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

Partners of the Americas - Partners of the Americas is a DC based non-profit that works to “build partnerships that create opportunity, foster understanding, and solve real-life problems.”

See the complete Partners of the Americas profile

Job Title	Location
Professional Software Services Engineer	Chicago, IL
Personal Banker (SAFE) 1 - SOU	South Boston, VA
E-Learning Content Developer	Vienna, VA
Senior Software Engineer - Node.js / AngularJS / MongoDB	Boston, MA
Software Quality Assurance Engineer - Python / Selenium / Automation	Boston, MA

See all 28,666 job postings

American Council of Young Political Leaders - American Council of Young Political Leaders is a DC non-profit that introduces "rising political and policy professionals to international affairs and to each other.”

See the complete American Council of Young Political Leaders profile

Job Title	Location
Readiness Deputy National Director	Washington, DC
President & CEO	New Brunswick, NJ
SR DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS	Phoenix, AZ
CHILD CARE HEALTH PROGRAM CONSULTANT	Phoenix, AZ
President & CEO, Arts Center	New Jersey

See all 4 job postings

Americas Society/Council of the Americas - Americas Society and Council of the Americas are two New York, NY based non-profits in one that aim to improve relations across the Americas.

See the complete Americas Society/Council of the Americas profile

No current job openings.

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
Sr Internet Merchandiser	Monroe, WI
Outpatient Therapist Opportunites in NEW Franklin County, PA Clinic w/FBR!	Chambersburg, PA
Full Time Licensed Outpatient Therapist - Johnstown, PA Clinic w/ FBR!	Johnstown, PA
Autism Director Position Available in Centre County, PA with FBR!	State College, PA
Licensed Outpatient Therapist - Indiana, PA Clinic w/ FBR	Indiana, PA

See all 1,153 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
United Nations Association of the USA Youth Engagement Intern (Fall Session)	Washington, DC
Education Coordinator (prenatal/infant/toddler)	San Luis Obispo, CA
Education Coordinator (prenatal/infant/toddler) (#1760)	San Luis Obispo, CA
Tour Consultant	Cambridge, MA
SBY Group Exercise Instructor Level II	Atlanta, GA

See all 33 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
IFD/ICS-HQ-Technical Support to Broadband Special Program-DTC	Washington, DC

See all 1 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
Director of Prospect Research Administrator II	Hayward, CA
Senior Therapist PT/OT/SLP	Cedar Grove, NJ
Outpatient Clinic APRN - HCP	Fremont, NE
Director of Advancement Services Administrator II	Hayward, CA
Scientific Programmer	El Segundo, CA

See all 9,913 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
Assistant General Counsel	Washington, DC
Economist, ZP-0110-II	Washington, DC
Attorney Advisor	Washington, DC
Attorney Advisor	Washington, DC
Legislative Attorney	Washington, DC

See all 3 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
Embedded Development Software Engineer – New!	Cheshire, CT
Community Support Supervisor (Exp in Mental Health required)	Mexico, MO
Research Assistant Professor-Computational Biologist	Blacksburg, VA
Dean of Nursing	Green Bay, WI
Experimental Physicist/Engineer	Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

See all 129,739 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
Principle Big Data Engineer	San Francisco, CA
Senior Community Associate, Mobility Industries	New York, NY
Senior DevOps Engineer	San Francisco, CA
Relationship Manager, Small Business	San Francisco, CA
Associate QA Engineer	San Francisco, CA

See all 252 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
Postdoctoral Research Associate	Blacksburg, VA
Project/Applications Engineer- Ultrasonics	Columbus, OH
Meeting & Events Manager	Washington, DC
Sales Representative - CPD	Plymouth Meeting, PA
Accounting Intern	Phoenix, AZ

See all 3,540 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
Program Coordinator - Asia	Washington, DC

See all 1 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
Chief of Audiology - Largo Medical Center ( Job Number: 233653 )	Largo, MD
Coord Special Projects	Pompton Plains, NJ
Scrum Master	Wilmington, DE
HR Compliance Analyst II	Mount Laurel, NJ
Research Associate, Communications Council	Washington, DC

