IR career starters - November 2025
We're delighted that Alexander Borum, a special advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark diplomatic corps, has kindly agreed for us to reproduce his periodical list of internships, traineeships, fellowships and entry-level positions in IR on our website.
It is November, and once again, time for a slightly overdue, fresh new edition of IR career starters. Once again, it is packed with hundreds of internships, traineeships, fellowships and entry/early-career positions.
A lot has happened since last, mainly that I had a great trip to Korea, got engaged and have jumped straight into preparations for the upcoming EU-AU Summit later this month; good stuff but busy days.
Beyond that, you can catch a recent interview with me on Brussels Unplugged, where I discuss life in the field, my career path, and this very newsletter with Pietro Moro.
Another neat development was that Corporate Vision awarded the newsletter the award for 'Best International Affairs Newsletter 2025 in Europe'. While it is just a commercial award, it is naturally always nice to see the newsletter recognised and to realise that it has actually reached a size where things like this happen organically.
Other than that, I hope you enjoy this edition of the newsletter. As always, I am very happy to get suggestions for organisations to cover, wishes for future articles and guides and any likes, shares, comments, and follows that you can provide!
All the best,
Alex
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Project Officer (Armenia), Yerevan [DIP] [LAW]
π International Crisis Group π
ππ§πππ«π§, Video & Photography, Brussels [PUD] [SEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Quantitative Research, New York, Nairobi or Brussels [ACA] [SEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Promoting Low-Emission Shipping Technologies and Sustainable Maritime Cooperation in the Pacific, Majuro [ENV] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Technical Support Unit (TSU) of the Mitigation Action Facility, Berlin [ENV] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Access to climate finance with βPartnering for Readinessβ, Bonn [ENV] [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Policy Analyst, Anti-corruption & Illicit Financial Flows in development, Paris [ECO] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Policy Analyst β Qualitative and quantitative Economic development research, Paris [ECO] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Green Financial Systems, London [ENV] [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Associate Trader Portfolio Management, EMEA, London [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Vulnerability Management Engineer, Sofia [SEC] [TEC]
ππ§ππ«π², Associate Banker, DM Product Development, London [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Associate Banker, EU Banks and Structured Finance, London [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Associate Communications Officer, Manila [PUD] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Associate Project Officer, Manila [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Operations Assistant, Timor-Leste Resident Mission [DEV] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Public Information Section, Vienna [PUD] [SEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, External Relations, Protocol and International Cooperation Section, Vienna [PUD] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Social Media, Vienna [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Culture Department, Singapore [EDU]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications Department, Singapore [PUD] [EDU]
ππ§πππ«π§, Executive Office, Singapore [EDU]
ππ§πππ«π§, Governance Unit, Singapore [EDU]
ππ§πππ«π§, Human Resources, Singapore [PUD] [EDU]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications, Nairobi [PUD] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Admin, Kakuma [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Head of Office, Oslo [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Durable Solution Project Assistant, Garissa [HUM] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², ICLA Technical Assistant, Tripoli [TEC] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Humanitarian Access and Safety Technical Assistant, Jerusalem [HUM] [TEC]
ππ«ππ’π§ππ, Associate Law and Policy Outreach, Geneva [LAW] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Programmes, Copenhagen [DEV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Middle East Program (Spring 2026), Washington DC [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics (Spring 2026), Washington DC [ECO] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Korea Chair (Spring 2026), Washington DC [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Multimedia Production/ iDeas Lab (Spring 2026), Washington DC [PUD] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Missile Defense Project (Spring 2026), Washington DC [SEC] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Southeast Asia (Spring 2026), Washington DC [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Japan Chair (Spring 2026), Washington DC [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Renewing American Innovation Project (Spring 2026), Washington DC [ACA] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Project on Prosperity and Development and the Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative (Spring 2026), Washington DC [ENV] [DEV]
ππ§πππ«π§, China Power Project (Spring 2026), Washington DC [ACA] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Global Health Policy Center (Spring 2026), Washington DC [HEA] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics (Spring 2026), Washington DC [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Congressional & Government Affairs (Spring 2026), Washington DC [ACA] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program (Spring 2026), Washington DC [SEC] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Data Visualization - iDeas Lab (Spring 2026), Washington DC [ACA] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, ππ§πππ«π§, Russian Language Intern - Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program (Fall/Winter 2025), Washington DC [SEC] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications (Spring 2026), Washington DC [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Freeman Chair in China Studies (Spring 2026), Washington DC [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Americas Program (Fall 2025), Washington DC [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Futures Lab (Fall 2025), Washington DC [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Center for the Industrial Base (Fall 2025), Washington DC [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Critical Minerals Security Program (Fall 2025), Washington DC [SEC] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Americas Program (Fall 2025), Washington DC [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Energy Security and Climate Change Program (Fall 2025), Washington DC [SEC] [ENV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics (Fall 2025), Washington DC [ECO]
