Internship opportunity IRC Rwanda

Published on: 10/03/2026

IRC is an international think-and-do tank dedicated to strengthening water, sanitation, and hygiene systems to ensure sustainable, universal access to services. In Rwanda, IRC works closely with the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA), Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC Group), the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and other sector partners to support implementation of national water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) policies and the National WASH Sector Strategy Phase 2 (NTS-2), with a focus on systems strengthening, governance, financing, monitoring, and climate resilience.

In parallel, IRC and the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, are co-convening the Africa Water and Sanitation Systems Leadership Symposium 2026 (Kigali). The Symposium brings together leaders from water, sanitation and hygiene, health, climate, governance, education, and finance sectors to accelerate systems transformation across Africa.

To strengthen implementation, documentation, learning, and coordination across both national WASH governance work and continental systems dialogue, IRC Rwanda seeks to recruit an Intern for a six-month assignment.

Objective of the internship

The internship aims to support IRC Rwanda across three interconnected areas:

• Strengthen documentation, learning, and capitalization of WASH systems-strengthening work in Rwanda, including the professionalisation of rural water services.
• Support coordination, knowledge management, and stakeholder engagement in preparation for the Africa Water and Sanitation Systems Leadership Symposium 2026.
• Contribute to research, communication, and systems-strengthening outputs aligned with IRC’s building blocks approach.

Scope of work

The intern’s activities are organized across four workstreams:

Workstream A — WASH systems strengthening & project support

• Collect, synthesize, and document data related to the professionalization of rural water services.
• Draft capitalization documents, learning materials, and thematic case studies.
• Organise and maintain project data repositories to ensure accessibility and consistency.
• Document project meetings, field consultations, and partner discussions.
• Contribute to the development of methodologies and tools.
• Support implementation and phase-out activities under the Isoko y’Ubuzima project and related initiatives.
• Document preparatory meetings, consultations, and coordination sessions (minutes, summaries, action points).
• Support stakeholder mapping and categorization at national, regional, and global levels.
• Maintain and update stakeholder tracking databases with current contact and engagement information.
• Draft outreach communications, invitations, and briefing notes for Symposium participants.
• Consolidate background materials for thematic tracks and youth engagement streams.
• Coordinate internally across Symposium workstreams to ensure coherence and timely delivery.
• Workstream C — Research, Communication & Knowledge Management
• Develop case studies, policy briefs, blog posts, and other learning products.
• Curate and organize knowledge assets aligned with IRC’s systems-building framework.
• Prepare presentations, reports, and internal briefs for senior staff and partners.
• Maintain documentation archives for both Rwanda program and Symposium activities.
• Provide logistical support for meetings, workshops, webinars, and partner events.
• Monitor and track deliverables and timelines across assigned activities.
• Organise partner alignment sessions and manage follow-up action tracking.
• Contribute to cross-team collaboration within IRC Rwanda and the Africa Hub.

Workstream B — Symposium 2026 preparation support

• Document preparatory meetings, consultations, and coordination sessions (minutes, summaries, action points).
• Support stakeholder mapping and categorization at national, regional, and global levels.
• Maintain and update stakeholder tracking databases with current contact and engagement information.
• Draft outreach communications, invitations, and briefing notes for Symposium participants.
• Consolidate background materials for thematic tracks and youth engagement streams.
• Coordinate internally across Symposium workstreams to ensure coherence and timely delivery.
• Workstream C — Research, Communication & Knowledge Management
• Develop case studies, policy briefs, blog posts, and other learning products.
• Curate and organize knowledge assets aligned with IRC’s systems-building framework.
• Prepare presentations, reports, and internal briefs for senior staff and partners.
• Maintain documentation archives for both Rwanda program and Symposium activities.

Workstream C — Coordination & administrative support

• Provide logistical support for meetings, workshops, webinars, and partner events.
• Monitor and track deliverables and timelines across assigned activities.
• Organise partner alignment sessions and manage follow-up action tracking.
• Contribute to cross-team collaboration within IRC Rwanda and the Africa Hub.

Expected deliverables

The following deliverables are expected by the end of the internship period:

• Structured documentation archive (projects + Symposium) (Month 2)
• Draft capitalization document inputs on rural water service professionalization (Month 2-3)
• At least one finalized learning product (blog, brief, or case study) (Month 4-5)
• Monthly progress summaries (×6) (Monthly)
• Final internship report: contributions, lessons learned, and recommendations (Month 6)

Requested qualifications

Candidates must meet one of the following criteria:

Academic background

• Currently enrolled in, or recently completed, a master’s degree in Water Resources Management, Environmental Engineering, Development Studies, Public Policy, International Relations, Governance, or a related field, or
• Hold a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of three years of directly relevant professional experience.

Technical competencies

• Demonstrated interest and foundational knowledge in WASH systems strengthening and governance. 
• Strong research, data synthesis, and analytical writing skills. 
• Experience in knowledge management, documentation, or communications is an asset. 
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite and online collaboration tools (e.g. SharePoint, Teams, Google Workspace). 

Language requirements

• English: Required (professional proficiency in writing and speaking). 
• French: An asset. 
• Kinyarwanda: Highly desirable. 

Personal attributes

• Strong organizational and coordination skills with attention to detail. 
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent tasks and meet deadlines. 
• Capacity to work effectively in multicultural and multidisciplinary team environments. 
• Proactive, self-directed, and committed to learning and professional development. 

Learning & development opportunities

This internship offers significant professional development value. The intern will gain:

• Hands-on experience in WASH systems strengthening at the national level in Rwanda.
• Direct exposure to continental policy dialogue and systems leadership through the Symposium 2026.
• Mentorship from senior governance and systems experts within IRC.
• Access to IRC WASH Systems Academy courses and learning resources.
• Experience in high-level event coordination, multi-stakeholder engagement, and international development communications.

Supervision and performance management

The intern will be supervised and supported as follows:

• Primary Supervisor: WASH Governance Expert — day-to-day oversight, task assignment, and performance management.
• Technical Coordinator (Symposium tasks): Symposium Local Coordinator — guidance on Symposium-related workstreams.
• Weekly check-in meetings with the primary supervisor.
• Monthly review meetings to assess progress against deliverables.
• Formal performance reviews at mid-term (Month 3) and end of internship (Month 6).

Details of the position

• Start date from April 2026 – September 2026.
• The candidate will initially be offered a 6-month internship, with the possibility to extend with 6 months if the assignment requires this, for 24 – 40 hours per week. The internship will be assessed after the first month to determine if it is a good mutual fit for the Intern and IRC
• The intern will be based in Kigali, Rwanda (office based with occasional field visits.
• Stipend for the internship is US$ 500, – (€ 425, -) pre-taxes per month based on a 40 hours working week.
• The intern reports directly to the WASH Governance Expert and coordinates with the Symposium Local Coordinator for the Symposium-related tasks.

Candidates are kindly requested to respond with a short motivation letter explaining their interest in the position. In addition, please share a concise curriculum vitae before 23^rd March 2026 to IRC at recruitment@ircwash.org. Interviews are scheduled to take place between 1^st – 3^rd April 2026.