Internship – Philanthropic Partnerships

Internship – Philanthropic Partnerships at The Ocean Cleanup

MISSION TO METRICS

Ridding the world’s oceans of plastic is something we cannot do alone. As an intern in Philanthropic Partnerships, you will be responsible for supporting the Head of Philanthropic Partnerships in unlocking funding from High Net Worth Individuals, Family Offices, and Foundations that will enable scaling up our mission and reach our goals.

“In the funding and partnerships team we work with a growing set of international partners who have joined hands with us to help us realize our joint missions. Working in the team and with the partners all over the globe is a great opportunity to grow, whilst making a great positive impact on the world.”

Nisha Bakker, Director Partnerships

RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to the Head of Philanthropy, during your internship you will support with managing current grants, identifying new opportunities, and organising relevant events to unlock the right mix of funding and expertise for the mission of The Ocean Cleanup. Your role will ensure that the rights and commitments of our partnership and donor agreements are executed in the correct way, so we create long-term, value-adding relationships that advance our mission. As part of the Funding and Partnership team you will help manage and track our partnership, donation opportunities, and activities, ensuring that everything from branding, intellectual property, to physical deployment/technology commitments are monitored and managed to ensure we are delivering the highest level of impact on the mission.

Your responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Supporting with grant management, including writing of donor reports and grant proposals
• Supporting with development of new opportunities, including background research and due diligence on High Net Worth Individuals, Foundations, Donors Advised Funds
• Supporting on event creation and participation such as UN Climate week, Davos etc
• Updating existing CRM system on opportunities and current engagements

Your day to day could look like:

• Desk research on opportunities
• Logging opportunities in Salesforce and following up on them
• Developing donor reports together with Rivers and Ocean team
• Developing grant proposals together with Rivers and Ocean team
• Event organisation: Identifying venues, collecting quotes etc.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• A degree in a relevant field such as communications, business, social sciences, or a related field
• (Internship) experience in partnerships, sustainability, donor relations, business development, sales or a similar role is a plus
• Experience working for NGO or Foundation is a plus
• Event organization experience
• (Near-) native English language skills (including written). Other language skills are a plus
• Previous experience in grant management is a plus

PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Very personable - great relationship builder
• Curious by nature - excited about the details around our technology and project
• Great at time management and prioritisation (and knowing how to multi-task)
• You’re a perfectionist and put the dots on the i’s
• Strong communication skills
• Quick learner
• Team Player
• Works efficiently and independently
• Intrinsic motivation to work on our ambitious and meaningful goal

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

• Starting date: 15 September 2025
• Duration: 6 months
• WORK PERMIT NEEDED: European Union
• At The Ocean Cleanup, we believe we are stronger together while harnessing the uniqueness each individual brings. That is why we take a fair, equal opportunity, and transparent approach to hiring and welcome special needs requests.
• Curious to hear how it is to work at The Ocean Cleanup? Listen to our team members explain their work in our podcast.