Localisation & Accountability Intern

Stagiaire/Étudiant(e), Temps partiel · Netherlands - Amsterdam office

Your mission

Background

War Child defines localisation as “a process of power shifting within humanitarian response and development cooperation by recognizing, respecting and strengthening the leadership and decision-making of national and local actors, including communities, marginalised groups and traditional forms of organisation.” War Child believes that localising the humanitarian response will strengthen the delivery of timely, effective, accountable, appropriate and relevant services to children, youth, caregivers and communities affected by conflict.

War Child is also committed to the participation and Accountability to Affected People (AAP). It emerges from the principle that individuals affected by crises deserve not just aid but to be a central role in decisions that impact their lives. War Child adopts the widely recognised definition of AAP, including within the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), as “an active commitment to use power responsibly by taking account of, giving account to, and being held to account by the people humanitarian organisations seek to assist.”

In 2026, the work on both Localisation and AAP becomes a unit that has a system-wide mandate to drive organisational transformation around localisation, partnership standards, CHS/AAP integration, policy influence, and shifting power to local actors.

With this background, comes the need to have a highly motivated Intern who can support key processes and has a strong interest in capturing the learning of translating value commitments into practice.

You

You are motivated by shifting power within the humanitarian and development sector, with a strong interest in localisation and accountability to affected people. You are excited by the opportunity to contribute to organisational change at a pivotal moment and to be part of shaping how the organisation works in practice. You are flexible, eager to learn and comfortable adapting to different tasks.

You bring a creative mindset and are keen to support the collection of case studies, as well as the development of communication and knowledge-sharing materials that help capture learning and impact across programmes.

Your Challenge

A key part of the role will involve supporting the collection of case studies and examples of best practice, contributing to wider efforts to demonstrate progress on shifting power, localisation and accountability to affected people. The role will support in collecting evidence and best practice as to how War Child and partners meet the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS). You will help capture insights from colleagues globally and support the production of these into usable learning and communication materials.

You will provide support to internal and project coordination. This includes providing administrative support such as organising meetings and following up on action points. You will work closely with colleagues across different regions and teams to support effective coordination and knowledge sharing.

You will also contribute to internal communications and knowledge management by helping set up and maintaining internal SharePoint sites, ensuring that key resources, documents and tools are up to date, well organised and easily accessible for staff and partners. This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys working with people, organising information and supporting collaborative ways of working.

Your Activities:

Case Study Collection Support

Liaise with colleagues and partners globally
Collect stories, evidence and translate into case studies and learning materials
Align with sector best practice and standards, including the Core Humanitarian Standard

Internal Communications

Support in the design of internal SharePoint (Localisation & CHS) sites
Support in adding and ensuring key resources, documents and tools are up to date, well organised and easily accessible to staff and partners
Coordinate with the translation of materials and checking for accuracy and consistent formatting

Logistics Support

Actively taking part in various internal meetings
Edit Meeting Notes and support in follow up actions
Provide flexible support during peak periods

Your profile

You are HBO, Bachelor or Master’s student in Communications, International Relations, Development Studies or similar related subject area. The key is that you’re interested in how international NGOs work in practice.
You are enrolled in a Dutch higher education institute for the whole duration of the internship.
You are organised, accurate and able to prioritise your work.
You are pro-active, independent and flexible.
You are creative and comfortable sharing your ideas.
You have knowledge of the sector and bring an interest in localisation and accountability to affected people.
You have knowledge of, or an interest in, the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) for Quality and Accountability.
Interested to work and communicate with people from various backgrounds.
Excellent command of English language. Additional languages are a plus.
Proficient in Excel and knowledge of SharePoint (desirable).

