Women Innovation Forum Intern Ashoka Arab World Cairo, Egypt

Women Innovation Forum
Terms of Reference - WIF Intern

Background:


Ashoka is the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs—men and women with system changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems. From its regional office in Cairo, Ashoka Arab World (AAW) creates a competitive, entrepreneurial, and globally integrated citizen sector and develops the profession of social entrepreneurship. AAW currently works with 69 Ashoka Fellows located in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

The Women Innovation Forum (WIF) is the first comprehensive venture that molds female social and business entrepreneurs with the space, the time, the networks and the skills needed to start, accelerate and scale their ventures. 

WIF is an environment where women can thrive and a platform that encourages women to take initiative in entrepreneurship, both business and social. It is a physical space for women to incubate their ideas, scale up their ventures and receive guidance from experts. The WIF has practitioner support, mentors, a speaker series, seed funding and workshops—all to develop women and their entrepreneurial initiatives.

Position Title: WIF Intern
Reports To: Operations Manager, Project Coordinator 
Internship: Unpaid, full time
Office Hours: 9:00 AM - 5PM
Working Days: Sunday – Thursday
Start date: January 15, 2013
Final date: August 15, 2013

Tasks and Responsibilities: 

Market Analysis and Needs Assessments 
Under the supervision and management of the WIF President and Project Coordinator, the WIF Intern will conduct in depth market analysis and needs assessments for potential clients of the Women Innovation Forum. Included activities are: 

? Visit women social and business entrepreneurs and assess what their strengths and weaknesses are
? Determine what they need to scale-up their operations, develop new products or increase their reach
? Interview women social and business entrepreneurs to determine what they need
? Conduct focus groups of women social and business entrepreneurs to help our consultants build our marketing strategy
? Conduct research and analysis on the market trends of social and business entrepreneurship in Egypt 

The intern will compile all information in a comprehensive report detailing exactly what women social and business entrepreneurs in Egypt need and how the Women Innovation Forum can provide the support needed. This report will include market analysis, financial analysis, business model analysis and marketing strategy analysis of each organization or venture that is researched. 

The WIF Intern will also perform any additional tasks needed by the Women Innovation Forum team, including the President, Chair and Project Coordinator. Other tasks include but are not limited to: 

? Supporting the grant proposal process 
? Supporting the engagement of foundations and corporations that are financing or providing in kind donations to WIF
? Supporting work with WIF consultants and partners in the U.S. 

Implementation
After completing needs assessments, the WIF Intern will play a key role in launching and designing
the WIF pilot as well as the full program. The pilot will be a trial run of the full program and
function as such. The intern will be responsible for organizing all aspects of launching the pilot
including finding a space, gathering in-kind donations and support and reaching out to potential
funders. He/she will also be responsible for program development and work closely with WIF
president to modify programs when necessary.

Marketing
The WIF intern will be responsible for coordinating with the Integrated Development Group (IDG),
our consultants in California. IDG is working to create a regional branding and marketing strategy and will need someone to give feedback to their deliverables and do on the ground research.


Expectations: 
We expect all interns to function as full members of WIF’s staff and complete the tasks assigned to them in a diligent and timely manner. All intern projects should be handed over to the President upon completion, and any ongoing projects should be handled with sustainability in mind.

Qualifications:

Education
B.A. in a relevant field, preferably Business Administration, Finance, Marketing, Economics or Political Science.

Experience and Requirements

? 2 year of relevant experience is preferred
? Familiarity with research methods and analytical tools
? Excellent writing and analytical skills
? Proficient in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, Power point, etc.
? Familiarity with the Arab World
? Person must have strong initiative, independence, creativity and sound judgment. They must be service-oriented and flexible, with excellent communication and organizational skills.

Language
Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Fluency in spoken and written Arabic a plus


How to apply?

Send your application package to: recruiting@ashoka-arab.org 

Application package should include: 

1- An updated resume in pdf format
2- Answers to the following questions:

a. Why are you interested in doing an internship for AAW? 
b. Describe in your own words what it means to be social entrepreneur. 
c. Describe a situation where you have been innovative and/or entrepreneurial. 
d. Please indicate your preferred starting and ending dates for the Internship. (We accept long term and short term Internships throughout the whole year) 
e. Will you be able to commit to a full-time Internship in our office from 9 AM - 5 PM, Sunday through Thursday during your preferred internship period?