Description
Are you curious about career opportunities in a policy institute? Do you want to build the hands-on experience and exposure you need to get a competitive edge in today’s job market? Would you like to expand your knowledge of key issues in international affairs and learn new skills? If so, the Molchanov Sustainability Internship at Chatham House might be the perfect opportunity for you.
Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute based in London. Our mission is to help build a sustainably secure, prosperous and just world. We seek to empower our interns by equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be effective and positive changemakers, committed to tackling future challenges in a complex and rapidly changing world.
Internships are available for the following teams:
Africa Programme
Environment and Society Centre
Europe Programme/Russia and Eurasia Programme (joint internship)
Events team
Middle East and North Africa Programme
UK in the World Programme/US and North America Programme (joint internship)
What to expect from the internship
An internship at Chatham House offers an invaluable learning experience through a six-month placement in one of our host teams. Shadowing and supporting colleagues, you will enjoy dedicated development time and opportunities to learn and improve skills. Your assigned mentor will support and guide you throughout the internship, suggesting training opportunities to help you in your development.
You will be part of a cohort of interns and get to share your experiences together. You will gain direct exposure to the work of a leading international affairs institute and will have the opportunity to be part of and attend many of Chatham House’s workshops and other events. You will have lots of opportunities for development, including opportunities to meet with internationally respected experts at a variety of networking events and hear from industry experts.
There will also be plenty of opportunities to take part in volunteering activities across the House and social events with interns from other departments. You will gain insight into how a global think-tank works and leave your internship with some great connections and experience.
You will:
Benefit from direct involvement in projects across a wide range of topics and gain direct exposure to events development, administration and research support;
Gain experience in all aspects of project development and delivery, e.g. providing background research, writing up draft documents, taking detailed minutes at meetings, drafting and proofreading content, participating in external engagement;
Have opportunities to develop writing and communication skills including exposure to the research publications and editing process, gain experience as a rapporteur at meetings and learn how to write meeting summaries;
Develop insights into the work of a leading policy institute and understanding of critical international affairs issues;
Develop teamwork and collaboration skills to help convene high-level meetings, events, roundtables and workshops on topical issues of importance;
Learn to build targeted marketing campaigns and creative social media engagement;
Learn to draft engaging content for our audiences (newsletters, invites and social media posts);
Work alongside world-leading experts in international affairs and build connections.
Person Specification
You will have/are:
An interest in Chatham House and what we do;
Possess good written and verbal communication skills;
Enthusiastic about learning and taking on all areas of a project or task, no matter how small;
Willing to proactively take on new challenges;
Self-motivated and able to manage their time effectively;
Eager to learn and improve skills and knowledge through continuous personal development;
A team player, able to work with people at all levels;
Comfortable building rapport with colleagues.
Benefits
As an intern you will enjoy access to a wide range of benefits including:
Opportunity to work closely with their diverse community of world-leading policy experts and make lifelong connections;
A unique learning and development programme tailored to your personal goals;
Networking with commentators, researchers and international policy-makers;
Access to their Library, online e-Library and at Chatham House;
Access to their events, online and at Chatham House;
Complimentary membership (subject to a performance evaluation).
To apply for this internship, you must be:
Residing in the UK for the duration of the internship;
In possession of a valid right to work in the UK, by the start and duration of the internship programme for the specified contract duration;
Aged 18 and over;
Available to start on Tuesday 8 September 2026 (or shortly after) at Chatham House, for 6 months
Salary: London Living Wage – currently £13.85 per hour.
Hours: Full-time (35 hours per week), 6-month fixed-term contract.
Location: St James's Square, London. Chatham House operates a hybrid working environment with team members expected to attend our stunning building typically two days a week. We do not support international remote working, and we are not offering virtual internships.
Closing Date: 23:59 BST, Wednesday 10 June 2026. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage early submissions. You will be notified of the status of your application within eight weeks of the role closing.
Please avoid using AI for your application. We want to hear from you! We can tell the difference between a genuine answer and an AI-generated one. Using AI will run the risk of your application being disqualified.
Please note: We screen candidates anonymously. We will not see your personal information before your application has been moved forward in the process. Please exclude any personal or identifiable information in your application answers.
We are an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and do not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics. We encourage applications from all backgrounds. If there is anything we can do to improve your experience or support you, please get in touch at [email protected]
The job description as outlined above will not be available once the closing date has passed. Please ensure you keep a copy for your own record.
