Tarjimly WFP Uganda Pilot Intern - MIIS

Kindly note that this vacancy is for MIIS (Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey) students only. 

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Hours: 15-20 hours per week 

Location: home-based 

Travel: none 

Reporting to: Language Access and Engagement Specialist

MIIS Students may be eligible for the Experiential Learning Fund (ELF). For more information please visit: https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/immersive-learning-study-abroad/funding 

Are you a MIIS student with a unique internship idea based on your area of interest and expertise? Apply to any open MIIS internship posting, upload your resume, and outline your proposal in your cover letter.

CLEAR Global is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to having a diverse team where individuals of all backgrounds collaborate and learn from one another. We believe we can be most effective with diverse experience and expertise in our team. We recruit on merit, actively seek diverse applicant pools, and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, marital or parental status, or sexual orientation, and welcome all types of diversity.

Background

CLEAR Global is working with the World Food Programme (WFP) on a pilot project in Uganda, helping to make sure people can access information and services in the language they understand. This pilot depends on building a strong, well-supported network of volunteers, interpreters, and local partners across the languages spoken in Uganda. Getting this right takes hands-on work: training people, reaching out to new volunteers and institutions, mapping where language gaps exist, engaging local partners to use the service, and keeping the community connected and active.

The role

The Tarjimly WFP Uganda Pilot Intern will play an active, on-the-ground role in helping this pilot grow and succeed. This is a varied, practical role: depending on what the pilot needs at any given time, the intern might be helping run a training session one week, reaching out to universities or interpreter networks the next, and helping map language gaps after that. The intern will work closely with the Uganda Field Officer and the wider project team, getting real exposure to how a humanitarian language project is built and run in practice.

This role suits someone who enjoys practical, people-facing work, is comfortable juggling different tasks, and wants hands-on experience helping to build something from the ground up.

Responsibilities

• Support training and onboarding: Help prepare and coordinate training and onboarding sessions for volunteers, ambassadors, and potentially partner organizations. This includes helping organize sessions, preparing materials, tracking who takes part, and following up afterwards.
• Help recruit volunteers and interpreters: Support outreach to find and bring in interpreters and volunteers for the languages needed in the Uganda response, including targeted outreach where gaps are identified.
• Build partnerships locally: Help identify and reach out to universities, language departments, interpreter networks, professional associations, and other relevant institutions in Uganda that could help strengthen local language capacity and grow the volunteer pool.
• Support events and community activities: Help plan and run online (and potentially in-person) events connected to the pilot, from early planning and inviting participants through to logistics and following up afterward.
• Map language capacity and gaps: Help identify which languages are most needed for the pilot, and map where CLEAR Global already has good coverage and where more recruitment or outreach is needed.
• Build local relationships: Act as a helpful, visible point of contact for volunteers and partners engaging with the pilot in Uganda.
• Stay flexible and responsive: Move between different areas of the pilot as priorities shift, picking up tasks where support is most needed.
• Keep track of progress: Maintain clear, simple records of outreach, training, and mapping activities so the wider team can see what's been done and what's next.
• Other tasks: Take on other tasks connected to the pilot as needed.
• Represent CLEAR Global well: Act in the best interests of the organization throughout the internship.

Please note that these responsibilities are approximate and may change over time, depending on the evolving needs of the pilot.

Qualifications 

• Current graduate student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) 
• Familiarity with Uganda, its languages, and its institutions (such as universities or interpreter networks) is an advantage
• Comfortable reaching out to and building relationships with new people and organizations;
• Well-organized and able to manage tasks, follow up on actions, and work independently in a remote team;
• Comfortable using common remote-working and collaboration tools, such as Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Calendar and Meet), Slack and Asana, or similar tools;
• An interest in humanitarian work, language access, or community mobilization (previous experience is not required, but is a plus);
• Comfortable learning new tools and software; training and support will be provided.
• Strong written and spoken English.

Requirements 

This is a hands-on, varied role, well suited to someone who enjoys practical work and building things from the ground up, rather than a desk-based communications role. The right person is proactive, comfortable talking to new people, and genuinely interested in helping this pilot grow. They should agree with CLEAR Global's basic beliefs and values, and be able to work closely with the Uganda Field Officer and wider project team.

• Self-starter; 
• Strong organizational skills; 
• Analytical thinker able to transform ideas into tangible actions; 
• Understands that communication in the right language is key to improved humanitarian response; 
• Team player, collaborative, adaptable and self-motivated; 
• Interest in acquiring translation project management experience; 
• Ability to adapt to new technologies and learn new skills quickly; 
• Attention to detail.

About CLEAR Global

CLEAR Global exists to help people get vital information, and be heard, whatever language they speak. We believe that everyone has the right to give and receive information in a language and format they understand. We work with nonprofit partners and a global community of language professionals to build local language translation capacity, and raise awareness of language barriers. Our network of over 200,000 community members translate millions of words of life-saving and life-changing information a year. 

Core values

CLEAR Global employees and volunteers are people who believe passionately about the value of this work and take personal responsibility for achieving the mission. CLEAR Global’s mission and organizational spirit embody the core values established in its strategic framework:

• Excellence: As the leading voice for communicating humanitarian information in the right language, CLEAR Global is a leader in the translation industry and in the non-profit sector.
• Integrity: CLEAR Global believes that every person, whether it’s the people who we serve, our volunteers or our staff, has value, deserves respect and has inherent dignity.
• Empowerment: CLEAR Global believes in using language to empower people around the world to control their own development and destiny.
• Innovation: CLEAR Global recognizes and celebrates the power of innovation to address humanitarian and crisis issues around the world.
• Sustainability: CLEAR Global recognizes that meeting our mission necessitates establishment and maintenance of a solid financial and organizational infrastructure.
• Tolerance: Our staff and volunteers are highly knowledgeable and skilled; value each other, our partner and our recipients; create a supportive work environment; and conduct themselves professionally at all times.

CLEAR Global may re-advertise the vacancy, cancel the recruitment, offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration at its discretion.