Background
The Asia-Pacific Regional Centre (APRC), Bangkok, serves countries of the region under UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. It is a regional hub for development knowledge and expertise, providing programming, policy advisory and capacity development services in Asia and the Pacific. Located at the APRC, the work of the Inclusive Growth and Poverty Reduction (IGPR) Team is organized around four synergistic output streams promoting human development, particularly contributing to the MDG Breakthrough Strategy under the MDG Acceleration Framework to ensure, accelerate and sustain progress:
- Inclusive Growth and Globalization (IGG)
- Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
- Social Policy and Institutions (SPI)
- Green Economic Growth (GEG)
With Environment and Gender linkages with Poverty as crosscutting. The Team’s policy and programming work towards poverty reduction is guided by identified priorities linked to the three streams. Partnerships are an integral way of undertaking the work across all three streams.
The Unit’s strategic value is in bringing a combined understanding of the regional and national development contexts to multi-dimensional poverty issues that need to be addressed at an international or multi-country levels, and in-country national or sub-national levels. Development results are linked to influencing ideas, policy and programming impacts for reduction of multi-dimensional poverty and sustainable human development. Towards these results outputs of the Team include knowledge products, knowledge exchange, knowledge services, and policy-oriented advocacy, contributing to programming and policies for poverty reduction and the MDGs.
The work of the IGPR team includes (a) an engagement with external stakeholders for regional public goods, technical expertise on policy-oriented advocacy, capacity development and knowledge sharing through regional public goods, (b) supporting and working with internal UNDP teams at Country Offices, providing technical and policy advisory services, (c) working with the other internal regional practice teams, and (d) linking global, regional and country level knowledge for poverty reduction, progress towards MDGs and other internationally accepted development goals, in promoting human development.
Duties and Responsibilities
The intern will be responsible for:
Research Support
- Provide inputs and support to IGPR work on sustainable urbanization and urban poverty, acceleration of MDGs, research and advocacy support on inclusive growth and poverty reduction policies
- Generate quantitative data tables and graphs, and consolidate and update references lists as inputs to research papers and briefs as and when requested
- Conduct literature reviews as well as draft, edit and/or provide comments on project concept notes/proposals and other related documentation
- Provide ad hoc technical inputs as may be required by the IGPR team leader in specific aspects of research and project implementation.
Programme Support
- Help maintain knowledge networks, electronic mail groups, and communities of practice to promote peer group learning and sharing of information
- Help facilitate, coordinate and support regional seminars and consultations as required
- Provide administrative support as may be required by the IGPR team leader in specific aspects of project implementation.
Competencies
Core competencies:
- Demonstrate commitment to the UN’s core values; respects individual, gender and cultural differences in dealing with others
- Treat all people fairly without favoritism.
Functional Competencies:
- Effective communications skills and computer skills;
- Produce quality outputs in a timely manner when assigned a given task;
- Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
- Ability to remain calm, in control and good humored even under pressure and tight deadlines;
- Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
- Provide support to others who request advice or help.
Required Skills and Experience
Eligibility:
- Current enrolment in a masters or equivalent degree in urban development related field with a focus on developing cities context
- Knowledge about areas of international development in developing countries of Asia-Pacific
- Prior experience in fields relevant to urban development is preferred
- Effective communication skills
- Ability to work and act under pressure and with discretion in a politically sensitive environment
- Excellent computer literacy
- Excellent command of English
- Note that candidates that have graduated are not eligible for internship.
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in English
Interns’ Expenses:
- Interns are not financially remunerated by UNDP. All costs connected with an intern's participation in the Programme must be borne by: the nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students; or the student, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence and make his/her own arrangements for travel (including to and from the office), visas, accommodation, etc.
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.