Statement of Work: Small Business Development Intern
Basic Function of Position
The Small Business Development Intern (SBDI), under the supervision of the Program Director (PD), will
provide strategic support to a network of local partner organizations. The basic responsibilities of the position
generally include developing and supporting business and financial trainings, supporting partner organization
grant preparation, providing direct consultation and support for a wide range of small business development and
capacity building activities in support of FCDE partner organizations.
In general, the SBDI position is structured so that the intern provides focused financial and business support of
our team’s Community Driven Development work. Unlike similar internships, this work focuses on providing a
high level of intensive support to a group of professional development workers and less on the cultural,
language and community immersion components associated with many “voluntourism” internships. This
internship is intended to mirror the expectations and responsibilities of an entry level development position. The
position works under the supervision of the Program Director with oversight by the International Program
Director.
Major Duties and Responsibilities (work in each area will depend on FCDE partner organization needs during
internship)
A. Small Business and Financial Capacity Program Development (approx. 50% of the time)
• Carry out a broad survey of FCDE’s partner organizations to identify common financial and small
business interests and weaknesses.
• Analyze and prepare a report on the small business survey that provides possible approaches and
methods for addressing specific issues. Work directly with FCDE program staff to address specific
issues raised in the survey results.
• Support communication around partner’s small business development and financial capacity building
programs and initiatives. This will include maintaining records, providing written reports and
developing regular communication with some of our partner organizations.
• Support small business capacity building activities that includes ongoing trainings, consulting (one-onone or small group), as well as site visits to support the development and ongoing success of our partner
organizations’ programmatic activities. Done both in conjunction with FCDE Site Team and
independently (level of independent work depends on length of internship, subject to approval from
PD).
• Review and provide feedback on small business and financial capacity related training and workshop
materials and together with the Site Team update program materials as needed.
B. General Partner Capacity Building & Training (approx. 10% of the time)
• Assist in obtaining baseline organizational assessments and the maintenance of documenting partner
organization’s capacity development.
• Help develop and deliver materials and trainings meant to build partner’s skills and capacity so that
they can carry out their programmatic activities successfully, strengthen the efficacy of their programs,
and enhance organizational development.
• Support the implementation of work plans for each partner organization.
• Provide networking and resource sharing opportunities to support collaboration among partners.
• Provide a written set of recommendations and/or next steps for subsequent interns to give continuity to
projects or overall program development.
C. Administrative Support (no more than 25% of the time)
• Assist with and maintain program written records and files, and perform routine clerical tasks.
• Assist in the collection and analysis of data on partner organization performance, and in the preparation
of reports on program development and/or grant activities.
• Assist in preparation of a wide range of program documentation, including: Partner Organization
Profiles, Weekly Reports, Quarterly Program Evaluations and Reports; Grant Project Evaluation and
Follow Up Reports, etc.
D. Program, Monitoring and Evaluation (approximately 10% of the time)
• Support the identification and collection of data to be used in monitoring and evaluation reporting.
• Help monitor partner organization program and grant progress in order to best provide guidance/
capacity building tools as needed to facilitate successful performance and adherence to the FCDE
approach.
E. Other Duties and Activities (not to exceed 5% of the time)
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Program Director, Director of International Programs
that support the work and organizational objectives of FCDE.
• Provide relevant insight and ideas to the staff on how technology and communications systems can be
best integrated within the organization.
Expected Outcomes:
• Intern will provide substantive input to the development and production of training materials to be used
in carrying out capacity building work with FCDE partner organizations
• Intern will provide direct or indirect technical training to FCDE partner organizations
• Intern will support the FCDE staff’s community driven development work through administrative
support activities
Supervision and Guidance
The SBDI functions under the direct supervision of the Program Director and in coordination and cooperation
with the Program Team. SBDI is expected to carry out most job functions independently with guidance and
training provided by the program staff.
Desired Qualifications
• Education: Pursuing or achieved a university degree in International Development,
International/Regional Studies, Business or related field.
• Prior Experience: one year work or comparable volunteer experience within a related field.
• Language Proficiency: Spoken and written fluency in English.
• Knowledge: Solid working knowledge of community development and the host-country’s
culture/history/current events; demonstrated ability to maintain working level contacts with NGO
officials and host families; and demonstrated experience and skills in supporting of training or
educational events.
• Skills and Abilities: Ability to represent FCDE effectively with partner organizations, local officials,
and International Sponsors (Donors, Academic Sponsors). Organizational and administrative skills.
Excellent computer skills in word-processing and database management. Motivation and commitment
to work effectively as part of an inter-cultural team. Excellent interpersonal skills. Demonstrated
ability to exercise good judgment under normal as well as complex and often stressful conditions.
Interested applicants can complete an application on our website (http://isla-serve.org/internships/apply) or
direct questions to yiching@internationalcommunitydevelopment.org or call 858.888.9097. Applications are
accepted on a rolling basis with the complete application process lasting approximately 3 – 4 weeks.