Refugee Housing Intern, Spring 2025

SCOPE OF INTERN SERVICE:

IRC Louisville’s Housing Team supports newly arrived refugees by securing short-term and long-term housing; coordinating move-ins, lease-signings, and grocery pickups; securing a culturally appropriate meal to welcome families upon arrival; and providing transportation to clients. The Spring 2025 Refugee Housing Intern works closely with the Housing Specialist to ensure clients receive crucial services moving into their first homes in the U.S. seamless and high-quality services will work to expand the capacity of the resettlement team.

Please note this is an unpaid internship position.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Intern will develop skills in: problem solving, client services, intercultural social work, and housing logistics navigation.
• Intern will gain US resettlement agency experience in assessing program needs.
• Intern will learn how to communicate cross-culturally 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 gain skills in strategic research and outreach strategies.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide equal treatment to all client groups in accordance with the agency’s commitment to the dignity of all persons.
• Create Excel spreadsheets and maps that can aid in the monitoring of housing resources and progress towards goals.
• Help coordinate materials needed for housing setups.
• Work to make sure inventory of supplies are in stock, organized, and ready to distribute in new homes.
• Support the team with outreach to landlords.
• Assist clients with lease-signing, setting up utility services, paying utility bills, completing maintenance requests, and other duties as assigned.
• Assist with various activities such as tenant applications, housing orientation classes, and other client-facing service support.

REQUIREMENTS

• Must be a current undergraduate student, graduate student, or less than 12 months past graduation.
• Access to a personal vehicle/reliable transportation; IRC Louisville cannot support securing transportation or housing for interns.
• Candidates must be a U.S. citizen or must have active and compliant visas and work authorization status in the United States (the IRC must not be represented as a sponsor or host in any application, filing, or other context for an intern).
• Ability to handle sensitive client information confidentially.
• Strong intercultural communication skills, including demonstrated ability to work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and across language barriers.
• Ability to work independently and as a part of a team
• Comfortable with Microsoft Excel and willingness to learn to use new software for data entry.
• Adherence to IRC volunteer/intern and workplace policies
• Fluency/proficiency in English, both spoken and written, are required; proficiency in language(s) spoken by client group is desired, but not required.

TRAINING & GUIDANCE

• In-depth training will be provided for interns to understand IRC programming and the various needs of clients accessing IRC services. Interns will receive training on IRC’s federal R&P and APA service agreements and their programmatic requirements for resettlement services.
• Interns with client languages who could serve as an interpreter will receive guidance on policies when interpreting. Other activity specific training will be provided as needed.
• Flexibility, initiative, and a desire to collaborate are essential qualities for this intern opportunity. A high-level of confidentiality is required when working with IRC clients.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.