Background

Achieving SDGs alone according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report will require $3,9 trillion per year between 2015 and 2030 for health, education, and infrastructure - leaving a $2.5 trillion annual shortfall relative to the current and forecast commitments of $1,4 trillion. To address the financial gap, new sources of innovative finance models are needed (private and venture capital, P2P lending) as well as impactful partnerships aimed at socially geared investment projects that can leverage private investments alongside official development assistance. Innovative finance models, like crowdfunding (crowdfunding, crowd investment), impact investment, preventative and predictive finance are projected to overtake venture capitalists’ investments and grow over $100 billion as per World Bank statistics by 2020. As a form of innovative finance, Islamic Finance is one of the fastest-growing segments of the global financial industry with global assets expected to surpass US$3 trillion by 2020. The Islamic Finance, ideally, is an alternative way of financing based on ethical and socially responsible standards, which ensures fair distribution of benefits and obligations between all the parties in any financial transaction.

The initiative “NGO Empowerment for Poverty Reduction“ (“NGO empowerment”) Program is grounded in the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, UNDP Digital Strategy, UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2018–2021, and UNDP’s ongoing work to address the challenges in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region and in other regions as well, based on the work of UNDP Alternative Finance Lab which is a part of UNDP Innovation Team. This initiative builds on the successes of and lessons learned from two phases of the Transformative Governance and Finance Facility projects, and seeks to support mapping and categorizing NGOs, platform-based approach and alternative finance mechanisms in support of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A key part of the project is the design, development and implementation of the Tadamon platform – an aggregating platform for crowdfunding campaigns for CSOs, and creation of Tadamon Digital Crowdfunding Academy, online training for NGOs/CSOs and UNDP Country Offices.

In this context, we are looking for the Communication and Research Interns to join the “NGO Empowerment for Poverty Reduction“  project team and support with research on NGO mapping and leveraging new data for Tadamon platform development, crowdfunding for development and to assist in creating communication content for social media and Tadamon platform promotion.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Project Coordinator, the intern will work closely on a daily basis across “NGO Empowerment for Poverty Reduction“ team members to have the following tasks:

Research

• Research on crowdfunding markets in developing countries for 2021
• Research and mapping of NGOs in developing countries for 2021
• Research on potential partners and their contribution for “NGO Empowerment for Poverty Reduction“ Program
• Importing the manual NGO mapping data to Tadamon platform

Communication

• Assist with developing and editing multimedia products, such as original video, photography, graphic design and publication layout
• Assist with drafting, copyediting and production of written content and materials for a range of audiences and media
• Assist with updating Tadamon team website social media and other online content
• Assist in the production of online events and internal webinar discussions
• Assist in the Team’s communications asset management
• Assist the team in developing communication materials for the Tadamon Crowdfunding Academies, including creating posts and promotion for social media pages
• Any other related tasks deem necessary and appropriate.

The deliverables of the intern will be subject to review in 6 weeks from the start of the internship.

Competencies

• Excellent written and spoken English skills;
• Experience with social media platforms, including Twitter and LinkedIn;
• Excellent drafting and copy-editing skills for external communications purposes;
• Must be ambitious, flexible, able to work autonomously as well as under pressure;
• Good organizational skills;
• Good inter-personal skills;
• Excellent computer literacy in standard software applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint;
• Good research and analytical skills;
• Ability to work independently and as a team member;
• Sensitivity to political, cultural and national differences and adaptability to multicultural environments.
• Experience with Adobe Creative package, such as Illustrator or Photoshop or InDesign and Premier Pro.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications/ education;

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

1.  be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
2. be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent); or
3. have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (1) and (2) above) in a relevant discipline (Communications, Visual Arts and/or Social Studies or related fields) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

Experience:

• Demonstrated interest on social innovations, human-centered design, and other innovative approaches for development;
• Experience in similar positions, public relations, communications or journalism is an advantage.

Language skills:

•  Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English
•  Knowledge of Turkish and/or Russian is an asset.

Financial Issues

Internships within the UN system are subject to conditions the applicant must get familiar with before signing his/her internship agreement. 

Starting from January 2020 interns may receive stipends according to UN rules and regulations. Where an intern is financially supported by an institution, government or third party, UNDP will, subject to the rules of such institution, government or third party, pay the intern the difference, if any, between the external financial support provided and the applicable UNDP stipend.

Any further 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 arrangements for travel, accommodation and other costs. 

Application procedure

The application should contain:

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

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 for must submit prior to the interview the following documents:

• Official document(s) confirming your education status stated in Section 4;
• Proof of medical and life/accident insurance valid for the location in which the internship will be carried out. Selected intern must have medical and life insurance.

UNDP only accepts interns for a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 6 months.
UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship.
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

The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNDP but to complement an intern’s studies. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship. 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.