UNDP Jobs - 55018- Internship (Human Rights and Rule of Law)

Internship (Human Rights and Rule of Law)

Location :

Istanbul, TURKEY

Type of Contract :

Internship

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

09-Apr-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Intern

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 months (with possibility of extension)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

full-time (40 hours per week)

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) is UNDP’s main knowledge and advisory hub for the countries serviced by UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS (RBEC). The Regional Centre is in charge for regional programme implementation. Through its regional programme, the IRH provides advisory support and knowledge management and innovation services to UNDP Country Offices in 22 countries and territories in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, including those in Central Asia.

In 2014, IRH started implementing the new regional project “Supporting voice for citizens, development, the rule of law and accountability in governance systems in Europe and the CIS” (VOICE). The VOICE project aims at addressing interlinked governance challenges related to, among other, implementation of international human rights, rule of law, access to justice, and security standards by governments, national institutions and mechanisms.

UNDP work on human rights focuses on strengthening national human rights systems. This includes, among others, support to integration of human rights recommendations into national systems, and provision of support to NHRIs and Ombudsman institutions by developing their capacities to better fulfill their mandate of protecting and promoting human rights at the national level. Furthermore, UNDP supports countries and governments to develop strategies for making legal and justice services more available and accessible to disadvantaged groups, and, over the past decade, it has initiated a number of justice sector projects in various countries in the region, supporting reform processes and finding ways in which the judiciary would be more effective, transparent and responsive in delivering services to people, with a special focus on challenges posed by exclusion, vulnerability and marginalization. Part of UNDP work on human rights and rule of law is related to organization of number of regional and sub-regional initiatives to promote Country Offices’ demands, and to address some of the critical human rights and rule of law issues.

UNDP IRH is looking for knowledgeable and dedicated intern(s) to join Governance and Peacebuilding Team for support on human rights and rule of law policy and programme support.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to the Human Rights, Rule of Law, Justice and Security Programme Specialist, the intern will have the following tasks:

Research/gather from the region (and beyond) information about relevant programmes, projects, knowledge products and resource materials, and drafting/consolidating documents/briefs for the team/broader audience;
Assist the team in developing advocacy and communication materials for the regional programme on human rights and rule of law including support to preparation of policy notes;
Write articles, blogs for the newsletter (e-documentation), website, and web based platforms/knowledge networks on human rights and rule of law;
Assist the team in the preparation of materials and presentations for online tools: workspaces, Teamworks etc;
Assist in the preparations (both substantive and logistics) for the thematic events;
Any other relevant tasks deem necessary and appropriate (Human Rights, Rule of Law, Justice and Security Programme Specialist).

The deliverables of the intern will be subject to review in 6 weeks from the start of the internship.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and the UNDP Statement of Purpose;
Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment;
Ability to conduct advanced internet search and work with multiple documentation sources to extract required data and information [literature review];
Good communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Enorolled in a Master studies in Law, Political Sciences, Human Rights, Global/Regional Studies or other relevant field.

Experience:

Understanding of specifics of the international organizations, particularly UN/UNDP and its tasks and mandate, sharing UNDP’s goals;
Familiarity with the social innovation concept;
Experience with handling of web based management systems, web administration and social innovation tools is an advantage.

Language:

Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English; knowledge of Russian is an asset.

Interns are selected on a competitive basis. Only those students who will return to their studies upon completion of their internship assignments are eligible.

Financial Issues

Internships within the UN system are unpaid and subject to conditions the applicant must get familiar with prior to signing his/her internship agreement.
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.

Application procedure
The application should contain:

Brief Cover Letter (in English) stating interest in and qualifications for the post; (Please indicate in your cover letter, your motivation, actual dates of availability including number of hours per week, and any relevant work experience);
Current and complete CV in English;

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.
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;
Proof of medical and life/accident insurance valid for the location in which the internship will be carried out. Selected intern must have medical and life insurance.

UNDP only accepts interns for a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 6 months.
UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship.
Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity.
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.

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.
More information available at: http://www.undp.org/internships/