Internships | Stepping Stones

Stepping Stones offers many internships throughout the year, including the summer. Our interns carry out many important roles in our organisation, and we welcome applications from all candidates who fit the requirements below.

We’ll provide a friendly and fun work environment, as well as opportunities to learn about non-profit work, volunteerism, English teaching and the migrant situation in China. Click here to meet some of our interns and here to see interns testimonials.

We are committed to providing formative feedback to our interns, and provide certification and references to interns after their internship as needed for future academic and work applications.

REQUIREMENTS are as follows:

Fluency in English and/or Chinese.
Committed to the goals of Stepping Stones, interested in volunteerism and education.
Smart, self-motivated, quick and eager to learn, well-organised and with a positive attitude.
Passion for helping disadvantaged children.
Capable of multi-tasking and prioritizing.
Minimum age 16.
Able to work as follows:
1. Spring semester (from the end of February until the end of May) and fall semester (from mid-September until mid-December): 2 – 4 days per week. At least 3 days would be more advantageous for our programs, but if your school schedule or other arrangements do not make it possible, please explain it in your motivation letter.
2. Summer (July and August): minimum 3 days per week for 2 months or 4 days per week for 6 weeks.
3. We might take interns for different time schedule (e.g. full time for 1 month), subject to our needs. Please contact our HR department.

All interns may be requested to help with general office administrative tasks including but not limited to printing, filing, photocopying, translating and managing office inventory and supplies, as well as assisting with ad hoc projects and at events.

INTERNSHIPS VACANCIES

All interns will have the opportunity to get involved in many different aspects of Stepping Stones’ work listed below, and most interns will be required to do some teaching. Candidates may apply for a General Internship, or apply for one of the specialist vacancies below:

General Internship
Home Classroom Program Internship (Online)
Shanghai English Program Internship
Summer Camps Internship
Communications Internship
Fundraising Internship
Research Internship
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Project Internship
Digital Literacy – Computer Teaching Internship
School Videolink Program Internship
Educational Resource Development Internship

General internship

General office administrative tasks.
Represent Stepping Stones at events, e.g. volunteer recruitment, fundraising, corporate events.
Translation (bilingual candidates only).
Assistance with ad hoc projects.
Tasks may include coordinating a teaching program, which includes managing and supporting assigned volunteers.
Interns may teach at least once a week at Stepping Stones’ program sites.
Act as a substitute teacher / assistant teacher.
If needed/qualified, the General Intern might have the chance to assist with other programs or other tasks, e.g. design, communications.

Home Classroom Internship (Online)

Home Classroom interns support Stepping Stones staff to coordinate groups of students who are attending online English classes with our volunteers from their homes.

Time Commitment: 3 days a week. Occasional contact via WeChat between classes. All duties can be performed remotely.

Requirements:

Native Chinese speakers.
Good organization, communications and coordination skills.
Able to communicate in English with foreign volunteers.
Technically competent.

Job Description:

Coordinate and liaise with teaching volunteers as well as class coordinators.
Occasionally step in as a substitute teacher.
Send class schedule information to teaching volunteers.
Deal with questions when coordinators don’t show up or don’t know how.
Follow up with coordinators on students’ attendance record.
Ensure that classes run smoothly.
Keep in regular contact with Stepping Stones’ staff.
Other ad hoc task, e.g. translation.

Shanghai English Program Internship

Interns are needed to teach and coordinate in our Shanghai English Teaching Program. Candidates should be fluent in either English or Chinese, both languages would be great. We provide training, teaching material and supervision.

Time Commitment: 2-3 days a week at office and teaching sites in Shanghai, including at least 1 weekend day.

Requirements:

Fluency in English or Chinese.
Ability to work independently.

Job description:

Coordinate one or more teaching groups, including managing and supporting assigned volunteers.
Teach at one or more of Stepping Stones’ program sites.
Act as a substitute teacher / assistant teacher.
Develop teaching resources and lesson plans.
Produce volunteering certificates.
Assist with data collection and report writing.

Summer Camps Internship (Fluent Chinese Speaker)

Chinese-speaking interns are needed for Stepping Stones’ Summer Camp, where they will help us to provide an enriching experience for children in Shanghai between the ages of 6 and 12 whose parents are working full-time. The Summer Camp runs for 7-8 weeks in July and August.

Time Commitment: At least 3 days per week for 2 months, or at least 4 days per week for 6 weeks.

Requirements:

Fluency in Chinese.
Enjoy interacting with children.
Helping with the lesson planning of the classes if necessary.
Ready to learn how to teach different classes to children.
Ability to work independently.

Job description:

Teach classes in a variety of subjects, including arts and crafts, reading, music, drama, dance and environment.
Assist classroom teacher with classroom management, including managing morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up, handle simple discipline issues, etc.
Look after and play with the children during breaks and at lunch time.
Assist children complete their holiday home work.

Communications Internship

The Communications intern reports to the Communications Manager.

Time Commitment: 3 days per week.

Requirements:

Good command of English. Native level Chinese (preferably bilingual).
Strong writing skills.
Familiar with social media, eager to learn.
Familiar with some design software.
Detail-oriented.

