Background

In June 2012, at the RIO+20 UN Global Conference on Sustainable Development, world leaders renewed their commitment to advancing sustainable development, and further re-affirmed that its enactment is the only viable solution for addressing the world’s growing environmental, social and economic problems. A new spirit of collective responsibility emerged from RIO+20 which included a call for greater accountability and transparency about progress made in achieving sustainable development.  This call for increased accountability for sustainable development was also extended to include the international development sector and the UN system, the latter being seen as vital to the credibility of the UN in facilitating related efforts to promote sustainable development in countries and regions. 

The UN’s journey towards climate neutrality began on 5th June 2007 when UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon publicly called on all UN agencies, funds and programmes to ‘go green’ and become climate neutral. In line with the larger UN goals and vision, seven UN agencies: UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNOPS, UNFPA, WHO and PAHO, as well as two important financing institutions in the market for global health aid: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and UNITAID, have started the process of aligning their sustainability goals in procurement procedures and practices. Sustainability is not only an area where these institutions will find themselves committing more time and resources to, it is also gaining higher priority on the UN Global Agenda and has the potential to replace the Millennium Development Goals post-2015.

Linkages between health sector procurement and the environment are not well understood in-spite of the fact that procurement activities in the health sector have a number of important associated environmental issues. For example, procurement is one of the most significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions from the health sector and relevant studies show that the greatest environmental impact by national health system is caused by procurement and supply chain management, especially in regards to pharmaceuticals and health products, their production, use and disposal.

The UN can undoubtedly be a market shaping force in regards to greening procurement processes and criteria. UN agencies procurement for the health sector represents a sizable proportion of some segments of the global pharmaceutical market. Thus, UN agencies not only have a certain market power in some segments of the pharmaceutical market, but also a normative mandate that is now being exploited to address the environmental issues associated with their procurement. By adopting sustainable procurement policies and practices, governments and international development actors –by virtue of their cumulative global purchasing power – could influence a major shift in environmental and social standards applied to products and services.

The informal Interagency Task Team on Sustainable Procurement in the Health Sector (iIATT-SPHS) was established in May 2012 with an aim to leverage the normative mandate and joint procurement volume (about US$ 3.5 billion annually) of participating UN agencies to influence the global health aid market towards reducing its environmental footprint, particularly through the introduction of green procurement criteria. UN members of the iIATT-SPHS include UNDP, UNOPS, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, UNHCR, UNEP. More recently, global health financing institutions have been approached to join forces in introducing environmental safeguarding policies and green procurement criteria, thereby further strengthening the purchasing power within the global health aid market. In November 2014, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has joint the iIATT-SPHS, and in December 2014, UNITAID.

To date, a series of 16 meetings involving 20+ participants were organized by the iIATT-SPHS Secretariat. At these meetings, participants from all the agencies listed took part and several initiatives have already been launched. Initiatives such as carbon footprinting of freight, the inclusion of sustainable criteria in bidding processes (e.g. demonstrated commitment to sustainability), the development of environmental guidelines by WHO and fore-mostly, the development of a route-map that presents the direction the interagency task team plans to take in the coming years, have been some of the outcomes. The group has a forum where documents, links, blogs, articles, photos etc. have been uploaded which is regularly updated after each of the meetings.

Internships offer a small group of outstanding graduate-level students the opportunity to acquire direct exposure to UNDP's work. They are designed to complement development-oriented studies with practical experience in various aspects of multilateral technical cooperation, but also complement other international studies, including law. While the primary objective for this internship is to assist the iIATT-SPHS Secretariat in administrative and logistical services, the intern will also have the chance to participate in writing of project proposals with a focus on the iIATT-SPHS mandate, organize working sessions, liaise with expert stakeholders from the academic, scientific, and third-sector community and facilitate knowledge dissemination and exchange among the various interested parties on the initiative/task team.

Your application should include a cover letter and resume. Please indicate in your cover letter:

• Your motivation, 
• Your availability over the period, 
• Any relevant work experience.

