UNDP operates in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity. It works internationally to help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP was one of the main UN agencies involved in the development of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. To accomplish the SDGs and encourage global development, UNDP focuses on poverty reduction, democratic governance, energy and environment, social development, and crisis prevention and recovery. UNDP has worked in India since 1951 in almost all areas of human development, from systems and institutional strengthening to inclusive growth and sustainable livelihoods, as well as sustainable energy, environment, and resilience. In India, NITI Aayog is the nodal agency for supervision and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in India. It is responsible for identification of national targets and assigning them to the Ministries/Departments concerned and for seeking the participation of State Governments for their participation in implementation and monitoring of the 2030 agenda through the localization of SDGs. UNDP has been extending technical support to NITI Aayog for the localization and integration of SDGs, Transformation of Aspirational Districts and the Atal Innovation Mission, to name a few. UNDP’s programmes continue to focus on building strong institutions through innovative participatory mechanisms to progressively deliver universal access to basic services for the last mile impact, leaving no one behind, complementing the works of United Nations Agencies engagements with NITI Aayog including the UNRCO technical support on SDG Index and Women Economic Forum etc. Recognizing the relevance of policy advocacy for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, UNDP launched a Policy Unit in 2020 to honor the mandate of national development agenda. The Unit leads UNDP India’s research and advocacy on Global Goals and the national development agenda, with a special focus on environment and climate change, skill development, and strengthening systems for SDG localization. We seek to onboard intern(s) to join our growing, dynamic Policy team. The intern(s) will work under the direct supervision of the UNDP Senior Economist. 

The intern will work under the overall guidance of the UNDP Policy Unit team to carry out the following tasks:

Identify, study, and document development datasets available in the public domain to formulate relevant, high-quality, evidence-led strategic policy briefs, notes and presentations for UNDP and external stakeholders.

Play an active role in proposing and formulating novel concepts aligned with the national development agenda and UNDP India’s work domains.

Foster an active learning environment within and outside the team on relevant policy and advocacy topics.

Support ongoing Policy Unit projects through both primary and secondary research along with proper documentation in the form of reports, policy briefs, emails, concept notes among others. ? Perform additional tasks as allocated by the supervisor

Ability to conduct primary and secondary data collection and analysis.

Working knowledge of Microsoft products such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint is required. Experience with data visualization platforms will be considered an advantage.

Working knowledge of data analysis software such as STATA/R/Python will be beneficial with the ability to learn at a rapid pace as required.

Good knowledge of econometric concepts including, but not limited to, tests of significance, correlations, causation identification and regression analysis is desirable.

Policy documents – briefs, notes, blogs, op-eds, and presentations – on India’s development challenges.

Concept notes on novel identification and estimation strategies aligned to UNDP India’s priorities.

Inputs into ongoing Policy Unit projects and support on background research.

Documentation of data sourcing, cleaning, compilation, processing, and analysis along with presentations on a wide range of projects

Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

a) The candidate should have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in economics, development studies, public policy, or other relevant social sciences.

b) Or Candidates in the final year and about to complete master’s degree or pursuing PhD in the above academic disciplines can also apply. The candidate must:

c) Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) or/and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within oneyear of graduation.

d) Or be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as part of this program.