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, 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

 

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

UNDP’s Country Accelerator Lab Network is a key initiative aimed at ensuring that UNDP is fit for purpose to deliver a new generation of solutions in line with the challenges the world faces.  The initiative points out that increasingly interrelated development challenges require going beyond business as usual and single point, linear and silver bullet responses in development.  Instead, they call for interdisciplinary approaches and non-linear solutions that crowd-in the collective efforts of a variety of partners, tap into local insights and the knowledge of people closest to the problem and require the solutions. The initiative is also a recognition and an investment in the emerging momentum among a growing number of UNDP Country Offices around joining disruptive, cutting edge methodologies with contextual, country-based insights and expertise to accelerate impact and progress toward the SDGs.  It is envisioned to be the largest and fastest learning global network building on the latest thinking from the fields of complexity science, lead user innovation and collective intelligence to accelerate development impact.

 

The Accelerator Lab has three key pillars namely: solutions mapping, experimentation, and collective intelligence.

 

Solutions mapping consists of finding things that work and expanding on them. It works by seeking out and making use of local assets, and identifying positive deviants, i.e. women and men whose uncommon but successful behaviors or strategies enable them to find better solutions to a problem than their peers, despite facing similar challenges and having no extra resources. The UNDP Accelerator Lab will use at least two ways to do solutions mapping: (1) direct discovery of need and solution pairs; and (2) positive deviance and lead user innovation.

 

UNDP has a growing body of evidence related to experimentation in the public sector. The Accelerator Lab network will take UNDP’s past work to scale and ideally will improve the way government and other organizations create, share, and use high quality evidence for decision making. Experimentation will be designed to assist accelerating learning and explore the non-obvious, and reframing failure and key performance indicators.

 

Lastly, collective intelligence involves combining knowledge from citizens, big data from the private sector and government, and human expertise to create solutions. This is the glue that binds experimentation and solution mapping. It implies a shift from information management to organizational learning, and using ‘sticky’, local knowledge to increase the ability of large groups to think and act more intelligently and effectively than the sum of their parts. Collective intelligence improves outcomes in at least four ways: (1) better understanding of facts and experience, (2) better development of options and ideas, (3) better, more inclusive decision-making and action, and (4) better oversight.

 

Under the general supervision of the Philippine Accelerator Lab Head of Exploration, the intern will provide technical and administrative support in the implementation of collective intelligence pillar of the project.

The intern will assist in the following duties and responsibilities:

No

Duties and responsibilities

% of time

In this section list the primary responsibilities and tasks of the position. 
(Include percentages for each duty.)

 

1

The main duties of the intern are the following

  • Conduct desk reviews of existing research outputs and knowledge products of UNDP Philippines with a view of the research questions and objectives;
  • Overall support of the mapping and research exercise, including knowledge management of findings and other resources;
  • Assist the organization and documentation of conference, key high-level meetings, forums or other collaborative events;
  • Contribute to the development and implementation of a targeted social media campaign and development of knowledge products;
  • Provide administrative support on an as-needed basis; and
  • Produce an end-of-internship report or presentation

 

90%

2

Other:

  • Support other/ad hoc activities as seen relevant and needed.

10%

Competencies

IT skills:

  • Knowledge and a proficient user of Microsoft Office productivity tools;
  • Knowledge in using other productivity and editing tools, including the Adobe Suite and Smartsheet.

 

Language skills:

  • Fluency in both oral and written English and Filipino required;
  • Knowledge of other UN languages is an advantage.

 

Other competencies and attitude:

  • Interest and motivation in working in an international organization;
  • Good analytical skills in gathering and consolidating data and research for practical implementation;         
  • Outgoing and 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

Applicants to the UNDP 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 in (a) and (b)?above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

Field of study: Development Studies, Social Sciences, Urban Development or equivalent.

UNDP Philippines does not provide financial support to interns. The costs associated with the internship must be borne by any sponsoring institutions or by the student, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence and will have to make his/her own arrangements for accommodation, travel, etc. UNDP accepts no responsibility for the medical and life insurance of the intern or costs arising from accidents and illness incurred during an internship. Applicants for internship must therefore carry adequate and regular medical insurance. Proof of medical coverage/visa must be provided before the internship starts.

 

The purpose of internships is not to lead to further employment with UNDP Philippines but, as mentioned, to complement a student’s studies. Interns wishing to be considered for employment with the UNDP Philippines, even if otherwise fully qualified, are not eligible for consideration for employment during their internship.