The Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) is responsible for positioning UNDP as the world’s leading global development network, promoting its global authority and thought leadership on sustainable development and the interconnected issues of poverty, inequality, and climate change. BERA leads and supports UNDP in building and nurturing strategic relationships and alliances essential to achieving its mission.

Creating strong political and financial backing for UNDP by providing partners and supporters with a clear understanding of what UNDP does and how our mission, capabilities and flagship services relate to them. The Bureau leads UNDP’s work on innovative and diversified partnerships and ways of financing the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It is also responsible for global campaigns on critical development issues, which aim to inform government policies and build partnerships around high-impact solutions. BERA coordinates and sets corporate standards across the functions of partnerships, marketing and communications within UNDP and leads on internal communications.

The Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy is positioned around three service lines; Public Partnership; Advocacy, Marketing and Communications; and Private and Finance Partners, all working in close collaboration and coordination under the guidance of the Directorate and with the support of the Management Support Unit and Strategic Analysis and Engagement team.

BERA has a robust network of Representation Offices (Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo and Washington D.C.) and Regional Teams in five hubs (Africa, Arab States, Asia Pacific, Europe and CIS, and Latin American and the Caribbean) co-led with Regional Bureaux, all of which play a critical role in audience centric communications and management and strengthening of relationships with Public and Private Partners to help build a strong brand for UNDP within the local ecosystem.

The Advocacy, Marketing and Communications Group (AMCG) leads on strategic communications for UNDP, covering digital communications, brand and marketing, campaigns and advocacy, media strategy and outreach, internal communications and innovative and digital partnerships.

The group works to:

position UNDP with a wide variety of audiences through multiple channels using creative and innovative content.

support and guide Country Offices, through regional communications presence, to produce compelling and relevant content for their audiences.

lead on UNDP’s corporate External Engagement Plan focused on engagement and positioning of UNDP in global debates through compelling products and messaging.

The internal communications function within BERA supports continuous improvement in UNDP’s internal communications tools, channels and practices and provides guidance and support to internal campaigns and initiatives.

Project Description 

Reporting to the Internal Communications Specialist, the Internal Communications Intern will provide support to a wide range of internal campaigns and internal communications actions and provide support to the content for UNDP’s new intranet homepage.  This will involve working with content contributors to provide training, promote best practices and ensure the quality of submissions.  By supporting campaigns across the organization, the intern will gain broad exposure to the work of UNDP and to the responsibilities of an internal communications practitioner in the UN system

The interested candidate will:

• Support the development and publishing of internal news stories by liaising with content contributors and providing training, editing and quality control, where needed;
• Edit and/or create assets for a wide range of communications products;
• Champion and model best practices in internal communications;
• Provide input and support in the development of internal communications campaigns;
• Support strategic internal communications planning.

Core competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards; 
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP; 
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; 
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism; 
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent writing, editing and communication skills: able to communicate clearly and concisely and to translate complex topics into simple language for a general audience;
• Proficiency with standard office applications; proficiency with content management systems, SharePoint or design software would all be assets.
• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills: able to listen and collaborate with a wide range of colleagues; able to work independently, be proactive and take initiative; 
• Strong organizational skills and ability to multi-task

Academic Qualifications :
Bachelor’s degree in a field related to communications, knowledge management, journalism, design, behaviour change or public relations.  Qualifications or training in internal communications would be a distinct advantage.

Education: Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

(a) Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);

(b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent);

(c) Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

Experience:

• Demonstrated experience in writing and editing;
• Experience in internal communications would be a distinct advantage.
• Experience and skill in one or more of the following areas would be an advantage: graphic design, event planning, creating learning objects, social media campaigns, photography, videography and behaviour change campaigns.

Languages:

• Fluent in written and spoken English;
• Knowledge of French or Spanish an asset

Availability:

Must be available at least three (3) days a week during NY Eastern standard time zone working hours

Application procedure:

The application should contain:

• Brief Cover Letter (in English) stating interest in and qualifications for the post;
• Current and complete CV in English, with link to the candidate’s digital portfolio, if available;

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Upon evaluation/review of the candidates, the candidate who is selected must submit the following documents:

• Letter from his/her university confirming current enrollment and graduation date;
• Letter of recommendation from a professor;
• Copy of his/her most recent school transcript;
• Copy of passport;
• A copy of US Visa if the intern is not a US Citizen;
• Completed UNDP internship application form;
• Signed UNDP Internship Agreement;
• Medical Certificate of Good Health;
• Proof of medical insurance and life insurance.

Conditions:

• UNDP will not pay for the internship but will provide a monthly stipend in accordance with the provisions of the UNDP Internship policy. All other expenses connected with it will be borne by the intern or sponsoring Government or institution;
• Where an intern is financially supported by an institution, government or third party, UNDP will pay the intern the difference, if any, between the external financial support provided and the applicable UNDP stipend;
• Except for the stipend, all other expenses connected with the internship will be borne by the intern, sponsoring government or institutions;
• Interns are responsible for securing adequate medical insurance for the duration of their internship with UNDP and must provide a medical certificate of good health prior to starting the internship;
• There is no expectation of employment following the internship;
• The intern is responsible for obtaining necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed (if required)