See all 61 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
Fall Intern: Social and Cultural Studies	Washington, DC
Research Internship – Counterterrorism in the Middle East	Washington, DC
Research Intern—Egypt Security Project	Washington, DC
Research Intern—Syria Project	Washington, DC
Fundraising and Non-Profit Management Internship	Washington, DC

See all 20 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
Flight Attendant	Seattle, WA
Clerk-Funeral Detail	Tallahassee, FL
Logistics Coordinator	New York, NY
FASHION PR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE	New York, NY

See all 61 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
PROGRAM SPECIALIST, USAID OFFICE OF SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS	Washington, DC
Business/Management (15-01)	Los Angeles, CA
Legacy Staff (15-05)	Los Angeles, CA
Assistant Director, Congressional and Media Outreach	Washington, DC
Gorton Center Global Leaders Program	Seattle, WA

See all 4 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 Medical Director, Product Safety Team Lead (Immunology)	Lake County, IL
HR Manager	Coppell, TX
Business Development Manager, Platform Demand	Pasadena, CA
Project Assistant	Chicago, IL
Sr Regulatory Affairs Associate Devices	Waltham, MA

See all 4,989 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
COO - Lakewood Ranch Medical Center	Bradenton, FL
Research Coordinator	Seattle, WA
COO - Lakewood Ranch Medical Center	Bradenton, FL
Safety and Facility Associate	Washington, DC
Data Solutions Associate	Watertown, MA

See all 22 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
Fall 2014 Intern, Transatlantic Leadership Initiatives	Washington, DC
Fall 2014 Intern, Atlantic Dialogues	Washington, DC
Fall 2014 Intern, Europe Program	Washington, DC
Fall 2014 Intern, Asia Program	Washington, DC
Fall 2014 Intern, Urban and Regional Policy	Washington, DC

See all 0 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
Senior Director, Finance	Washington, DC
President and Chief Executive Officer, Facing History and Ourselves	Brookline, MA
Program Assistant, Middle East and North Africa	Washington, DC
Program Assistant, Global Programs	Washington, DC
Grants Assistant, Europe/Eurasia (#1455)	Washington, DC

See all 14 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
Hospice Social Worker	Philadelphia, PA
SAP Supply Chain/WM Functional Expert Job	Bridgewater, NJ
Associate Director, Events	New York, NY
Social Worker - MSW	Natick, MA
Communications Coordinator	Philadelphia, PA

See all 459 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
Planning & Administrative Coordinator	Cambridge, MA
Planning & Administrative Coordinator	Cambridge, MA
Regulatory Compliant Associate	Memphis, TN
Policy Analyst (Trade)	Washington, DC
Agriculture Business Development Coordinator (Non-Classified)	Riverside, CA

See all 87 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
Associate Real Estate Agents - East Bay	San Francisco, CA
Associate Agent - Fremont/San Leandro	San Francisco, CA
Associate Real Estate Agent - Suffolk	New York, NY
Associate Real Estate Agent - Homestead	Miami, FL
Real Estate Agent	Rockville, MD

See all 67 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
Lead Technical Consultant	Chicago, IL
Regional Director, K-12 Midmarket (East of the Mississippi)	Harrisburg, PA
OpenStack Operations Engineer	Mountain View, CA
Business Development Associate	New York, NY
Presales Consultant - Fraud Solutions for Banking	Atlanta, GA

See all 34,597 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
Director, Writer in Residence	New York
National Advisor Workforce Solutions	Jersey City, NJ
Director, Writer in Residence	New York, NY
Associate Director, Prospect Research and Strategy	Washington, DC
Visiting Arab Region Scholar	Boston, MA

See all 5 job postings

Institute of International Education - Located in NYC, Institute of International Education manages the Fulbright Program, along with 250 other programs worldwide.

See the complete Institute of International Education profile

Job Title	Location
Program Solutions Team Associate	Waltham, MA
Manager, Urban Land Institute - Central Florida	Orlando, FL
Esthetician	Maple Grove, MN
Director of Engineering	Philadelphia, PA
Buyer / Sr Buyer	Nashville, TN

See all 1,504 job postings

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