Research & Editorial Internship, Water Sustainability

Location: Oxford OX1 1XX (hybrid options available)

Pay: £14.50/hour

Contract: Full-time (37.5 hours/week), starting as soon as possible, for an initial six months

Half of every drop reused by 2045

Today the world reuses 11% of its municipal water. The Scaling Water Reuse Initiative (SWRI) is working to raise that to 50% by 2045. Founded by Global Water Intelligence (GWI) and the International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA), the SWRI is building a global coalition behind that goal, and its working groups are currently shaping a policy paper for the 2026 UN Water Conference.

GWI is deepening its analysis of this reuse opportunity, to shape the conversation on how to drive global economic growth without straining the world’s water resources. As a cornerstone of this research, we will be producing a data-driven white paper investigating the untapped potential for partnerships between industries and utilities to deliver water security and sustainable growth in water-stressed locations. We are looking for a sharp, curious intern to help make all of it excellent – ideal for someone considering a future in research, journalism or analysis in water and climate.

The role

This work rewards a few particular strengths:

• Curiosity: quick to grasp new, technical subject matter, with a genuine interest in water, climate or the wider environmental sector.
• Research and data: comfortable working through dense material – complex data, recordings, documents – to find the evidence that matters, standardise and validate datasets, spot errors, and use the numbers to tell a story.
• A strong writer: turning discussion into accurate, engaging summaries – in words and in visuals. Few people have time to read at length, so writing needs to be concise and lucid; non-native English is fine – we can edit for that.
• Organised and detail-oriented: methodical, and committed to error-free work – our authority depends on it.
• Comfortable with AI: you'll use tools like Claude and ChatGPT to accelerate the work, while exercising good judgement to ensure high-quality outputs via efficient workflows.

AI is only as good as the thinking behind it – you can't summarise a debate you don't understand, so you will need to get up to speed on the key messages quickly and work methodically.

What you will gain

• Real, named deliverables you helped shape, from research through to publication.
• Hands-on AI experience, and a front-row view of how an established information business is putting it to work.
• Direct exposure to the organisations and experts driving global water reuse policy, with mentoring from our team along the way.
• Broad involvement, real responsibility, and potential future employment for exceptional performers.

About GWI and the Initiative

Global Water Intelligence is a specialist publisher of business intelligence on the global water sector, with offices in Oxford and Shanghai. GWI is a Founding Partner of the SWRI alongside IDRA.

To apply

Please send your CV and a covering letter (maximum 200 words) explaining why you are applying, and tell us about a fact or idea about water, climate or AI that's stuck with you recently, and why it caught your attention.

Applications close 5 August 2026; a covering letter is required to be considered.

We encourage early applications, as we may close the vacancy once sufficient applications are received.

As part of our recruitment process, we may use AI tools to help review and organise applications; a person always makes the final decision.

No agencies, please.