Research & Policy Intern
Job description
Research & Policy Intern – Women’s Health & Innovative Finance
Center for Global Health and Development (CGHD) – Secretariat of the Women’s Health and Empowerment Network (WHEN)
Part-time | Remote | ~20 hours/week
The Center for Global Health and Development (CGHD), Secretariat of the Women’s Health and Empowerment Network (WHEN), is seeking a Research & Policy Intern to join our growing team. This part-time internship is ideal for students or recent graduates interested in global health, development finance, gender equality, and strategic policy research.
The role will be remote, with regular morning check-ins, and may include opportunities for international travel to workshops, roundtables, and government meetings.
About CGHD & WHEN
The Women’s Health and Empowerment Network (WHEN) is a global platform that brings together leaders from G7 governments, UN agencies, development finance institutions, philanthropies, and the private sector to advance women’s health and economic empowerment.
WHEN scales impactful initiatives through blended finance, innovative health financing, and cross-sector partnerships. Its work spans women’s health, energy reliability for health facilities, women-led SMEs, supply chains, and cervical cancer elimination efforts in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
As WHEN’s Secretariat, CGHD develops strategy, provides technical assistance, mobilizes financing, and coordinates multi-stakeholder engagement across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States.
This internship offers a unique opportunity to participate directly in high-level strategy, policy development, and country-level engagements.
Position Overview
The Research & Policy Intern will support analytical work, policy development, stakeholder mapping, and research products for WHEN–CGHD’s initiatives. This includes contributing to workstreams with governments, multilaterals, UN agencies, and philanthropic and private sector partners.
The ideal candidate is politically savvy, detail-oriented, resourceful, and able to handle fast-paced, sensitive, and high-level work.
Key Responsibilities
- Conduct research on global health financing, women’s health, blended finance mechanisms, supply chains, energy access, climate-health, and other key topics as required.
- Support background briefs for meetings with government counterparts, multilateral institutions, and private-sector partners.
- Assist with development of policy memos, concept notes, talking points, and strategic slide decks.
- Follow global policy developments and synthesize trends relevant to women’s health, health security, economic empowerment, and innovative financing.
- Support preparation and execution of events, international workshops, missions, and technical working groups
- Assist with logistical and analytical tasks for events, workshops, and country engagements.
- Provide additional research support for senior leadership as needed.
Essential Qualifications
- Strong commitment to improving global health, gender equity, and sustainable development and financing.
- Bachelor’s degree or current enrollment (upper year) in public health, finance, public policy, international affairs, economics, global development, or a related field.
- Excellent analytical, research, and writing skills.
- Ability to navigate sensitive political environments and maintain confidentiality.
- Sound judgment, initiative, and ability to work independently in a fast-moving environment.
- Strong organizational and project management abilities.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Google Suite, and basic research tools.
- Ability to adapt quickly, prioritize effectively, and manage multiple deadlines.
Preferred / Additional Assets
- Masters Degree in a relevant field
- Experience in global health, development finance, gender policy, climate-health, or emerging-market systems.
- Prior work with governments, multilateral institutions, DFIs, or NGOs.
- Experience producing policy briefs, analysis, or technical writing.
- Familiarity with innovative financing, blended finance, or supply chain systems.
Language Requirements
English required; multilingualism is an asset.
Location
Fully remote; open to candidates globally.
Travel opportunities may arise for workshops and other events.
Why This Role Is Unique
This internship provides exposure to:
- High-level diplomacy and government engagement
- Blended finance and innovative funding mechanisms
- Real global development strategy
- Multi-country coordination and senior-level meetings
- Interns frequently continue working with CGHD–WHEN beyond the internship period, and many move into junior consultant or analyst roles.
If you are passionate about global development, women’s health, and policy innovation, we encourage you to apply!
Required Document: Resume + Cover Letter