Sample cover letter for Full Time position at International Center for Research on Women

To Whom It May Concern:

I’m writing in reference to your post on Idealist.org regarding an opening for a Program Assistant- Gender & HIV. I am currently working as a consultant for the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in the Women, Children and Gender Service, and see this opening as an excellent next step that would allow me to build on prior experience and pursue my passion for international development and women’s issues.

I am impressed by and interested in ICRW’s work, and excited to see that a number of your recent reports deal with the issues I have found most compelling during my time with WFP. My year with the WFP’s Women, Children and Gender Service has given me a background in the challenges of mainstreaming gender in international development policy.

A major part of my responsibilities in recent months has been researching and reporting on WFP’s progress on gender mainstreaming over the past 15 years, analyzing sex-disaggregated data and policy evolution in preparation for the 15 year review of the Beijing Platform for Action. I am particularly interested in the impact of cultural taboos and prejudices on people’s willingness to seek testing and care, and the way in which gender is reflected in these situations. ICRW’s work combines many of the issues which I am most interested in researching, and I would welcome an opportunity to pursue them further as part of your team.

In addition to experience researching and analyzing gender in development, my varied experience has provided me with experience in diverse administrative, event planning and knowledge sharing tasks which would be useful as a Project Assistant at ICRW.

 As a consultant at WFP, I managed the Gender Service’s transition to a new website and knowledge sharing system, identifying relevant materials, making updates as needed, and liaising with technical staff and the policy department representative.

 At WFP, I have helped organize events in Rome and Cairo, taking into account the logistical needs of attendees from across the globe and coordinating three UN agencies.

 As a campaign manager and as a consultant for American Group of Companies, I have organized and provided logistical support to conferences in the US and in Europe.

While I have had a wonderful experience with the World Food Programme (WFP), I am looking for an opportunity to take on more project management experience, and expand my skill set in the field. I look forward to further discussing this opportunity at your convenience.

Sincerely,