Feed the Minds

Intern Programme

2011

Feed the MindsIntern Programme 2011

About Feed the Minds

Feed the Minds knows that education and the reduction of poverty are closely linked. Educating people is an effective step towards empowerment, enabling people to acquire the skills and knowledge to take charge of their own lives and meet their own needs.

We know that literate adults are more likely to create a sustainable living in poor communities, make more informed decisions about their health and more actively support their children to attend school.
There is still an enormous need for support for education in the developing world. The United Nations estimates that there are about 800 million people in the world who cannot reador sign their own name. Most of these people live in Africa, South and East Asia and the Arab states. And two thirds of them are women.

Feed the Minds works with a network of partners, mainly grassroots organisations, to respond to the needs of marginalised people. Our literacy projects encompass vocational training, civic education, HIV/AIDS prevention and care and peacebuliding.
Feed the Minds supports education because we are committed to building sustainable futures for under-resourced communities. By developing knowledge and providing information, we are investing in people’s material and spiritual well-being.

You can find out more about our work at

Feed the MindsTeam

Feed the Mindshas a small dynamic staff team that is based in Vauxhall, central London. It has 2 main departmentsFundraisingCommunications and Programmes.

Central office staff team

  • Chief Executive/Director
  • Director of Programmes
  • Director ofFundraising and Communications
  • ProgrammeOfficer
  • Programme Assistant
  • Administrator and PA to Director
  • AccountsAssistant
  • Funding Officer
  • Fundraising and Communications Assistant

In addition to this, we have an office in Bradford, hosting our Overseas Book Service,with volunteers involved in sending books overseas.

We are also using regular consultants for overseeing our accountancy and IT support.

Address: Feed the Minds, Park Place12 Lawn Lane, London, SW8 1UD, UK

Telephone:020 7 582 3535

Email:

Purpose of Feed the Minds Intern Programme

The Feed the Mindsinternship programme provides professional on-the-job training that cannot be duplicated in the classroom. The purpose of an internship is to provide anyone, including students and recent graduates,with practicalprofessional experience under the direct supervision and guidance of theIntern Coordinator and other members of the organisation. The internship will provide you with an opportunity to understand most areas of a small international development charity that has a genuineimpact in the global south.

All internships are considered short-term opportunities and are unpaid positions.

Conditions of internship

Length of Internship:we ask that interns commit to at least 3days a week,for a period of at least 6 months although consideration will be given to longer periods. No internship will last longer than 8 months.

Working hours:Feed the Minds office hours are from 9am to 5pm. Interns hours are flexible and negotiable.

Salary:Internships are unpaid. Interns will receive support towards reasonable travel expenses. This tends to reflect travel within the greater London area. This does not exclude participants from outside this area applying but please be aware that we have a cap on the level of travel expenses we are able to offer. You will also be given a £3.00 lunch allowance for each day worked.

What is expected of the Intern?

Interns are expected to take full advantage of the internship by being inquisitive, asking questions and taking advantage of every learning opportunity. They are expected to willingly undertake learning, and experiential and administrativetasks assigned.

What is expected ofFeed the Minds?

The Intern Coordinator assigned to the Intern will maintain communication throughout the internship. The Intern Coordinator is responsible for guiding and evaluating the internship experience with the intern. The Intern Coordinator may also provide written verification of the internship for the student if needed by their school or prospective employer.

Line Management

Interns will be line managed by the Intern Coordinator and will be assigned work by other members of the Fundraising Teamas appropriate, to include research and administrative tasks. They will report to the Intern Coordinator at all times, and will have regular meetings to discuss their work, progress and development. Interns will be asked for feedback on their experience at Feed the Minds and will complete a formal appraisal/questionnaire at the end of the internship.

The Intern Co-ordinator will formally induct the Intern and ensure that they undertake at least 1 review during their time at Feed the Minds (depending on length of internship). In addition, an exit interview will be performed on completion of the term.

Feed the Mindsis committed to personal development. To that end we will endeavour to work with the Intern to further this during in the internship.

Key Relationships:

  • Reporting to Funding Officer
  • The full FtM staff team including Trustees and supporters
  • External Partners and Suppliers

Role outline

Internships at Feed the Minds will vary according to current priorities and projects and also according to each candidate’s strengths. The Intern position has been developed to ensure interns receive a broad exposure to the workings of the charity.

The Intern will be assigned weekly tasks as well as longer-term projects. The Intern will predominantly be assigned to the Fundraising and Communications department however they may be asked to assist and work on a variety of topics and projects within the organisation. We hope to provide all interns with a good balance between administrative tasks and project based work.

Feed the Minds intern role description

The internship will focus primarily on galvanising supportfrom Trusts, Corporate Foundations and other grantmakers.We will also be able to offer in-house training on the use of the Raiser Edge database.

Tasks that you could be involved in include:

  1. Fundraising - Deliver the General Appeal to small Trusts/Foundations, reviewing and using the existing resources (project profiles and general appeal letter) as well as developing new ones.
  1. International Development - Investigate contextual information on countries/regions in which we are undertaking programmes (for use in case for support, DM appeal letters, newsletters etc).
  1. Information management - Updating and maintaining donor records on the organisations database, helping to implement new processes and update existing ones to enhance the charities income generation.

- 1 -