The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a CGIAR Research Center, is seeking applications from enthusiastic students who are looking to gain professional experience in the field of finance. The internship will be based at IWMI’s headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Scope of internship

During this internship in the finance department of IWMI, you will gain a broad understanding of the accounting procedures and processes in an international organization. You will also have an opportunity to work with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) and be able to interact with staff at IWMI’s headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and its regional offices across Asia and Africa. This will give you an insight into working with people from different countries and cultures.

IWMI is an Executive Level (non-public sector) Training Organization approved by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka).

The intern will assist in the following areas:

• Assist with recording and processing financial transactions in the ERP system, including journal vouchers, payment vouchers, receipts, and other required entries.
• Assist with processing supplier invoices, creating payables in ERP, where applicable.
• Prepare journal vouchers for manual expense claims, medical claims, and other finance-related transactions.
• Assist to handle petty cash transactions and maintain accurate petty cash records and entries.
• Prepare fund transfer vouchers, bank transfer letters, and related payment documentation as required.
• Assist with cheque payments and other payment processing activities when required.
• Assist with hosted institute invoicing and other finance-related billing activities.
• Update bank charges based on bank statements and assist with credit card and other financial reconciliations.
• Ensure the completeness and accuracy of supporting documents and maintain proper filing of finance records.

Requirements

• Undergraduates or recent graduates with a Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting degrees or registered or part-qualified students with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) or Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
• Excellent command of the English language, both written and verbal.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.
• Experience in using accounting software would be an added advantage.
• Integrity is of utmost importance.

Benefits

IWMI will provide a monthly stipend to the selected candidate during the internship period.

The duration of the initial internship contract will be for 6 months with the possibility of extension for another 6 months based on performance, requirements of IWMI, and the availability of funds. This is a nationally recruited internship and only Sri Lankans are eligible to apply.

To apply, visit www.iwmi.org/jobs. Applications must be submitted by 24:00 (Colombo time) on 03 November 2026.

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is an international, research-for-development organization that works with governments, civil society and the private sector to solve water problems in developing countries and scale up solutions. Through partnership, IWMI combines research on the sustainable use of water and land resources, knowledge services and products with capacity strengthening, dialogue and policy analysis to support implementation of water management solutions for agriculture, ecosystems, climate change and inclusive economic growth. Headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka, IWMI is a CGIAR Research Center with offices in 17 countries and a global network of scientists operating in more than 55 countries. www.iwmi.org

IWMI believes that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-color, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary working environment. We are consciously creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and our commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.