Background

UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, and institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.

UNDP is working to strengthen new frameworks for development, disaster risk reduction and climate change. We support countries' efforts to achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals, which will guide global development priorities through 2030. The key 2030 Agenda principle of leaving no one behind and stamping out inequality is at the core of everything we do.

UNDP focuses on helping countries build and share solutions in three main areas:

• Sustainable development
• Democratic governance and peacebuilding
• Climate and disaster resilience

INTERNSHIP OFFICE BACKGROUND:

UNDP’s technical assistance programmes date from the country’s independence in 1957. Began in the late 1950s, earlier than the 1961 establishment of its physical office in Kuala Lumpur was realized. For the last 5 decades, UNDP’s assistance has been in stride with Malaysia’s own five-year national development plans, strategic agendas and policy priorities encompassing inclusive growth and economic development, poverty eradication, gender empowerment, promoting good governance and anti-corruption, sustainable and resilient development, strengthening renewable energy and energy efficiency approaches, mainstreaming environmental management and protection, rationalizing public sector reform, as well as promotion of South-South Cooperation for global development.

Through this partnership and the successful implementation of hundreds of projects, UNDP has helped to strengthen the technical capacity of key national institutions, provided critical policy inputs, piloted innovative development projects, and contributed to significant progress in promoting human development in Malaysia.  Over the years, Malaysia's progress has been impressive and the country has achieved or is on track to attaining the SDGs at the aggregate level by 2030.

In line with its position as an upper middle-income country, the country office is fully focused on upstream policies in supporting the design of Malaysia’s national development priorities and the implementation of national medium and long-term development plans (12th Malaysia Plan 2021-2025) and sectoral development policies and strategies. In addition, UNDP also strengthens the development of strategic upstream policy initiatives through downstream pilot projects and enabling on the ground realities to inform national policy development with credible and quantifiable evidence base data, innovative approaches, digitalization, analysis, stakeholder feedback and policy options.  Policy and programmatic strategies are identified jointly with the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department and implemented by over 15 ministries and agencies, civil society organizations, academic institutions, think tanks and the private sector. The office also serves as a liaison for UNDP offices worldwide in their engagements with the Government of Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.

In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women, minorities and the poorest and most vulnerable.

Duties and Responsibilities

The intern will assist in the following duties and responsibilities:

The intern will work with the Inclusive Growth and Prosperity team on the Sustainable Tourism Recovery Project. The project is designed to address several challenges affecting the tourism industry in three specific geographical areas of Malaysia (Mersing, Setiu and Manjung). It centres on the Government's ambition to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the domestic tourism sector by rebuilding the resilience of destination communities and MSME businesses. This is in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan, in particular, “Theme 1: Resetting the Economy, Chapter 3, Strategy A5: Re-energising the Tourism Industry”; Chapter 5, Strategy E2: Accelerating Socioeconomic Development of Orang Asli; Chapter 8, Strategy B3: Ensuring Sustainable Utilisation and Benefits Sharing; Chapter 11, Strategy A1: Providing an Enabling Environment for

the Growth of the Digital Economy. Simultaneously, the project also encourages the desired transformation towards more environmentally inclusive tourism as advocated in Malaysia’s national ecotourism plan (2016-2025) and National Tourism Policy (2020-2030).

The project will build the capacities of different target groups in the tourism ecosystem, increase awareness on sustainability and improve cohesion among stakeholders (including federal, state and local authorities, NGOs and communities), as well as develop pilot ecotourism products and services for further replication in other areas. These activities are informed by a situation analysis that encompasses current and emerging trends and practices, impacts of climate change and the tourism industry, as well as the political and international environment in which the tourism sector operates.

The intern will provide desk-based support for the project, including the development of a policy brief that captures environmental and social issues—including gender impacts; project documentation and reporting; supporting communication with project stakeholders and beneficiaries; and project events. Interns will also support other activities, events, and programmes under the inclusive growth and prosperity unit and under the country office as needed.  

Competencies

IT skills:

• Knowledge and proficient user of Microsoft Office productivity tools;
• Familiarity with social media tools and platforms is an advantage.

Language skills:

• Malay and English required;
• Other major Malaysian languages, e.g., Chinese and Tamil, are an advantage;
• Knowledge of other UN languages is an advantage.

Other competencies and attitudes:

• Interest and motivation in working in an international organization;
• Good analytical writing skills;
• Strong analytical skills in gathering and consolidating data and research;
• Outgoing and proactive, initiative-taking person with a goal-oriented mind-set;
• Communicates effectively when working in teams and independently;
• Good in organizing and structuring various tasks and responsibilities;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Responds positively to feedback and differing points of view;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Candidates must meet one of the following educational requirements:

• currently in the final year of a Bachelor’s degree; or
• currently enrolled in a Master’s degree; or
• have graduated no longer than 1 year ago from a bachelor’s or master’s degree or equivalent studies; or
• enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship programme and undertaken the internship as part of this programme.

Field of study: All academic backgrounds are welcome, but priority will be given to candidates with experience in policy, environment, and rural development or equivalent.