NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Position: Research Intern

Location: Amsterdam or Bloomfield, NJOrganization: E+Co, a non-profit investment firm focusing on clean energy enterprises in developing countries, is seeking a qualified graduate level (Masters) student for research and writing assignments. The internship will last 3-6 months with flexible degrees of workload. E+Co cannot offer any remuneration. The intern can be based near one of E+Co’s offices in Amsterdam (NL) or Bloomfield, New Jersey (USA) or the work can be conducted remotely supported by e-mail and phone calls.

E+Co is non-profit investment company that invests business support services and capital in energy businesses in Africa, Asia and Latin America. With almost 15 years of experience and offices in 10 countries, E+Co’s innovative business model provides lasting solutions to climate change and poverty.

Position Summary: E+Co is seeking a highly motivated Development Officer to build on E+Co’s success and drive a fundraising strategy that will allow E+Co to reach its full potential. We are looking for a self-propelled individual with very good research and writing skills who can work independently with limited supervision. The individual should be enrolled in or have completed graduate level (Masters) studies.? He/she should have a background in international development issues. Prior knowledge of energy and gender issues is an advantage. The assignment is in English and very good writing skills are essential.?

Depending on availability, the research intern will work on one or several of the assignments below:

Energy & Gender: Desktop research and writing of a short paper (5-10 pages) on the linkages between access to modern energy services and gender (to feed into a small publication). Questions include: implications of traditional fuel use on women’s health, quality of life and economic opportunity; and improvement in the situation of women through access to modern forms of energy. The intern is expected to research and write independently with guidance from E+Co.

Environmental Footprint: With input from E+Co Office Managers in our 10 offices, develop a tool to collect data on E+Co’s environmental footprint. Phase 1: energy usage, air miles, local miles traveled and paper usage. Phase 2: track other environmental aspects. Optional component: research carbon calculators to ensure E+Co is using the best practices available. With this information, E+Co will document its footprint, develop an action plan to reduce its impact and purchase carbon offsets equivalent to E+Co’s footprint.

Documentation and Promotion: Writing for promotional and documentation purposes, including articles for E+Co’s newsletter, the E+Co blog, 2008 Annual Report content, and E+Co Case Studies (3-5 page mini-reports highlighting E+Co best practices and lessons learned).

The assignment shall start as soon as possible. Duration is flexible, depending on availability in terms of hours/week. Depending on location, office time in Amsterdam or Bloomfield can be arranged, along with e-mail exchange and phonecalls as necessary. Qualified candidates should submit their resume and a short letter of motivation to Mareike Hussels at E+Co Europe (Mareike.hussels@eandco.net) by November 23^rd.