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, Critical Minerals Security Program, Washington DC [SEC] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Research Associate - Critical Minerals Security Program, Washington DC [SEC] [ACA]
π Carnegie Endowment for International Peace π
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications, Beirut [PUD] [SEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Research, Beirut [ACA] [SEC]
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, Stanton Nuclear Security, Washington DC [SEC] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², RAND Summer Associate Program - POLICY Research, US (5) [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², RAND Summer Associate Program - POLITICAL SCIENCE & HISTORY, US (5) [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², RAND Summer Associate Program - OPERATIONS RESEARCH, INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING/SYSTEMS ENGINEERING, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, SUPPLY CHAIN, RISK ANALYSIS, US (5) [ACA] [TEC]
ππ§ππ«π², RAND Summer Associate Program - ENGINEERING, COMPUTER SCIENCE, MATH, DATA SCIENCE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, PHYSICAL SCIENCES, US (5 [TEC] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², RAND Summer Associates Program - STATISTICS, US (5) [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², RAND Summer Associate Program - SOCIOLOGY & DEMOGRAPHY, US (5) [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², RAND Summer Associate Program - ECONOMICS, US (5) [ECO] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², RAND Summer Associate Program - PSYCHOLOGY, US (5) [ACA]
π Brookings Institution π
ππ§ππ«π², Research Assistant, ESCI and Talbott Center, Washington DC [ACA] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Defence & Security Research, Brussels [SEC] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Legal Research, Brussels [LAW] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications, Brussels [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Editor, Brussels [PUD]
π Council on Foreign Relations π
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, Research Fellow, Artificial Intelligence, New York [ACA] [TEC]
ππ§ππ«π², Program Associate, State and Local Officials Initiative, New York [DIP] [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Program Associate, Local Journalists Initiative, New York [PUD] [DIP]
ππ§ππ«π², Business Development Associate, New York [ECO] [DIP]
ππ§ππ«π², Program Assistant, Membership, New York [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Research Associate, Artificial Intelligence, Washington DC [ACA] [TEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, LGBT Rights Program (LAC), Berlin [LAW] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, International Justice Program, - [LAW] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications, - [PUD] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Development & Outreach Department, - [PUD] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Asia Division, - [HUM] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Traineeship in Grant-making support (Russian speaker), Brussels [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Grants Assistant (Eastern Partnership), Brussels [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Academic-Year Externship, - [DIP] [TEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Social Affairs, Brussels [DIP]
π German Marshall Fund of the United States π
ππ§πππ«π§, Geostrategy Hub-Risk and Strategy Workstream, Paris [ACA] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Civil-Military Relations Program, Washington DC [SEC] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Indo-Pacific Program, Washington DC [DIP] [SEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Misc, - (40) [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Global Foundations, Copenhagen [HUM] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Institutional Donor, Copenhagen [ACA] [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding, Copenhagen [HUM] [SEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, IT, Mogadishu [TEC] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Shelter and Settlement Assistant, Kharkiv [HUM] [SEC]
ππ§ππ«π², Safety Assistant, Mykolaiv [SEC] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Economic Recovery Assistant, Abaβala [ECO] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², IT Assistant, Kyiv [TEC] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Economic Recovery Assistant, East Amman [ECO] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Economic Recovery Assistant, Irbid [ECO] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Protection Assistant - Case Management, Taiz [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², WASH Assistant, Khokha [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², HR & Admin Assistant, Golo [PUD] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, 2025 Research Specialists, Washington DC [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, 2025 Young Professionals Program, Washington DC [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, 2025 Publication Fellows, Washington DC [ACA] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, 2025 International Affairs Fellows, Washington DC [DIP] [ACA]
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, 2026 PhD Fellowship Programme, BAS [ACA] [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Research Assistant / Researcher β Energy, Resources and Climate Change Unit, Brussels [ENV] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Operations and Administration Officer, Fort Dauphin [DEV] [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Lead, Fort Dauphin [DEV] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Pro Bono PR & Media Consultant (Part-Time), Remote, Fort Dauphin [PUD] [DEV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Volunteer Backend Web Developer (3-6 hours a week), Remote, Fort Dauphin [TEC] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Media and Communications Officer, Fort Dauphin [DEV] [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Programme Officer - Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development, Fort Dauphin [DEV] [ENV]
