urban contexts, including Freetown and Yangon, among others. Over the past few years, while urban resilience programmes have mainly taken place in contexts that are prone to natural disasters, there is little on-the ground experience in conflict-related urban contexts.

Cordaid’s Resilience and Security & Justice Units are determined not only to grapple effectively with the increasingly urban context of their work at country-level, but to identify new opportunities for policy influence and programme interventions resulting from urbanization, and do so in collaboration where possible. Cordaid may be better-equipped to respond to the urban challenge in fragile contexts by combining different capacities and experiences for joined-up policy and programming solutions. Therefore, the two units seek to learn from past experiences, map out urban opportunities where Cordaid may have comparative advantage, and explore potential integration and / or synergies between Resilience and Security & Justice tools and services in urban contexts.

The intern will report to and will be supported by supervisors from two units within Cordaid: Resilience and Security & Justice.

Expected tasks:

• Inventory Cordaid lessons learned from past interventions in fragile urban contexts, and current tools and services provided by Resilience and Security & Justice units relevant in fragile urban contexts;
• Assess the scope and significance of urban challenges, globally and in countries where Cordaid works, that can be addressed through Cordaid Resilience and S&J interventions, utilizing proven or promising tools and services, with the aim of identifying Cordaid comparative advantage vis-à-vis other actors, and in particular opportunities for collaboration between the units;
• Scan opportunities for resource mobilization (including potential opportunities to join consortia or sub-partner) and profile key relevant donor partners;
• Spotlight opportunities for potential new policy or programmatic partnerships, including with international and national civil society organizations in the urban domain;
• Produce practical recommendations for Resilience and / or S&J programme development in the urban domain, globally and in countries where Cordaid works, including a “menu” of possible policy and programme interventions, tools and services, and financing options, presented in a compelling final report.

• Bachelor or master student (HBO or WO) student in a relevant discipline (anthropology, development studies, economics, political science, urban planning, Disaster Risk Management, etc.), and you are enrolled at an educational institution in The Netherlands for (at least) the duration of the internship.
• Established interest in development practice & programming or challenges confronting fragile states, as demonstrated by course work or extra-curricular commitments;
• Relevant work experience or previous internship in a relevant sector (development or humanitarian NGOs, urban planning) an asset;
• Outstanding communication skills in English (verbal and written), fluency or facility in one or more Cordaid-relevant languages (especially Arabic, Dari, French, or Pashto) is an advantage;
• Proven sharp analytical skills, able to absorb and summarize new information and translate into appealing and accessible knowledge products;
• Proactive, entrepreneurial, and effective in a fast-paced cross-cultural work environment;
• Affinity with (community managed) DRR, urban resilience, integrated risk management and / or security and justice.

• Unique opportunity to work at the heart of a dynamic, innovative international NGO, contributing to a vital new domain of policy and programming
• Learn from experienced professionals in the development sector, and expand your career-relevant network
• Starting asap for a minimum of 4 months, with a minimum of 3 days a week (can be adjusted to educational requirements)

€250-350/mo in case of a 36-hour workweek

We’re not fully sure whether this role is open to international candidates. If you would need visa sponsorship or work authorisation, we recommend checking directly with the employer before applying.