UNDP Jobs - 30781- Internship in Gender, Private Sector and Capacity

Internship in Gender, Private Sector and Capacity Development

Location :

Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA

Type of Contract :

Internship

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

31-Aug-12 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Intern

Duration of Initial Contract :

Three months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Six months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The UNDP Regional Service centre in Johannesburg is inviting applications from suitably qualified candidates to serve as interns in the the following areas:

Capacity development;
Gender;
Private Sector.

In line with the corporate UNDP regionalization initiative,UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA) has created two Regional Service Centres (RSCs); one in Dakar and the other in Johannesburg, to help enhance organizational effectiveness by bringing substance closer to the field.The RSCs combine the policy advisory function with the management of regional projects. This will help ensure consistency and coherence in service provision to country offices.

The RSC provide policy advice and technical backstopping in the practice areas and cross-cutting themes identified in the UNDP Strategic Plan, namely:

Poverty eradication and achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs;
Democratic governance;
Crisis prevention and recovery;
Environment and sustainable development;
Gender equality and the empowerment of women;
Capacity building and development;
Combating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases; and
Knowledge management.

The RSC also manages regional programmes, which provide support to regional institutions and countries in the subregion.

Capacity Development:

Capacity Development (CD) is the “how” of making development work better and is at the heart of UNDP’s
mandate and functions. The Strategic Plan 2008-2011 highlights capacity development as the core contribution of UNDP to development; it cuts across all other practices and thematic areas, with a clear conceptual framework and a set of concrete tools and methodologies, but also as a way of thinking about and approaching development.

Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment:

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are anintegrated dimension of UNDP’s four main areas of work,
namely poverty reduction, democratic governance,crisis prevention and recovery and the environment and
sustainable development. Special attention is paid to work on gender-based violence and the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, especially in the context of HIV and AIDS.In accordance with the UNDP gender equality strategy,the team supports governments and CSOs to achieve
inclusive development based on the MDGs.

Private Sector Team:

Focuses on increased capacity of regional organizations,governments,and other stakeholders to support inclusive market development in the region.

Duties and Responsibilities

Gender Team:

Research and compile a list of documentation informing on women economic and property rights and access to finance and justice pertaining to African countries.
Identify good practices,lessons learnt,country strategies and policies enabling or constraining women economic and property rights and access to finance and justice.
Prepare and draft rerport using the rsearch findings.

Private Sector Team

Conduct research on private sector and inclusive market developmnet
Assist in writing the Inclusive Finance Handbook
Provide inputs to the African Private sector development community

Capacity Development Team:

Conduct research on Capacity Development specific issues
Report writing,publishing of the Capacity Development newsletter.

NB:Applicants must submit the following required documents

Updated CV/Resume
A letter of endorsement from his/her university confirming curremt enrollment and graduation date
A copy of his/her transcript
A letter of endorsemnt from a senior faculty member
A brief paper setting out the reasons why he/she is seeking an internship with UNDP

Competencies

Research skills
Communication skills
Administrative skills
Team Player
Analytical Skills
Writing skills

Required Skills and Experience

Interns are selected on a competitive basis. The following minimum qualifications are required:

Enrollment in a graduate-level degree programme in a development related field such as economics, public or business administration, or environmental studies. Only those students who will return to their studies upon completion of their internship assignments are eligible.
Demonstrated interest in the field of development.
An interest in global mobility; adaptability to varied physical and other environments; a desire to work with and gain the confidence and respect of people with different language, national and cultural backgrounds.
Respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and the UNDP Statement of Purpose.

Language skills:

Written and spoken proficiency in English. Fluency in other UN languages is an asset.