UN Women Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Project Background:

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread violations of human rights worldwide, globally affecting around one in three women in her lifetime. Regional evidence suggests that a similar ratio applies in the Asia-Pacific region. Forms of VAWG may vary, and there are variations across sites, however, current available data indicates that South East Asia is the region with the highest prevalence rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) - 37% and second highest rate of IPV and non-partner sexual violence combined – 40%. The Western Pacific Region had 25% and 28% respectively, though some countries in the Pacific have rates of up to 69%. The data also showed that exposure to violence is high among 15-19-year-olds, indicating that the experience of violence often starts early in women’s relationships.[1]

The overall goal of UN Women’s work on ending VAWG in Asia and the Pacific is to reduce rates of VAWG in the region.  The theory of change (ToC) for this goal is: If (1) an enabling legislative and policy environment in line with international standards on EVAWG, including for ending impunity and other forms of discrimination is in place and translated into action; (2) if transformative social norms, attitudes and behaviors are promoted at community and individual levels to prevent VAW; (3)  and if decision-makers across sectors are committed to invest in essential services informed by global guidelines and evidence on the costs of VAWG and its response; then (4) there will be a reduction in violence against women and girls in Asia-Pacific; because (5) violence is being prevented before it happens or re-occurs, and those experiencing violence receive quality services to recover and rebuild their lives.

United Nations Secretary-General’s Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women

The United Nations Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign calls on governments, civil society, women’s organizations, the private sector, the media and the entire UN System to join forces to end violence against women and girls, with a focus on five main outcomes:

• Adoption and enforcement of national laws to address and punish all forms of violence against women and girls in line with international human rights standards
• Adoption and implementation of multi-sectoral national plans of action that emphasize prevention and are adequately resourced;
• Establishment of data collection and analysis systems on the prevalence of various forms of violence against women and girls;
• Establishment of national and/or local campaigns and the engagement of civil society in preventing violence against women and girls and supporting victims of violence against women and girls; and
• Systematic efforts to address sexual violence in conflict situations.

The Asia-Pacific UNiTE is the regional component of the UNiTE Campaign, aimed at strengthening efforts and partnerships to end violence against women and girls in the Asia-Pacific region.  The Regional UNiTE Secretariat is housed within the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

The purpose of this internship is to support the Ending Violence against Women team in the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific to assist country offices and partners, including related to the UNiTE campaign, which involves knowledge building, sharing and documentation efforts as well as to support the management of projects in the area of VAWG. The intern will receive overall supervision from the Programme Manager – Ending Violence against Women (EVAW).

[1] Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence”, WHO, 2013

Research, Knowledge Management and Documentation:

• Provide research and documentation support for ongoing and future initiatives and briefing notes;
• Conduct literature reviews (peer-reviewed and grey literature), and prepare summary of findings on various sectoral/thematic issues related to EVAWG;
• Collate and organize knowledge resources and facilitate dissemination of resources;
• Review and edit submitted knowledge products such as narrative reports, research reports, evaluation reports etc. for projects on EVAWG.
• Support the update of the mapping of violence against women data information in Asia-Pacific

Project Management Support:

• Facilitate data and information collection in close collaboration with the EVAW Programme Manager pertaining to ongoing projects;
• Assist in documentation and reporting on project activities;
• Participate in various meetings with UN Women, with partners and other stakeholders and prepare notes/meeting minutes;

Communications and Documentation:

• Support to the team to draft and share stories and showcase programme activities to promote EVAW;
• Assist in preparation of knowledge resources, communications, presentations and background material for internal and external use, including fact sheets on thematic issues as well as updating content for websites and social media;
• Coordinating with UN Women Communications Unit on press releases, opinion pieces and social media messaging;
• Draft/and or conduct interviews and collect quotes from EVAW partners in the Region, and/or at EVAW-related workshops and events;
• Support communications activities during thematic days, such as on International Women’s Day, and planning for the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence;
• Provide communications-related support to the UNiTE Campaign and the 16 Days of Activism.

Deliverables:

• Research on prevention indicators
• Update the regional mapping of EVAW laws, policies, data
• EVAW team monitoring and tracking systems, database updates
• Data visualization- such as team annual accomplishments, reach, changes to the EVAW mapping, etc- create graphs, visuals
• Identify and practice using new mural templates such as timelines that will visualize progress, achievements, etc
• Watch or join events and draft short summaries to capture key lessons
• Collect, package, summarize completed events, and inform the web team about materials to post together

Learning Elements:

After completing this internship, the Intern will have:

• Increased understanding of UN Women’s work and the UN system;
• Increased substantive knowledge of VAWG in the Asia Pacific Region;
• Increased knowledge related to programme implementation, documentation and management;
• Increased work experience in communications and public information for the international development sector, under the leadership of senior professionals offering mentorship in this area;
• Increased pool of professional contacts through networking with UN Women colleagues and other UN colleagues throughout the UN System;
• Experience of working as a team member in a multicultural setting.

Integrity:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Respect for diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
• Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Accountability:

• Held colleagues and team members accountable for planned goals and competency standards;
• Practiced giving and receiving constructive feedback.

Client Orientation:

• Proactively informed clients, preventing loss of time and errors;
• Responded to questions, resolved problems, and helped provide accurate information to clients;
• Identified, understood, and addressed client needs.

Functional Competency:

• Strong commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women, with demonstrated experience of researching or working on gender issues;
• Strong research and writing skills, with strong analytical skills and creative thinking;
• Ability to think and work logically and work precisely with attention to detail;
• Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members of different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Previous experience (also volunteer experience) from the non-profit sector is an advantage.

Commitment to Learning

Communication

• Produced communication products (written and oral);
• Interpreted key messages for and from clients with cultural sensitivity.

Planning and Organizing

• Developed work plans;
• Implemented activities in a timely manner, met deadlines.

Teambuilding

• Coordinated work and roles with other team members;
• Supported goals of the team;

• Demonstrate informed and transparent decision-making.

Education:

• The intern must have studies in international development, gender studies, social sciences, or other subject relevant to this position, at the university level.

Meet one of the following:

• Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
• Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor's level or equivalent)
• Have graduated with a university degree and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation; or
• Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program which is part of a degree programme and undertake the internship as part of the program requirements.

Language:

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English are required;
• Working knowledge of another UN language is an advantage.

Renumeration:

Interns who are not in receipt of financial support from other sources such as universities or other institutions will receive a stipend from UN Women to partially subsidize their basic living costs for the duration of the internship.

Application Information:

• All applicants must submit a completed and signed P-11 (https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/P_11_form_UNwomen%20-JUL%202021.docx) with Resume and Cover Letter for application.
• Interested candidates are invited to submit electronic applications via the job announcement page on https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_jobs.cfm, not later than 27 July 2022.
• Due to the high volume of applications received, we can ONLY contact successful candidates.
• Successful candidate will be required to provide proof of enrollment in a valid health insurance plan at the duty station of the internship, proof of school enrollment or degree, a scanned copy of their passport/national ID and a copy of a valid visa (as applicable).  

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need. 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)