ππ§ππ«π², Programme Manager β Schools, WASH and Solar, Fort Dauphin [EDU] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Programme Officer β Schools, WASH and Solar, Fort Dauphin [EDU] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Programme Manager Community Health, Fort Dauphin [HEA] [DEV]
ππ§πππ«π§, Leadership Practice, Washington DC [DEV] [EDU]
ππ§ππ«π², Program Officer, Kyiv [SEC] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Program Assistant, Kyiv [SEC] [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Program Associate, Washington DC [DIP]
π ππ₯π₯π¨π°, Visiting, Brussels [ECO] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Climate Economists, Brussels [ENV] [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications & Events, Brussels [PUD] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, European Affairs Programme, Brussels [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, HR Support, Greece [PUD] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Humanitarian Aid, Greece [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Community Empowerment Mobilization, Greece [HUM] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Integration Support, Greece [HUM]
π Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum π
ππ§ππ«π², Finance and Procurement Assistant, Brussels [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Fundraiser - East Midlands, Leicester (2) [HUM] [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Fundraiser - London, Birmingham [HUM] [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Mosque Engagement Officer - West Midlands, Birmingham [HUM] [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Fundraiser - North East, Bradford [HUM] [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Mosque Engagement Officer - North East, Bradford [HUM] [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Fundraising Admin Assistant - North East, Bradford [HUM] [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Fundraiser - North West, Manchester [HUM] [PUD]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Mosque Engagement Officer - North West, Manchester [HUM] [PUD]
π Adam Smith International π
ππ§ππ«π², Associate β Provincial Climate Budget Tagging, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad and Quetta (3) [ECO] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Programs, New York [LAW] [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Communications, New York or Remote [PUD] [LAW]
ππ§πππ«π§, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DME), New York or Remote [LAW] [HUM]
π United Nations University π
ππ§ππ«π², Research Associate-Economic Governance, New York [ACA] [ECO]
ππ§ππ«π², Advocacy and Policy Development Associate (PSA), Ontario [PUD] [ENV]
ππ§ππ«π², Finance Associate (GS-6), Helsinki [ECO] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Research Associate-National Resident Advisor-CEEG (PSA), Maputo [ACA] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Research Associate-National Resident Advisor-DNPED (PSA), Maputo [ACA] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Research Associate, Bangkok [ENV] [LAW]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Expert Humanitarian Action, Bonn [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, BSI Communications, Bangkok [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Video Editor and Translator, Remote [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Account and Finance, Chiang Mai [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, ADPC Academy, Bangkok [ENV] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Business Development [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Volunteer, Dublin [HUM]
π Search for Common Ground π
ππ§πππ«π§, Global Affairs and Partnerships - Policy, Washington DC [SEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Global Program Development, Washington DC [SEC] [PUD]
π Basel Institute on Governance π
ππ§πππ«π§, International Conference, Basel [DIP] [LAW]
ππ§ππ«π², Associate, Defence Manufacturing Integrity β Ukraine, Kyiv [SEC] [DIP]
π Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations π
ππ§πππ«π§, Climate Security β Critical Resources Programme, EU & Global Affairs Unit, The Hague [ENV] [DIP]
ππ§ππ«π², Policy Reform Associate for DRR β Climate Change & Environment, Philippines [ENV] [DIP]
ππ§ππ«π², Senior Implementation Support Assistant, Suva [ENV] [DEV]
ππ§ππ«π², Technical Assistant, Suva [TEC] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Senior Programme Assistant - Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOP) and Ocean Acidification Monitoring (PIOAC), Suva [ACA] [ENV]
ππ§ππ«π², Project Assistant (Water Security), Port Vila [DEV] [ACA]
ππ§ππ«π², Sudan : Area MEAL Officer, Sudan [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Democratic Republic of the Congo : Consortium MEAL Officer β Goma [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Republic Democratic of the Congo : Area MEAL Officer β Bukavu [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², Democratic Republic of the Congo : Area Logistics Officer β Kinshasa [HUM]
ππ§ππ«π², DRC : Project Officer WASH β Kalemie [HUM]
ππ§πππ«π§, Environmental & Social Sustainability, Paris [ENV]
ππ§πππ«π§, International Affairs & Analysis, Paris [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, European Relations, Paris [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Information Technology (Digital Innovation & AI), Paris [TEC]
ππ§πππ«π§, Funding & Investor Relations, Paris [ECO] [PUD]
ππ§πππ«π§, Legal Affairs (Operations & Loans), Paris [LAW] [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Credit Risk, Paris [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Evaluation, Paris [ACA] [DIP]
ππ§ππ«π², Junior Advisor, Paris [ECO]
ππ§πππ«π§, Climate Change and Democracy, Stockholm (2) [ENV] [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Democracy Assessment, Stockholm [DIP] [ACA]
ππ§πππ«π§, Electoral Processes, Stockholm [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, Digitalization and Democracy, Stockholm [DIP] [TEC]
ππ§ππ«π², Programme Assistant, Regional Europe Programme, Belgium, Brussels [DIP]
ππ§πππ«π§, International Law β International Relations, remote [LAW] [ACA]
Photo by Lucas George Wendt on Unsplash