The Small Grants Programme (SGP) is part of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and is implemented locally by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It was established in Rio de Janeiro in response to the spirit and mandate of the 1992 Earth Summit, with the aim of achieving global environmental benefits through community action and initiatives. Its focal areas are biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, prevention of land degradation, elimination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and conservation of international waters.

The Small Grants Programme in Ecuador has undergone a pilot phase and five operating phases, each with specific working objectives. During its 22 years of operation Ecuador’s SGP Country Programme has funded 380 communitarian projects. In 2016, SGP began its Sixth Operational Phase (OP6), which will last three years and is due to end in December 2018. OP6 was designed through participation and introduced operational changes in order to optimize the results of previous phases through innovation in intervention concepts, approaches, strategies and methodologies. During OP5 and OP6, SGP is focusing its work on biodiversity conservation. SGP’s strategic framework is “Living Well” (Buen Vivir or Sumak Kawsay), as set forth in the 2008 Constitution of Ecuador and the National Plan for Living Well (Plan Nacional para el Buen Vivir, PNBV). OP5 and OP6 move forward both from the concept of sustainable livelihoods to sustainable production landscapes, enabling community productive activities to generate ecological connectivity, and from the concept of community organization to community partnerships, in order to generate strategic alliances not only for the conservation and management of a community resource, but also for managing a larger area - the Biocorridor itself.

The Ecuador SGP Country Program, during its OP6, will consolidate a very innovative approach implemented in OP5. The key innovation is the adoption of a landscape approach based on three elements: ecological connectivity, sustainability of production landscapes and social partnership. While the landscape approach is not new, the way in which it is implemented has achieved important results. Using the knowledge and experience gained from participation in landscape level initiatives– among them COMDEKS and the SGP Ecuador’s own landscape approach launched in GEF 5 – this project will strengthen participation of community organizations to enhance their participation in land-scape planning and management processes and, building on experience and lessons learned from previous SGP operational phases, assist community organizations to carry out and coordinate projects in pursuit of outcomes they have identified in landscape plans and strategies. This will build community ownership of individual initiatives as well as landscape management overall.

Coordinated community projects in the landscape will generate ecological, economic and social synergies that will produce greater and potentially longer-lasting global environmental benefits, as well as increased social capital and local sustainable development benefits. The capacities of community organizations will be strengthened through a learning-by-doing approach in which the project itself is a vehicle for acquiring practical knowledge and organizational skills as part of a longer-term adaptive management process. The project will also take prior years’ experience and identify and implement a number of potential upscaling opportunities during this project’s lifetime.

SGP Ecuador web site:

 https://ppd-ecuador.org/  

SGP Ecuador (English):

https://ppd-ecuador.org/portfolio/nuestros-biocorredores-para-el-buen-vivir/ 

Under the direct supervision of SGP National Coordinator, the International Intern will undertake the following tasks:

• Support to biocorredor/communitarian projects in the strengthening of Products with Territorial Identity (PIT).
• Review of "behavioral insight" information, as a tool to be applied in the Crowfunding mechanism of SGP Ecuador (GreenCrowds.org).
• Develop strategic partnerships with universities to implement a dissemination strategy and support to GreenCrowds campaign.
• Support in the research and application to call for proposals to ensure SGP co-financing, in order to strengthen the intervention in the OP6. (languages: Spanish – English; desired French)
• Support in the implementation of the youth strategy for OP6, focused on administrative and logistic arrangements (Spanish language).
• Support in the marketing of Products with Territorial Identity (PIT) developed by the communities in local and international markets (languages: Spanish and English).
• Support in the adaptation of the monitoring tool -SIMONAA for OP6 (Spanish language).
• Review of documents and presentations (languages: Spanish and English).
• Support in translations from Spanish into English; desired French.
• Logistic and administrative support for planning and coordination of workshops/meetings.

Results/Expected Outputs:

• Biocorridors/Communitarian Projects are supported by the SGP National Coordinator Office, during its implementation.
• Technical Teams in field and Community Based Organizations coordinate activities related to Products with Territorial Identity –PIT, youth and crowdfunding based on SGP National Coordina-tion guidelines.
• New co-financing opportunities are identified for SGP Ecuador.
• SGP National Coordination Office is supported in administrative and logistics activities.
• Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and docu-mented in all activities throughout the assignment;
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

• Motivated to contribute towards peace and development and to serve others;
• Good interpersonal, networking and communication skills;
• Willingness to contribute and work as part of a team;
• Flexible and open to learning and new experiences;
• Respect for diversity and adaptability to other cultures, environments and living conditions;

Education:

• Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements: a) be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); b) be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent); or c) have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) in a relevant discipline: Sustainable Development,International relations, Political Sciences, or other relevant field and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation;

Experience:

• Demonstrated interest and/or experience in development/communitarian/gender areas;
• Flexible and open to learning and new experiences;
• Fluency in spoken and written English and Spanish is required;
• Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volun-teer work, internship) would be highly regarded;
• Computer skills (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, social media, and others).

Learning expectations:

Learning and development are a central part of the assignment and take place before, during and after his or her assignment in the field. Ideally, offering diverse opportunities for learning and development aim to strengthen the intern’s skills and competences, improve the quality of the assignment and keep the intern’s motivation high.

Learning elements for the intern include the development of:

• Professional skills: including specific competencies and reflection on assignment-related abilities; and on-the-job skills such as time management, problem solving, team building; and career preparedness such as interview skills, CV preparation, job searching.
• Inter-personal skills: including communication and listening skills; multi-cultural awareness and cultural competency; and conflict and stress management.

Financial Issues:

Internships within the UN system are unpaid and subject to conditions the applicant must get familiar with prior to signing his/her internship agreement.The costs associated with the internship must be borne by the nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students; or by the student, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence and make his or her own arrangements for travel, accommodation etc.

Application procedure:

The application should contain:

• Brief Cover Letter (in Spanish) stating interest in and qualifications for the post;
• Current and complete CV in Spanish;

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

Candidates who are selected must submit prior to the interview the following documents:

• Official letter from the University confirming enrollment in a graduate-level degree programme;
• Proof of medical/accident insurance valid for the location in which the internship will be carried out. Selected intern must have medical insurance. UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship.

UNDP only accepts interns for a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 6 months.
Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity.
It is important to note that interns are responsible to arrange for their own visa and residence documents, and need to plan for these well in advance.

Subsequent Employment:

There is no expectation of employment with UNDP following an internship.

Living Conditions:

Quito is the capital of Ecuador. It is located in the Pichincha province in the Sierra Region, at 2800 meters above sea level. As a city located in the Andes, Quito enjoys a temperate climate during the all year, which has brought Quito to be nicknamed as the city of the eternal spring. Quito offers good quality of life through access to shopping, good medical services, banks and cultural events, among others. Thanks to its mega diversity, both in its cultural, geographical and environmental dimensions, Ecuador attracts a lot of tourism.

Visits to communitarian projects in other provinces (rural areas) are required.