Business Development & Donor Engagement Intern
Provide coordination and support for business development and donor engagement.
Overview
Provide coordination and support for business development and donor engagement.
You have:
- Full professional proficiency in English is mandatory.
- Proficiency in Arabic, French, and/or Swahili is an advantage.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills are required.
- Experience with design tools like Canva or Adobe Suite is necessary.
- Experience using AI technologies to enhance deliverables is preferred.
- Effective use of Office 365 is required.
- Interest in donor relations, fundraising, or donor engagement is needed.
- Must be enrolled in a university for consideration for the internship.
Contract
This is a DRC - National contract. More about DRC - National contracts.
Danish Refugee Council (DRC) ranks as one of the world's best NGOs. We’re engaged in humanitarian work in 28 different countries across the globe. The Partnership, Advocacy, Engagement, & Resource Mobilization (PAER) department is DRCs external face at a global level to ensure a consistent, well-informed and strategic approach to external relations. Recognizing the integral role partnerships play in DRCs work, ensuring dedicated resources to further such ambitions is essential.
About the internship
The intern will support our Regional Business Development and Donor Engagement Advisors by providing coordination, communication, and administrative support across HQ hubs in Dakar (Senegal), Nairobi (Kenya), and Amman (Jordan). Based in Copenhagen, the intern will assist Advisors with donor engagement, business development, and strategic communications, while also handling recurring research and administrative tasks to support team operations across all three regions.
- Support research on institutional donors and foundations opportunities across the regions covered by the Dakar, Nairobi, and Amman hubs, and preparing background documents aligned with DRC’s programmatic priorities.
- Help identify new opportunities relevant to regional business development priorities.
- Supporting the graphic design of external and internal communications materials, including presentations, donor briefs, infographics, and visual content that effectively communicates DRC’s regional work and impact.
- Proofreading and formatting, donor reports, capacity statements, and other business development materials produced by the HQ hub teams.
- Bookkeeping, archiving, and updating internal working documents.
- Creating and maintaining internal team pages and knowledge management tools.
- Organising and planning the team’s work, including managing the regional advisory team’s SharePoint workspace and supporting coordination.
- Performing various ad hoc tasks as needed.
About you
To be successful in this role we expect you to be flexible, eager to learn and proactive. All employees and interns at DRC should master DRC's core competencies: Communicating, Taking the lead, Collaborating, Striving for excellence and Demonstrating integrity. The intern should be able to meet the following requirements:
- Full professional proficiency in English (mandatory). Proficiency in Arabic, French, and/or Swahili is an advantage (reflecting the languages of the regional hub locations). Other languages are advantageous.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft clear and professional content for diverse audiences.
- Experience with design tools (e.g. Canva, Adobe suite, or similar) to produce visually compelling materials such as presentations, infographics, and donor-facing documents.
- Experience using AI technologies to enhance deliverables and optimise workflows
- Be effective in the use of Office 365.
- Have an interest in donor relations, fundraising, donor engagement, donor compliance and/or how NGOs fund their operations.
- Be able to work systematically with a good structure for the tasks that you are responsible for.
It is a requirement that you are enrolled in a university to be considered for the internship. Therefore, applicants should be pursuing a relevant graduate level degree, such as International Relations, Political Science, Development Studies or other related social science studies.
People with a migration or refugee background are highly encouraged to apply.
We offer
- Contract length: 4 to 6 months subject to study requirements and further dialogue.
- Workplace: DRC Headquarters located Lyngbyvej 100, 2100 Copenhagen Ø
- Start date: Mid-August to September 2026. We can be flexible on the start date.
- Working hours: Approximately 30 hours per week, subject to study requirements and further dialogue. We offer flexibility when you have study obligations next to the internship.
The internship is not paid but we offer:
- 2 (unpaid) vacation days per month. The days can either be spent as you earn them or be accumulated.
- Free lunch in our canteen (working hours).
Application process
- All applicants must send a cover letter, an updated CV in English as well as documentation that you are enrolled in a university.
- Closing date for applications: 3 May 2026. We expect to conduct interviews during the first week of May.
- Please note that if you do not have the right to work in Denmark (through nationality or existing work visa), you will need to apply for it should you be selected for the internship. DRC will support the process, but please note it can take up to three months from initiating the process. You can read more here.
Further information For questions regarding the internship, please contact Samuel Dillon: samuel.dillon@drc.ngo. For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website drc.ngo.
Potential interview questions
| How do you adapt your communication style for different audiences? | The interviewer wants to know your communication versatility. | Provide examples of how you've successfully tailored communications in the past. |
| Describe a time when you managed multiple tasks effectively. | This question assesses your organizational skills and ability to prioritize. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| What experience do you have with design software? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| Give an example of a time you used AI technologies to improve efficiency. | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| What strategies would you use to research donor opportunities? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| Can you provide a sample of your written communication? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| What methods do you use for proofreading and formatting documents? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| How do you handle tight deadlines and pressure? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |