Careers in Foreign Relations

By Willy Franzen

Looking for an entry level job or internship in foreign relations? Here's an overview of how to approach the search and a list of companies that might have entry level and internship opportunities that will interest you.

See companies with foreign relations careers or search the latest foreign relations jobs and internships.

Photo Credit: Flickr user isafmedia

Foreign relations deals with the relationships between nations and understanding foreign policy. You can work for an international organization, the federal government, or another organization that focuses on foreign affairs. Or you can go more local and get involved in community development and public service. There’s no one career path for someone interested in foreign relations, but a few possible job titles for a recent grad include:

Research Associate
Program Assistant
Executive Assistant
Member Services Coordinator
Translator or Interpreter
Security Specialist
Project Coordinator

You need a bachelor’s degree for most of these positions. A concentration in the part of the world you want to study and proficiency in a second language will put you at an advantage.

Companies with Entry Level Jobs and Internships in Foreign Relations

Group of Fifty - The Group of Fifty is a DC based non-profit made up of select “business leaders who head some of the most significant and forward-looking enterprises in Latin America."

See the complete Group of Fifty profile

Job Title	Location
Operations Engineer	Tempe, AZ
FBR Licensed Credential Outpatient Therapist, Johnstown PA Clinic	Johnstown, PA
FBR Licensed Credential Outpatient Therapist, Indiana PA Clinic	Indiana, PA
Release Engineer	Waltham, MA
Sr. ASP.NET Developer	Waltham, MA

See all 937 job postings

Youth For Understanding USA - YFU USA is a Bethesda, MD non-profit foreign exchange “committed to preparing young people for their responsibilities and opportunities in a changing world.”

See the complete Youth For Understanding USA profile

Job Title	Location
Membership Specialist	Marshall, MI
Buyer - Retail Fashion Industry	Los Angeles, CA
Chaplain (PT)	Dubuque, IA
Director	Somerville, MA
International Student Exchange Intern	Bethesda, MD

See all 23 job postings

Inter-American Dialogue - Inter-American Dialogue is a DC based "leading U.S. center for policy analysis, exchange, and communication on issues in Western Hemisphere affairs.”

See the complete Inter-American Dialogue profile

Job Title	Location
Urban Environmental Consultant	Washington, DC
Modernization of the State Specialist - IFD/ICS	Washington, DC
Modernization of the State Specialist	Washington, DC
Operations Senior Associate	Washington, DC
Resource Planning and Administration Associate / Senior Associate	Washington, DC

See all 4 job postings

Center for The National Interest - The Center for The National Interest is based in Washington, DC and was originally founded by former President Nixon as the Nixon Center for Peace and Freedom

See the complete Center for The National Interest profile

Job Title	Location
Occupational Therapist accepting applications for future vacancies	Greenville, NC
Product Marketing Sr. Specialist	Boston, MA
Assistant Professor Acute Care Nurse Practitioner	Chicago, IL
PRN Occupational Therapist- York Hospital Acute Care	York, PA
Physical Therapist - York Hospital Acute Care - Full-time	York, PA

See all 6,031 job postings

U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress - The U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress is a Washington, DC based non-profit that puts former members of Congress to work on important causes.

See the complete U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress profile

Job Title	Location
Vice President, Government Affairs	Washington, DC
Executive Director, U.S. Policy & Government Relations Job	Washington, DC
Deputy Director and Vice Chancellor AD 1701 27	Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
Deputy Director and Vice Chancellor, AD-1701-27	Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

See all 4 job postings

InterAction - InterAction, is a Washington, DC based non-profit that “seeks to shape important policy decisions on relief and long term development issues."

See the complete InterAction profile

Job Title	Location
Direct Sales	Pine Brook, NJ
Engineer-Systems	Herndon, VA
Software Design/ Dev Engineer	Annapolis, MD
Engineer-Test	Norwood, MA
Stack Protocol Software Developer	City of Sunrise, FL

See all 125,872 job postings

World Economic Forum - The World Economic Forum is an international non-profit that builds dialogue on the world's most pressing issues, and they're hiring.

See the complete World Economic Forum profile

Job Title	Location
Production Database/Web Support Engineer »	San Mateo, CA
Marketing Analyst (Analytical) »	San Mateo, CA
Voice Gateway Engineer »	Denver, CO
Social Media Manager of Web Marketing Company	Westwood, KS
Senior Telephony Engineer »	San Mateo, CA

See all 230 job postings

Results for Development Institute - Results for Development Institute is a Washington, DC based international development non-profit with some great job opportunities for new grads.

See the complete Results for Development Institute profile

Job Title	Location
Director Search and Evaluation Neurology	Rockland, MA
Clinical Nurse II Recovery Center PT Days 8hr	Orange County, CA
Clinical Nurse II Recovery Per Diem Varied	Orange County, CA
Clinical Nurse II Recovery PT Nights	Orange County, CA
Clinical Nurse II Recovery Center Per Diem Varied 8hr	Orange County, CA

See all 3,023 job postings

International Foundation for Electoral Systems - If you’re interested in the work that IFES is doing to promote democracy, then you need to check out their Career opportunities.

See the complete International Foundation for Electoral Systems profile

Job Title	Location
HR Manager	Washington, DC
Electoral Training Specialist-Guinea	Washington, DC
Online Communications Consultant	Washington, DC

See all 2 job postings

Atlantic Council - If you’re interested in getting involved, then head over to The Atlantic Council’s Jobs page to learn more about how they foster international relations.

See the complete Atlantic Council profile

Job Title	Location
Occupational Therapist / Therapy (OT) Travel - Skilled Nursing Facility	Atlantic, IA
Regional Employee Health & Infection Control Manager ( Job Number: 159638 )	Rockville, MD
Director of Workforce Partnerships and Projects	Richmond, VA
Regional Lab Services Director ( Job Number: 181398 )	Rockville, MD
Program Assistant, Energy and Environment Program	Washington, DC

See all 63 job postings

Institute for the Study of War - If studying war sounds interesting to you, check out The Institute for the Study of War’s job opportunities for college grads.

See the complete Institute for the Study of War profile

Job Title	Location
Historian Project	Pearl Harbor, HI
Archival Project	Pearl Harbor, HI
FOOD SERVICE SPECIALIST 3	Bossier City, LA
Staff Research Associate III, Supervisor - FT	San Francisco, CA
Professor of National Security Affairs	Carlisle Barracks, PA

See all 8 job postings

Sister Cities International - If reading about Sister Cities International gets you excited, check out their Jobs page and their Youth Ambassador Program Coordinator position.

See the complete Sister Cities International profile

Job Title	Location
Meeting Manager	New York, NY
Program Assistant	Washington, DC
Endocrinology Physician	Fort Wayne, IN
Executive Assistant, SVP Human Resources	San Francisco Bay Area, CA
SUPERNUMERARIES	Phoenix, AZ

See all 28 job postings

National Bureau of Asian Research - The National Bureau of Asian Research conducts research on U.S. relations with Asia while also training next generation of Asian specialists.

See the complete National Bureau of Asian Research profile

Job Title	Location
Report Analyst - Multicultural / Hispanic	Chicago, IL

See all 1 job postings

U.S. Agency for International Development - There is tons of information on the USAID website, so if you’re considering a career with them, spend a good amount of time learning about the agency.

See the complete U.S. Agency for International Development profile

Job Title	Location
Senior Hardware Engineer – Product Design – Boston Suburb – Active Search	Holliston, MA
Associate Director, International Quality & Compliance	San Francisco, CA
Director, Regulatory Early Development	Billerica, MA
(Mandarin Required) US-China Executive Education Program Coordinator	Washington, DC
SR HR REPRESENTATIVE	McConnellsburg, PA

See all 4,841 job postings

Bridging Nations - Bridging Nations pursues their mission in 4 program areas: India-China-US Relations, Energy Technology/Policy, Education/Innovation, and Leadership/Governance

See the complete Bridging Nations profile

Job Title	Location
Operational Support Developer - FedLoan Servicing	Harrisburg, PA
Linux Administrator	San Jose, CA
PHP/Moodle Developer (LAMP, AWS)	Alexandria, VA
Interpreter	Frankfort, IN
Medical Interpreter (Spanish) - Language Access	Kansas City, MO

See all 29 job postings

German Marshall Fund of the United States - If you’re interested in foreign policy, then it’d be hard to find a more interesting place to work than the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

See the complete German Marshall Fund of the United States profile

Job Title	Location
Senior Development Officer	Washington, DC
Program Officer, Foreign & Security Policy	Washington, DC
Program Officer, Foreign & Security Policy	Washington, DC

See all 3 job postings

National Endowment for Democracy - Current openings that might be suitable for new grads include Publications Coordinator and Program Assistant for Middle East and North Africa.

See the complete National Endowment for Democracy profile

Job Title	Location
Evaluation Specialist Consultant	Washington, DC
Communications, Media, and Outreach Intern	Washington, DC
Global Programs Intern	Washington, DC
Program Officer, Global Programs	Washington, DC
Program Assistant, Global Programs	Washington, DC

See all 10 job postings

Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates - Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates is a Washington, DC based corporate communications and public affairs firm that is hiring new grads.

See the complete Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates profile

Job Title	Location
Perinatal Educator	Framingham, MA
Liaison Officer (OPETS)	Abingdon, MD
Family Practice Physician - (PCP - FP) Locum Tenens	Fort Riley, KS
Cook	Norwalk, CT
Medical Technologist	Natick, MA

See all 406 job postings

Council on Foreign Relations - The need for understanding foreign policy isn’t going anywhere, so I think the Council on Foreign Relations is going to continue to be an exciting place to be.

See the complete Council on Foreign Relations profile

Job Title	Location
Manager - Compliance Audit	Lake County, IL
2013 Summer Internship - Ruder Finn New York	New York, NY
Senior Economic Affairs Officer P5	New York, NY
International Counterparty Credit Manager	Chicago, IL
Fire Chief	Monterey, CA

See all 58 job postings

Independent Diplomat - Independent Diplomat is a unique foreign relations focused non-profit currently looking for a Program and Development Assistant in their New York City office

See the complete Independent Diplomat profile

Job Title	Location
Research Advocacy Internship	New York, NY
Crunchyroll Convention Diplomat	San Francisco, CA
Executive Administrative Assistant	Flint, MI
Administrative Assistant - Contractor	Redwood City, CA
Executive Assistant	Washington, DC

See all 54 job postings

World Learning - Right now, World Learning appears to have two entry-level job opportunities available in Washington, DC.

See the complete World Learning profile

Job Title	Location
Product Owner Digital Framework Consumer Digital Technology	Portland, OR
Manager of Innovative Education Program (f/t summer)	Palo Alto, CA
Senior Developmental Editor	San Francisco, CA
Student Exchange Coordinator - Fargo	Fargo, ND
Lead Web/UX Designer	St. Louis, MO

See all 23,926 job postings

Carnegie Corporation of New York - The Carnegie Corporation currently has three job openings. One is definitely entry-level, and another could probably be seen as such for the right person.

See the complete Carnegie Corporation of New York profile

Job Title	Location
Executive Director	New York, NY
Senior Investment Analyst	Carnegie, NY
Senior Investment Analyst	New York
Sr. Sales Engineer - Eagle Job	Wellesley, MA
Manager Risk & Information Management	New York, NY

See all 7 job postings

Institute of International Education - Institute of International Education is hiring a Program Associate to assist in the administration of the Fulbright Program for the Middle East and North Africa

See the complete Institute of International Education profile

Job Title	Location
Senior Payroll Specialist - ADP Payforce	Billerica, MA
Director Search and Evaluation Neurology	Rockland, MA
INFECTION PREVENTIONIST SIENA	Henderson, NV
Senior Auditor - IT Internal Audit - Chicago, IL (Finance)	Chicago, IL
Senior Manager Clinical Compound Support Quality Assurance	Deerfield, IL

See all 1,662 job postings

Check out the latest job and internship postings in foreign relations.

See more companies with entry level jobs and internships in foreign relations:

jobs by

Start Your Career Now!

Find similar career opportunities

Careers in Foreign Relations

Companies with Entry Level Jobs and Internships in Foreign Relations

See more companies with entry level jobs and internships in foreign relations: