Mercy Corps is a global humanitarian aid agency engaged in transitional environments that have experienced some sort of shock: natural disaster, economic collapse, or conflict.
Kenya – Innovation and Technology for Youth Employment Event Internship
INTERNS SUPERVISOR & CONTACT INFORMATION: Resutls, Learning and Research Coordinator, YES!; working closely with Impact Labs’ Results and Learning Manager, and Directors of Social Venture Fund, YES! and Impact Labs
Funding Available For The Internship
- Mercy Corps responsibilities
For the duration of this internship assignment the intern will receive:
- A monthly stipend of $700, including housing (paid directly in country)
- Reimbursement for a 6 month visa, and/or any special entry pass required
- Work-related ground transportation in Kenya
- Work space in Mercy Corps’ office
- Mercy Corps email address and online tools
- All other tools, materials and communication requirements for this project to be undertaken
- Intern responsibilities
Intern Will Remain Responsible For All Costs Associated With
- Air travel to/from Kenya
- Medical insurance, and any required vaccinations
- Living expenses
- All other costs associated with this internship
Background
Mercy Corps believes young people must play an active role in shaping and maintaining economic progress. We invest in youth ages 15-24 because they represent a powerful source of hope, determination, and resilience, with the ability to drive lasting change. This age group represents a uniquely pivotal stage of an individual’s personal development in shaping his or her future. Mercy Corps believes that young people can set the course for society to thrive socially, politically, and economically. Youth are the entrepreneurs and innovators of today, and they are the employers and economic leaders of the future. Our economic programs for youth promote local, sustainable solutions to widespread underemployment and unemployment, and promote efficient and effective labor market systems rather than short-term interventions.
Mercy Corps seeks to change the narrative around youth in East and Southern Africa. Despite the scale of the unemployment challenge, we see immense opportunity in equipping young people to be engines for economic growth. We rely on the support and expertise of our diverse donors and partners, such as the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, Google.org, MasterCard Foundation, Nike, and USAID, who are helping to improve the economic status of youth. Mercy Corps has supported innovative, technology-enabled solutions to youth employment in East Africa through the ongoing programs Youth Empowered for Success (YES!) funded by the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, Impact Labs – a collaboration between Google.org and Mercy Corps – and the Mercy Corps Social Venture Fund.
Project Description
Plan and organize the East Africa innovation and technology for youth employment event: Mercy Corps is well placed as a convener and plans to host a thought leadership event on innovation and technology for youth employment in late January or early February in Nairobi. The event will include a series of curated TED-style talks by key players in employment and technology, as well as panel discussions between these speakers. It will have an intimate, invitation-only audience that will have the opportunity to network over lunch and cocktails. The talks and panels will be live streamed and content will be available online after the event to continue the discussions. The intern will coordinate the event committee to deliver the event strategy including the publicity plan, curating speakers and their presentations, preparing moderators, organizing the venue and logistics and coordinating with media.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: The intern will have a unique opportunity to work with an energetic and entrepreneurial team to deliver a thought leadership event with high visibility in East Africa. Working to curate the talks and panels, the intern will have the opportunity to engage deeply in the discussions and debates around innovation and technology in youth employment and entrepreneurship. This internship will also be an introduction to both youth livelihood programming and the technology/start-up landscape in Kenya.
DELIVERABLES: There are three deliverables:
- Successful planning and delivery of the event with the event committee
- Develop a business model for the event to be sponsored and replicated in future years
- Write up a report on the event including key themes of the talks and panels, and learning and recommendations for planning a follow up event
Ideal Candidate Should Possess The Following Qualifications
- Strong organizational skills, experience organizing TEDx events or similar a plus
- Experience and/or desire to conduct event planning and learning events, experience with business models for similar events a plus
- A Bachelor’s degree in international development, events & media, public policy or a related field and with knowledge and/or interest in the field of international development. Master’s degree preferred
- Strong written and verbal communicator (English)
- Outgoing, enthusiastic, creative, and a tremendous amount of flexibility
- A self-starter who can work with minimal supervision
More Information
- Job City Nairobi
