Background

The UN Country Team (UNCT) in Brazil is composed by 21 agencies, funds, programmes and regional commissions, besides 13 non- resident agencies that, despite not having office in the country, are present through its programmes and projects. UN works in Brazil through technical cooperation projects with the government, civil society, academia and the business sector in order to develop relevant themes for the country and the international community.
Six Interagency Groups, five Joint Programmes and two Task Forces have been established to foster joint initiatives and programmes and advance the UN Reform in the field.

The purpose of UNDP’s internship programme is to:

a) provide a framework by which students from diverse academic backgrounds may be assigned to UNDP offices, where their educational experience can be enhanced through practical work assignments;

b) expose them to an international environment;

c) expose them to work of the Organization with the objective of deepening their knowledge and understanding of UNDP’s goals, principles and activities; and

d) provide UNDP offices with the assistance of qualified students specialized in various professional fields.

Venue:
The Internship will take place at the UNDP Country Office, in Brasilia, Brazil.

Status:
Interns are not staff members.
Interns may not be sought or accepted as substitutes for staff to be recruited against authorized posts.
Interns may not represent UN in any official capacity.

Length: 6 months (starting end January 2012). Part- time or full-time basis, depending on the needs and capacity of the office.

Subsequent Employment

The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNDP but to complement an intern’s studies. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship.

Should an offer of employment be envisaged, a 3-month break, from the end of the internship, must be respected.

Interns cannot apply for posts during the period of internship.

Financial Issues:
Interns are not financially remunerated by UN.
The costs associated with the internship must be borne by the nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students; or by the student, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence and make his or her own arrangements for travel, accommodation etc.
Insurance:
UN accepts no responsibility for the medical and life insurance of the intern or costs arising from accidents and illness incurred during an internship.
All applicants for internship must show proof of valid medical and life/accident insurance for the duty station for which they will work.

Insurance:
UN accepts no responsibility for the medical and life insurance of the intern or costs arising from accidents and illness incurred during an internship.
All applicants for internship must show proof of valid medical and life/accident insurance for the duty station for which they will work.

UNDP is not responsible for any claims by any parties where the loss of or damage to their property, death or personal injury was caused by the actions or omission of action by the interns during their internship.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities:
The UN Coordination Intern will support the UN Resident Coordinator Office (RCO) in Brasil in his/her coordination functions and reports to UN Coordination Analyst and UN Coordination Associate.
His/Her responsibilities will mainly consist in:
1. Contribute to prepare background material to the Annual Report of the Resident Coordinator (RCAR 2012) and monthly UNCT meetings.
2. Assist the RCO in any task related with the preparation of Rio+20 Summit and other UN missions and visits to Brazil.
3. To arrange for and support visits of heads of non-resident agencies/programmes and other senior UN officials.
4. Assist the RCO with advocacy activities, including support to public events, lunching ceremonies, workshops and etc.
5. Monitor and support the joint programmes activities and interagency thematic groups as requested.
6. Day-to-day support of the work of the Resident Coordinator Office.

Competencies

Teamwork: Good interpersonal skills; ability to work in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic environment with full respect for diversity. Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensibility and adaptability. Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain effective work relationships with other UN Programmes, Funds and Agencies.

Professionalism: Ability to manage processes, maintain accurate records, interpret/analyze a wide variety of data, and identify/resolve data discrepancies and activity problems.
Planning and Organising: Demonstrated effective organizational skills and ability to handle work in an efficient and timely manner.

Commitment to continuous learning: Initiative and willingness to keep abreast of new trends in international development. Technological Awareness: Proficiency in various MS Office applications and other IT applications.
Communication: Ability to write in a clear and concise manner and to communicate effectively orally

Review Criteria. Besides meeting the minimum eligibility requirements, the main criteria for the review of candidates for selection as interns are his/her:
• ability to fulfill the requirements of the terms of reference; and
• academic qualifications and experience, if any.

Accountability

Unsatisfactory performance or failure to conform to the standards of conduct set out above may lead to termination of the internship, for cause, at the initiative of UNDP. A two-week notice shall be given in such cases.
Any serious breach of the duties and obligations which, in the view of the Administrator, would justify separation before the end of the notice period.

The intern will reimburse UNDP for financial loss or for damage to UNDP-owned equipment or property caused by him/her, if such loss or damage:
• occurred outside the performance of services with UNDP; or
• arose or resulted from gross negligence or wilful misconduct or violation or reckless disregard of applicable rules and policies by the interns.

Required Skills and Experience

Eligibility:
Candidates must be enrolled in a course either undergraduate or graduate in one of the following areas: Political Science, International Relations, Public Administration.

• have completed at least four years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution towards the completion of a degree, if pursuing their studies in countries where higher education is not divided into undergraduate and graduate stages;

• not have graduated prior to the beginning of the internship.

Professional experience in an international organization will be an advantage.

Portuguese must be the candidate’s mother tongue, excellent communication and drafting skills in English will be an asset.

Excellent computer skills (MS Office, including Excel, Word and Power Point).

They are also expected to demonstrate a keen interest in the Field of development.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS:

Click "Apply Now". After filling the fields and clicking in "Submit Application", you MUST attach in the next page the following required documents:

- Updated Résumé /CV (in Portuguese) with a motivation/Cover letter (in Portuguese)

Due to the volume of applications received, receipt of applications cannot be acknowledged individually. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

UN is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups, women, afro-descendants and persons with disabilities are specially encouraged to apply.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.