Intern Position Description
| First Agency |
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |
|
POSITION NUMBER |
|
|
POSITION TITLE |
Intern |
|
CLASSIFICATION |
|
|
SECTION |
DFAT – Political, Economic, Communications and Public Diplomacy |
|
Reports to (title) |
Deputy Head of Mission |
About the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
The role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is to advance the interests of Australia and Australians internationally. This involves strengthening Australia’s security, enhancing Australia’s prosperity, delivering an effective and high-quality overseas aid program and helping Australian travellers and Australians overseas.
The Department provides foreign, trade and development policy advice to the Australian Government. DFAT also works with other Australian government agencies to drive coordination of Australia’s pursuit of global, regional and bilateral interests.
About the position
We are recruiting an intern to join the Australian Embassy’s Political, Economic, Communications and Public Diplomacy team from 22 September to 19 December 2025, with the possibility of extending to 30 January 2026. This will be an opportunity to get broad experience across the Embassy’s policy and public diplomacy work. Under general direction, the successful applicant will help prepare briefings and reports, monitor the press, prepare and implement Embassy public diplomacy events, and support the Australian Embassy’s social media engagement.
Key responsibilities of the position include but are not limited to:
- Monitor developments in Chile and Ecuador on domestic political, regional and thematic issues such as mining, energy, trade and Indigenous issues;
- Prepare weekly media summaries for distribution in the broader Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
- Assist in the preparation of meeting and visit briefings;
- Support the organisation and management of visits and events that showcase Australian expertise, capabilities and culture, support Australia’s public diplomacy objectives and promote the 80th anniversary of bilateral relations between Australia and Chile;
- Help to manage, design and publish content for the embassy’s social media accounts including infographics and videos;
- Undertake political and economic policy research, including on government priorities in Chile and Ecuador;
- Contribute to the development, delivery and evaluation of the Embassy’s digital communication strategy to promote the Australian Government’s interests in Chile and Ecuador;
- Support the Public Diplomacy team in managing engagement with the Alumni network.
NOTE: the list of responsibilities herein is not intended to be all-inclusive. It may become necessary to modify/change these position responsibilities from time to time in line with changes to Embassy’s business needs.
Required Qualifications/Experience/Knowledge/Skills
- Advanced level in written and spoken English and Spanish.
- Undertaking a university degree in a relevant field.
- Excellent writing, presentation and communication (including social media) skills.
- Demonstrated initiative flexibility and adaptability.
Required Availability
- Must be able to undertake the internship for the entire period of 22 September to 19 December 2025 (inclusive), with the possibility of extending to 30 January in 2026 in a full-time capacity. The Embassy can exercise flexibility with the working hours if the successful applicant has university commitments.
Desirable
- Familiarity with Australia is not essential, but may be an advantage.
- Demonstrated experience in public policy is not essential, but may be an advantage
Eligibility
To be eligible to work at the Australian Embassy in Santiago de Chile, the successful applicant will require:
- A clean police background check (i.e. Certificado de Antecedentes);
- Demonstrate that you have health insurance (ideally including workplace insurance provided by your University); and
- If a non-Chilean national, a valid work permit/visa.