Background
UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels offers a spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in its Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in UNDP’s Strategic Plan.
Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS staff provide technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represent UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private, government and civil society dialogues, and engage in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.
UNDP's 2022-2025 Strategic Plan highlights our continued commitment to eradicating poverty, accompanying countries in their pathways towards the SDGs and working towards the Paris Agreement. As part of the Global Policy Network in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP's Nature, Climate Change, Energy, and Waste Hubs promote and scale up integrated whole-of-governance approaches and nature-based solutions that reduce poverty and inequalities, strengthen livelihoods and inclusive growth, mitigate conflict, forced migration and displacement, and promote more resilient governance systems that advance linked peace and security agendas.
BPPS work with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate nature, climate, energy and waste related concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies, support country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements, and oversee the implementation of the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming nature, climate change, energy, and waste. This multi-billion-dollar portfolio encompasses:
• Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services including forests;
• Sustainable Land Management and Desertification including food and commodity systems;
• Water and Ocean Governance including SIDS;
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation;
• Sustainable Energy;
• Extractive Industries;
• Chemicals and Waste Management;
• Environmental Governance and Green/Circular Economy; and SCP approaches.
This work advances crosscutting themes on innovative finance, , capacity development, human rights, gender equality, health, technology, South-South learning and digital transformation.
About the UNDP Food and Agricultural Commodity Systems (FACS) Approach
Enabling systemic change and understanding and managing the interdependencies in the food and agricultural sector require more collaborative mindsets and involve putting in place innovative governance arrangements. We need new systems thinking leadership – with new approaches, practices, tools, incentives, metrics and ways of working that can navigate and measure complexity and collaboratively deliver future food and agricultural commodity systems that are fit for purpose, particularly at the national and sub-national levels. Many are working on systemic change tools and methodologies but very little of this expertise is benefiting country-based collaborative networks.
In order to support all this work on technical solutions and provide practical ways for how to change food systems through deep collaboration, the Effective Collaborative Action (ECA) guidebook? with funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the GEF6 Good Growth Partnership, was designed by the UNDP Food and Agricultural Commodity Systems (FACS) team. We define ECA as any multi-stakeholder effort formed to address systemic and complex problems using systemic solutions. ECA requires working together to understand and take action towards a shared, co-designed future. ECA practices are at the core of the services offered by the FACS global team to country offices. Overall, FACS initiatives, projects, programmes and partnerships strive to find the balance between what we work on (various issues areas such environmental sustainability, value chains, poverty, inequality, food security and resilience, land use management, farmer support, etc); how we work (the various approaches and methodologies to work more collaboratively and systematically); and who we need to be (paying attention to intrapersonal conditions by building leadership capacity and cultivating inner capacities).
About the Sustainable Landscape Programme in Indonesia (SLPI) – “Component 1” and “Component 2”
In 2023, the FACS team is providing advisory support to 4 different landscapes programmes in Indonesia, funded by the SECO. UNDP support to the Sustainable Landscape Programme in Indonesia (SLPI) is focused especially on 4 different landscapes to aid collaborative and systemic ‘ways of working’ in accordance with the ECA methodology. Jurisdictional approaches bring together stakeholders inside and outside a jurisdiction to coordinate on actions to improve sustainability performance in that jurisdiction. The focus lies on agricultural land and natural ecosystems and not urban areas. Specifically, SLPI will be focused on the following jurisdictions: (1) Seruyan, Kotawaringin Barat, Sukamara and Ketapang districts – Central and West Kalimantan; (2) the Siak and Pelalawan districts – Riau Province; (3) the Kutai Timur district – East Kalimantan; and (4) the Aceh Singkil, Subulussalam and Aceh Tenggara districts – Aceh province.
The objective of the programme is to contribute to landscape good governance and sustainable management that can benefit from intact natural ecosystems, improved agricultural production and thus income opportunities for its inhabitants through the integration in (global) sustainable value chains. This will eventually result in reducing rural poverty and greenhouse gas emissions.
Note, the SLPI is split into two components: Component 1 covering the landscape work at district level and Component 2 forming the Programme Support System. For the implementation of Component 1, SECO launched a Call for Proposals on 28th of June 2022 and the best four project proposals have been selected to be supported under the SLPI. These selected teams have kicked off their inception phase as of February 2023.
