UNCDF Jobs - 75919- Internship – Communication and Knowledge Managemen

Internship – Communication and Knowledge Management for UNCDF

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Internship

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

05-Dec-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Intern

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 48 least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their communities by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital. UNCDF focuses on Africa and the poorest countries of Asia, with a special commitment to countries emerging from conflict or crisis. It provides seed capital – grants and loans – and technical support to help financial service providers reach more poor households and small businesses, and local governments finance the capital investments that will improve poor peoples’ lives. Financial inclusion means universal access, at a reasonable cost, to a wide range of financial services, provided by a variety of sound and sustainable institutions. The range of financial services includes savings, short and long-term credit, leasing and factoring, mortgages, insurance, pensions, payments, local money transfers and international remittances. (http://www.uncdf.org)

MicroLead

In September 2011, UNCDF and Mastercard Foundation launched the expansion of the successful MicroLead programme with the goal to increase access to microfinance, particularly savings services, to a minimum of 450,000 low income people in Sub-Saharan Africa. MicroLead Expansion (MLE) supports leading Financial Service Providers (FSPs) and/or Technical Service Providers (TSPs) with savings-led methodologies to expand their operations/services to new, underserved markets. MLE has implementing partners operating in Rwanda, Malawi, Cameroon, Liberia, Tanzania, Burundi, Ghana, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Benin and Myanmar. With a view to strengthening knowledge around the development of savings products in financial institutions in developing countries, MLE incorporates a strong learning agenda to encourage the sharing of best practices and knowledge within the microfinance community and beyond.

Among the different outputs under its knowledge management activities, MLE promotes knowledge sharing and learning for and with the partners of the programme. As part of this commitment, MLE has created a learning platform composed of knowledge sharing events and tools during the course of its programme. In addition, MLE organized yearly learning events for its partners, for four years running in a bid to:

Increase sharing of knowledge and capacity among grantees;
Build a community of practice among grantees that will have the potential to last beyond the MLE programme, and;
Collect learning from grantees and disseminate these learning beyond the MLE grantees.

More information on UNCDF’s MicroLead program may be found at http://www.uncdf.org/microlead.

Forcibly Displaced Persons

UNCDF is currently developing a joint programme with UNHCR which will result in the financial inclusion of forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) and the communities which host them.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Intern will support (i) ongoing MLE communication and knowledge management activities and (ii) programme development and research for the UNHCR-UNCDF joint programme on financial inclusion of FDPs and host communities. The Intern will be under the direction of the MicroLead/FDP Programme Advisor based in New York. Specifically, the key activities of the Intern will include:

Contributing to research and documenting case studies and client stories;
Editing case studies and other KM products;
Writing blog articles, tweets, news and press releases;
Conducting research on FDPs and financial inclusion;
Drafting marketing materials to help fundraise for MLE and FDP programming;
Disseminating information about MLE and FDP events and publications in social media;
Other tasks as requested by the Programme Advisor.

Work Arrangements

The Intern will work full-time in the New York UNCDF office;
Work space will be provided;
Please note that Interns are not remunerated. UNCDF policies do not provide for Interns to be compensated for travel, salaries and living expenses.

Competencies

Strong speaking and writing abilities in English and French;
Knowledge of social media for dissemination of programme information;
Some experience in training and organizing learning events;
Strong organizational and research skills;
Excellent interpersonal skills;
Capacity to work collaboratively in a multicultural environment;
Excellent research, analytical, communication, and writing skills; graphic design and ability to create infographics a plus;
Ability to work under tight deadlines;
Respect for diversity;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty; and
Commitment to UNCDF’s vision, mission, and strategic goals.

Required Skills and Experience

Education
• Bachelor Degree in public relations, marketing, communication, journalism, economics, international development and/or policy or related field.

Experience

Demonstrated interest in financial inclusion and curiosity related to development in general;
Prior experience in creating learning activities and organizing learning events;
Able to take initiative and work independently;
Proven ability to manage diverse, time-sensitive and complex tasks;
Excellent computer capabilities (Word, Excel, Power Point);
Some background in creating Design/Graphics preferred.

Language

Fluent in English and French.

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

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 (as defined above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation;
Advanced studies in Communications, Journalism, Design or Marketing, knowledge of gender issues or international development issues a plus.

Intern conditions

UNDP internship programme does not provide a salary or remuneration for the internship;
All the expenses connected with the internship will be borne by the intern, sponsoring Government or institution;
UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship;
The intern is responsible for obtaining necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed;
Interns are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed to, any post in UNDP during the period of the internship;
The intern must provide proof of enrollment in health insurance plan;
Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity

Please upload a current CV and cover letter explaining your motivation for the internship and ability to meet selection criteria and availability by December 5th, 2017. Note that only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.

Please Combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.