Trainee - Bucharest Office

Description:

Title: Trainee

Department/Program: GMF Bucharest Office

Location: Bucharest

Performance Period: 6 months

Application deadline: November 22, 2026

Position Summary:

The Bucharest Office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States is looking to hire two trainees for a performance period of six months.

This is a paid traineeship, and the selected candidates will work part-time (20 hours per week).

The position is based in Bucharest. The duties and responsibilities will be carried out on site at the GMF Bucharest Office.

Please note that GMF does not cover relocation costs.

Department/Program Summary:

GMF's South and Wider Europe Program focuses on the "Global South", which plays an increasingly important role amid geopolitical shifts; the Mediterranean, a crossroads for trade, energy, migration, and security; and the Balkans and Black Sea regions, which are vital to Europe’s economic and political trajectory. The program consists of three strands.

The Black Sea strand strengthens regional cooperation, civil society, and democratic foundations in the wider Black Sea region through research, track-two and -three dialogues, fact-finding missions, and grant-making. Combining policy engagement with strategic grantmaking, it supports regional cooperation, dialogue, security, stability, and welfare in countries such as Armenia, Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Türkiye, and Ukraine.

Key Areas of Responsibilities:

• Produce daily press reviews and weekly briefings for issues of relevance to and interest for the GMF and the Black Sea Trust
• Conduct background research on topics of interest to the GMF and BST
• Assist with the grantmaking activities
• Provide assistance for communication tasks
• Help maintain the Bucharest Office’s database of contacts
• Assist in organizing conferences and other convening events
• Provide administrative/logistic support
• Other duties as assigned

How to Apply:

To be considered for this position, please submit your cover letter and current resume via our website https://www.gmfus.org/careers by November 22, 2026. Due to the high volume of responses, we will only contact candidates of interest.

Requirements:

The ideal candidate should meet the following minimum requirements:

• Academic background in political sciences (international affairs, European studies, security studies, etc.) or international economic relations; students enrolled in a communication, sociology, law or journalism program can apply for this position provided they can demonstrate their interest in working in an international non-profit. It is desirable for the applicants to be enrolled in a BA or MA program;
• Fluency in English;
• Knowledge of Russian will be an advantage;
• Strong interest in democracy building processes;
• Good writing, communication, and research skills required;
• Flexibility to multitask, have an eye for detail, ability to perform under tight deadline and work independently;
• Good organizational skills;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook) is essential;
• Experience in event management is a plus;
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multicultural environment.