The British Embassy in The Hague is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas, and is recruiting Public Policy and Diplomacy interns.

The main purpose of the internship will be to support the Policy team, Events team, and teams supporting senior leaders with various public diplomacy activities, including communications work. Activities will include events with the diplomatic community, government and non-government contacts, and the wider public in the Netherlands. The successful candidates will have a unique opportunity to learn about public diplomacy in action and gain direct exposure to the workings of a busy bilateral embassy. Within the Public Policy and Diplomacy internship there are currently three internship tracks.

Science and Technology track – delivering science and technology activity for the British Embassy in the Netherlands. This will include developing relationships with external organisations on AI and Quantum, creative policy making and programme delivery, and advancing the UK-NL relationship in the sphere of technology, innovation and science. This role requires someone with an interest in tech – but don’t worry, we’re happy to provide the experience! 

Events track – supporting the events- and the Ambassador’s private office team in designing and delivering all aspects of diplomatic events. This role will support different events from conception to delivery. The intern will liaise directly with the suppliers and sponsors needed to make the event happen, manage the guest list and invitation process, and ensure logistic arrangements have been considered. The successful candidate should be able to show evidence of project management skills, organisation, and the ability to multitask.

Public Diplomacy and Communications track – supporting the Public Diplomacy and Communications team with press monitoring and engagement, public diplomacy campaigns, and communications planning. This includes helping to develop content for a variety of events, drafting content, helping to develop strategic communications plans. The intern on this track will support the communications team as the connector between the embassy’s work and wider discourses and discussions within the Netherlands e.g. in the press, media, and parliament.

Roles and responsibilities:

An indication of the average proportion of tasks, noting that this varies based on the embassy’s priorities, and will change over the course of the internship. The role exists as part of a team and all staff are expected to be flexible in supporting colleagues, particularly at busy times.

For the Science and Technology track:

• 30%: Policy Development and delivery: Supporting the Science and Technology team in developing the UK-NL relationship on science and technology and building relationships which support this.
• 50%: Programme delivery: design and delivery of programme activity which supports the Embassy’s goals on Science and Tech, and other issues as appropriate.
• 20%: Communications work in support of Science and Technology, whether for events or social media.  Press and media reporting – supporting in the creation of daily media summaries as part of a rota across the wider teams.

For the Events track:

• 35% – Event preparation:  Arrange invitation processes for events from start to finish, overseeing their distribution and the RSVP process. Work with event planning committees and the lead officer(s) for the event, handling enquiries from wider Embassy teams and external contacts. Planning, including arranging meetings and creating the agenda, taking meeting records, keeping all records and paperwork filed and keeping members updated.
• 20% – Event design: Help design embassy events, including food and drink provision, decorations, entertainment, wet weather preparation etc. lead on procurement of goods and services.  Work with lead officers and residence team to ensure all logistical requirements are understood and considered. Work with Corporate Services to track event budgets; work with the Department for Business Trade team to secure sponsorship for events as necessary.
• 20% – Post-event support: After the event, ensure that the project is formally closed, invoices budgets are account for, and (if necessary) produce a detailed report of the event, including recommendations for future events, including feedback from all stakeholders.
• 15% – Wider support to other teams.
• 10% – Press and media reporting – supporting in the creation of daily media summaries as part of a rota across the wider teams.

For the Public Diplomacy and Communications track:

• 30% – Press monitoring and reporting. Keep track of relevant news stories in Dutch newspapers and provide reports on a regular basis.
• 25% – Support the Policy team with monitoring and reporting of domestic policy matters and parliamentary debates. For example, follow and report on debates, summarising Kamerbrieven (letters to Parliament).
• 20% – Support the communications team with the conception and development of campaigns across multiple platforms and formats (e.g. in person, digital).
• 10% – Event preparation and logistics, supporting teams in the preparation of events and providing logistical support to these events.
• 15% – Supporting wider public affairs engagement and activities, based on the needs of the team at the time.

Essential on arrival:  

• Ability to work to deadlines;
• Highly flexible and adaptable;
• Proactive, independent and self-motivated to learn;
• Tactful and diplomatic manner and an ability to liaise effectively and productively with staff and clients at all levels of seniority;
• Proficient in English and Dutch. You will need to be able to do quick and high-quality media summaries and translations from English to Dutch and Dutch to English.