For the implementation of Component 2, UNDP was selected as the implementation partner. SECO expects that by having the UNDP team on board, the landscape program can benefit from a knowledgeable, well connected UN agency with a strong presence and network in Indonesia The purpose of the UNDP support to the SECO SLPI is to maximize the impact of the four landscape projects. This will be done through providing support, training, coaching and learning exchanges to each one of the four landscape projects.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the FACS Programme Lead Advisor and Collaborative Innovation Specialist the intern will dynamically assist in accelerating effectiveness of the SLPI implementing team through:
- Support in meetings including scheduling, agenda drafting, delivery of key action points, minutes taking and report drafting;
- Support in maintaining all project management documents in a shared repository;
- Assist in other project management tasks and support project team members, as and when needed, for example curation of newsletters and other communications;
- Assist in preparing and reviewing presentations, briefing notes, reports and other supporting materials;
- Assist in coordination with FACS colleagues, country teams and partners, including scheduling calls and gathering information when needed;
- Assist on monitoring and reporting, collect and conduct data analysis as needed;
- Support the implementation of resource mobilization strategies for FACS as needed;
- Conduct research on partners, initiatives and donors as and when needed;
- Support the organization of (virtual) events/workshops as needed;
- Support internal communication needs and ensure flow of information and dissemination of material amongst project team and partners as needed;
- Translation, proof reading and editing of documents.
Competencies
Core competencies
Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements
Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible
Act with Determination LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination
Required Skills and Experience
Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:
- Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor level or equivalent) in a relevant study area, such as environmental management, agriculture, sustainable development, economics, global development, social or political sciences, international relations, or any other related field, or
- Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher) such as environmental management, agriculture, sustainable development, economics, global development, social or political sciences, international relations, or any other related field, or
- Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined above) as environmental management, agriculture, sustainable development, economics, global development, social or political sciences, international relations, or any other related field and. If selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation, or
- Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as part of this program.
Experience:
- Experience in data collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation is an advantage;
- Experience in programme management support and coordination is an advantage;
- Experience with monitoring and reporting is an advantage;
- Experience in the preparation of (virtual) events and workshop is an asset.
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in English is required
- Knowledge of Bahasa in an advantage.
Internship conditions:
Applicants should become familiar with the internship conditions prior to signing an internship agreement. For information visit www.undp.org/internships/
Institutional Arrangements
The intern will report to the Lead, Digital Innovation for Nature Climate and Energy / BPPS based in New York or a delegated project coordinator.
Financial aspects, expenses and medical benefits
- UNDP will not pay for the internship but may provide a stipend in monthly in accordance with the provisions of the UNDP Internship policy;
- UNDP accepts no responsibility for the medical insurance for the intern or for any costs arising from accidents and/or illness during the internship period. Interns, whether engaged in-person or remotely, are responsible for securing adequate medical insurance for the duration of their internship with UNDP and must provide self certification of good health prior to starting the internship. UNDP will not reimburse the medical insurance of the intern. Any costs arising from accidents and illness incurred during an internship assignment will be the responsibility of the intern.
- UNDP is not responsible for any claims by an intern or third party in the case of loss or damage to property or death or personal injury as a result of actions or omissions on the part of the intern during the internship period.
Working conditions:
- When completing an in-person internship in a UNDP Office, interns must be provided with the workspace and equipment necessary to accomplish the activities related to the internship.
- When completing a remote internship, interns will be responsible for providing their own equipment, internet and communication access and work space.
Subsequent Employment
There is no expectation of employment with UNDP following an internship. Interns cannot apply for, or be appointed to, any position during the period of their internship.
Important note:
- Interns are considered as gratis personnel. They are not staff members.
- Interns may not be sought or accepted as substitutes for staff to be recruited against authorized posts.
- Interns may not represent UNDP in any official capacity.
Application:
Please provide the following documents to be considered:
- CV
- Motivational letter
Three shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview.
In case an applicant is successfully selected, s/he will be requested to provide electronic versions of:
- Letter from his/her university confirming current enrolment and graduation date.
- Letter of recommendation from a professor.
- Copy of his/her most recent school transcript.
- Copy of passport.
- A copy of a 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.
Kindly note the above documentation is required within one week after selection.