Duties and Responsibilities

The interested candidate will report to the international consultant supporting the iIATT-SPHS Secretariat (Supervisor) and the Regional HHD Team Leader for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Moreover, the candidate will initiate/assist/monitor and develop the following initiatives; and the planning of regular meetings as well as facilitate knowledge exchange. The intern will be expected to:

• Assist the Supervisor in administrative and logistical support to the iIATT-SPHS Secretariat (e.g. assist in providing assistance to inter-agency working groups and committees);
• Assist in organization of monthly meetings for the iIATT-SPHS by inviting external participants, drafting the agenda, coordinating all logistics and technological support;
• Organize teleconferences with UN and non-UN members and write minutes;
• Prepare stream of activities on monthly basis;
• File documents and compile data;
• Prepare PowerPoint presentations: briefing on IIATT-SPHS;
• Maintain the group’s forum on Teamworks;
• Assist in communicating findings and facilitating knowledge dissemination and exchange among the various interested parties;
• Support communications between internal and external parties and serve as a ‘point of contact’ for requests for information on the initiative/task team;
• Assist in identifying, contacting and following-up with partners employing ‘best practices’ in sustainable procurement in the health sector;
• Assist with liaising with expert stakeholders from the academic, scientific, and third-sector community in order to adapt a methodology for introducing environmental criteria in bidding processes;
• Contribute to the process of writing proposals which will be submitted to diverse institutions, with an aim of obtaining additional funding for activities which fall under the iIATT-SPHS mandate;
• Other duties falling within the scope of these responsibilities.

The internship will also span broader aspects related to sustainability in procurement of goods and services for the health sector. This will be in terms of further research into the innovations being carried out globally in this field as well as aspects such as Corporate Social Responsibility. The ways in which UN policies and practices for sustainability can promote economic and social development in developing countries rather than pose obstacles to economic growth in emerging markets is also an important area of consideration that the intern will be encouraged to explore.
The aim of the internship will be to enhance the theoretical knowledge of the intern through substantive and operational engagement with sustainability practices and policies of the Organization while assisting with the initiatives and plans that are already in place and those that are in the pipeline. 

Competencies

• Good team worker;
• Solid writing and communications abilities;
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to multi-task;
• Must be able to work in a multicultural environment and be aware of political sensitivities;
• Responsible, responsive, and enthusiastic;
• Be willing to work within the framework of UNDP’s internship policies.

Required Skills and Experience

Interns are selected on a competitive basis. The following minimum qualifications are required: 

Education:

• Enrollment in a graduate-level degree programme in a development related field such as economics, public or business administration, environmental studies, public health or health and environment;
• Interested candidate will be eligible to undertake this internship only if he/she is currently, and over the full period of internship, enrolled in the graduate level course.

Experience:

• Knowledge of sustainable development terminology a strong advantage;
• Experience in project writing; resource mobilization; partnership building desirable;
• Experience in event management would be an asset;
• Proficient with managing Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and data bases.

Other:

• Must be available at least 20 hours a week for a period of at least 3 months.

Languages:

• Written and spoken proficiency in at least one, and preferably two of the three working languages used by UNDP: English, French and Spanish;
• Fluency in Arabic, Portuguese, Russian or Eastern European language is an asset. 

Notes:

Qualified candidates interested in the Internship have to be registered in online database through http://europeandcis.undp.org/tools/?event=public.internshipApplyForm, stating "Regional Sustainable Financing" as field of interest. Your application should include a cover letter and resume. Candidates not registered in the database will not be further considered.

Candidates who are selected for must submit prior to the interview the following documents:

• Official letter from the University confirming enrollment in a graduate-level degree programme;
• Letter of endorsement from a faculty member who has worked with the student in the recent past and who is knowledgeable on the student’s performance;
• Complete and sign the “Application Form” which is available at http://www.undp.org/internships. 

UNDP only accepts interns for a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 6 months. 

Interns are not financially remunerated by UNDP. The costs associated with the latter 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. 
Proof of medical and life/accident insurance valid for the location in which the internship will be carried out. Have medical and life insurance. 

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.
It is important to note that interns are responsible to arrange for their own visa and residence documents, and need to plan for these well in advance.