What we offer

Our organisation
The War Child Alliance is a network of fundraising organisations and an implementing arm with country teams and global teams. You will join a small unit with a focus on localisation and accountability to affected people and adherence to the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS). The unit will provide space for you to contribute and share your ideas, as well as provide opportunities to learn and grow.
We try to keep an informal ambiance within our office in Amsterdam, with a lot of room for creativity, inspiration and self-initiative from employees. We try to practice what we preach: dynamic, innovative, integrity focused and a drive to reach the highest possible results against the lowest possible costs.

Our conditions
We are looking for an intern who will join from February 2026, for a period of minimum 5 months and maximum 6 months, with a minimum of 2 days in the Amsterdam office. As intern in War Child you can count on an interesting internship, with an opportunity to learn a lot. You will receive an internship allowance of € 300, - gross per month, based on 40 hours per week.

How to apply
Please submit your CV (in English, max 2 pages) and a short cover letter (max 1 page) by 18 January 2026. You’re welcome to use AI for grammar or structure, but your motivation should be written in your own words.

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By submitting your application you certify that all of the statements made in your application are true, complete, and correct and are made in good faith. You understand that falsifying, misrepresenting or intentionally withholding information will be grounds for rejection of your application or withdrawal of any offer of appointment or, if an appointment offer has been accepted, this will be ground for employment sanctions, such as, but not limited to, instant dismissal. In addition, you understand that you need to submit a Criminal Record Certificate and that, if you fail to submit it, no employment relationship can be established.

War Child is an international organisation, and we are committed to be a diverse and inclusive employer, placing human and child rights at the centre of our existence and work. We hire our new colleagues based on their talents, competences and shared values; we do not distinguish them based on their age, gender and gender identity, race, color, ethnicity, religion, culture, sexual orientation, disability etc.

The safety of children and youth is a paramount and essential to War Child’s work. War Child has a zero tolerance policy towards any form of abuse. To prevent placing children and youth at any risk this subject is addressed in our recruitment and selection procedures. Moreover, the accepted candidates will be required to state their commitment/ intent to be aware, consider and adhere to the minimum standards applicable in development and humanitarian settings, such as humanitarian values and principles, Sphere Humanitarian Charter, Standards in the Humanitarian Standards Partnership, Core Humanitarian Standard, International Humanitarian Law, Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief and IASC Six Core Principles Relating to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

Disclaimer
• Only applications received via our website are processed.
• If we appoint a suitable candidate before the given closing date, we reserve the right to remove the vacancy from our website before that date. In such a case, any responses received after that time are not processed.
• It could be that during our selection process the closing date for the vacancy is extended. If so, and you have not yet heard from us, your application will remain active.

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About us

The War Child Alliance is an international non-governmental organization committed to providing psychosocial support, child protection, youth empowerment programming and quality education to the children affected by armed conflict. We implement evidence-based interventions to empower key stakeholders—including governments, educators, caregivers, and communities—to foster children’s wellbeing, education, and self-determination. We work with global teams with team members being based in different locations. War Child is currently operates in: Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, DR Congo, Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, South Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine (soon to be registered), and Yemen. We also have offices in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Learn more about War Child and our programmes https://www.warchild.net/

Safeguarding and Integrity
Our work with children and at-risk adults to keep them safe is the most important thing we do. We are committed to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in all areas of our work. We have zero tolerance for any behaviours and practices that puts children and/or vulnerable adults at risk of abuse and/or harm. All (prospective) employees will be expected to be compliant with and sign up to our Child Safeguarding policy, our Code of Conduct and PSEA: Adults at Risk Policy. You can find the Child Safeguarding and Adults at Risk policy here: Integrity & Safeguarding - Home

Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) and Belonging (DEIB)
We value diversity and inclusion and are committed to ensuring that all our people and job applicants are treated fairly, irrespective of where, what or whom they were born, or of other characteristics. We want to offer a safe and inclusive workplace where all our people, especially those who are currently marginalised or underrepresented, can be themselves at work. You can read our Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) and Belonging (DEIB) policy on our website, and if you have any questions about our commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) and Belonging (DEIB) do get in touch: DEIB.team@warchild.net

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