Job description:

Write articles for Stepping Stones’ social media.
Update and improve Stepping Stones’ website.
Handle some basic design work.
Assist at Stepping Stones training, volunteer recruitment, fundraising, sales, corporate and other events.
Assist with crowdfunding campaign planning, execution and management.
Translate.

Event-Planning & Fundraising Intern

Time Commitment: 3 days per week.

Requirements:

Good command of both English and Chinese.
Having experience or keen interest in event-planning.
Detail-oriented.
Strong writing skills (either in English or Chinese).

Job description:

Assist with design, execution and management of fundraising strategy, events and activities.
Assist with design, executing and management of CSR events and activities.
Assist with managing and developing individual donation program.
Assist with fundraising-related admin, including keeping activity records, editing reports, etc.
Other fundraising-related tasks.

Research Internship (1-2 interns)

Time Commitment: 20 – 22 days of work.

Requirements:

Strong excel skills.
Very good command of English.
Native level or fluent Chinese (oral and written).

Job description:

Design and carry out feedback surveys involving different stakeholders (students, volunteers, parents, teachers).
Collate survey data.
Analyse survey output & write reports.
Assist in other research projects related to migrant children’s education and welfare in China.

Please go here for examples of our research work.

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Project Intern

Time Commitment: 3 days per week.

Requirements:

Experience/understanding of SEL is strongly preferred.
Experience in mental health or/and social work field is strongly preferred.
Experience working with children is a plus.
Work at least 4 months (part-time).

Job description:

Assist facilitators with classroom management.
Facilitate/Co-facilitate SEL class to elementary school students (Class includes emotion regulation, positive social skills, conflict resolution etc.)
Conduct assessments and help in data management.
Provide other program management support (outreach, data entry, lesson planning and any class activities).
Support the development of SEL training materials.

Digital Literacy – Computer Teaching Internship

Teaching Assistants are needed for our Stepping Up program to assist our full-time computer teacher to deliver innovative online and offline computer skills and life-skills training to students in Shanghai, Zhejiang Province and other parts of China. The offline classes may involve up to a 90 minute commute from central Shanghai.

Requirements:

Native level Chinese.
Strong interest in teaching computer or STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and maths).
Familiar with graphical programming languages. Knowing Scratch or APP Inventor is preferred.
Good at Microsoft Office is preferred.
Available on either Thursday afternoon, Friday afternoon, or Saturday.
Ability to work independently.

Job description:

Deliver innovative computer skills or programming lessons after training.
Assist with teaching material and training development.
Act as a substitute teacher/assistant teacher.

School Videolink Program Internship

Interns are needed to teach and coordinate in our Videolink Program. We provide training, teaching materials and supervision. Prior teaching and technical skills are not required.

Previous Videolink English teaching interns have said: “it was great fun, it is Skype-ing”; “the best part of my internship was to make creative and funny PPTs for the videolink teaching”.

Time Requirement: 3 weekdays per week

Requirements:

Native-level Chinese, good English skills
An interest in using technology for teaching.

Job description:

Help program manager to coordinate videolink classes.
Act as a substitute teacher for videolink classes when needed.
Liaise with volunteers and teachers.
Data collection.
Report writing

Educational Resource Development Internship

Requirements:

Good command of English or English-Chinese bilingual.
Good at exploring and raising questions.
Those with related qualifications or work experience are preferred.

Job description:

Source and update Stepping Stones’ teaching materials for our English or computer-teaching programs.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Candidates are encouraged to send their resume to hr@steppingstoneschina.net, along with a cover letter explaining their motivation and suitability for this internship, and detailing their availability. An interview will be arranged with qualified candidates.

Note

Please note that Stepping Stones is unable to arrange or pay for visas, travel or accommodation. Interns will need to arrange these for themselves.

Stepping Stones will reimburse all project-related costs (e.g. travel to project sites, not including the office), but generally does not pay stipends to interns.

TESTIMONIALS FROM PREVIOUS INTERNS

“As a Stepping Stones’ intern, I had the opportunity to go deep into a non-profit organization, learning about its operations and forming new insights into this industry. Teaching school-age children who are lovely and enthusiastic lights up my heart. For the past five months of my internship, I have been enjoying working with amazing Stepping Stones staff, growing together with my students, and embracing new challenges. If you love working with children or have an interest in non-profit organizations, I highly recommend you join the Stepping Stones family as an intern right now!” (Kathie, Stepping Stones Intern, 2020)
“As an intern at Stepping Stones, I was able to teach many incredible and loving students, as well as having the opportunity to work with many of the wonderful staff at Stepping Stones. Overall, it was a magnificent experience and I learned many valuable skills and expertise during my time interning. I would definitely want to work with Stepping Stones again as an intern in the future!” (Denise Bu, Stepping Stones Intern,SET Program, 2018)
“Interning with Stepping Stones has been an incredible experience. I’ve gained great professional skills, and more importantly was able to make a positive impact in the world” (Elizabeth, Stepping Stones Intern, Videolink Program, 2017).
“Some of my students thanked us and wished that we would come back. Some of them gave me letters saying that when they grow up, they want to travel to Turkey to visit me. It was very meaningful for me” (Elif, Stepping Stones Intern, 2015).
“I know the issue is overwhelming, but you guys are doing a great job. I am glad that I could join here and became part of this journey. It changed me for better” (Mika, Stepping Stones Intern, 2015)