The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and exclusion, and build resilience so countries can sustain progress. As the UN’s development agency, UNDP plays a critical role in helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To respond effectively to complex development challenges, partnership is at the heart of everything UNDP does. In the organization, the Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) leads and supports UNDP in cultivating, building and nurturing strategic relationships and alliances with Member States, UN sister agencies, private sector and civil society, that are essential for successfully achieving its mission of advancing the eradication of poverty and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion.

The UNDP Geneva Representation Office (GRO) is an integrated partnerships office, led by BERA, working across programmatic and representational functions. It contributes to UNDP’s mission by engaging and forging partnerships with a wide range of partners in Geneva and across Europe to support the attainment of the SDGs. As emphasized during the 2020’s review of UNDP’s External Relations, in addition to leading donor relations with Switzerland and France and contributing to intergovernmental processes with Member States Permanent Missions, the Office has a specific responsibility for the development of partnerships with UN sister agencies and other international organisations headquartered in Geneva, as well as with the private sector, in particular the finance community.

UNDP Geneva advocates for a stronger engagement of the private sector towards the 2030 Agenda and seeks to mobilize financial resources to accelerate the realization of the SDGs and promote SDG-aligned finance. The office is developing a specific engagement strategy to promote its sustainable finance offer through organizing events, participating to large industry moments like the Convergence Summit in Paris or the Building Bridges Week in Geneva. In short the office aims through event organization or participation to other entities events to: i) showcase and facilitate the sourcing of SDG innovations developed by impact ventures in developing countries; ii) advocate for and advance knowledge on the challenges and opportunities of SDG-aligned investments; and iii) create a safe space for high level networking among stakeholders across sectors and facilitate partnerships for the implementation of the SDGs. We target decision-makers from impact investors, large banking and financial actors, large corporate firms, academia, representatives of UN and bilateral development agencies, and UNDP experts.

In addition, through relevant coverage and participation in intergovernmental and UN agency debates, the Office provides intelligence to UNDP’s senior management to help shape corporate positioning and UNDP engagement strategies on specific thematic areas, such as inequality, climate and environment, and crisis prevention and response. Furthermore, it also tracks trends and opportunities in the external political environment that may affect UNDP’s mandate, for instance in the areas of innovation for development or private sector engagement for the SDGs.

Under the direct supervision of the Communication Specialist and overall guidance of the UNDP Geneva Representation Office Director, and working closely with relevant UNDP teams in BERA and in the UNDP’s Global Policy Network (comprising the UNDP Bureau of Policy and Programme Support and the UNDP Crisis Bureau), the intern will be in charge of supporting :

• Communication, media relations and event organization, in particular around the organization of the sustainable finance sessions but also to support the UNGA and launches of corporate reports
• Partnership development, Knowledge management and administrative support, including the data management of contact databases
• And any other related duties as assigned by the UNDP Geneva management.

Communication (70%):

• Support the Communication Specialist in organizing external events (public launch of flagship UNDP reports, inter-agency consultations, Convergence, Paris Peace Forum Building Bridges Week) including promotion and event management. Support the logistics of the events, including speakers travel arrangements, logistical notes and assistance in preparing the venue;
• Support the marketing and promotion of the sustainable finance work at country level in Tanzania and in Latin America to identify Growth stage impact Ventures, specifically market the call to nominations, develop specific communication material to announce the results;
• Support amplification of UNDP’s corporate messages within the international Geneva community and partners in Western Europe through developing specific social media material, newsletter, web content and through their dissemination;
• Support the localization of UNDP external engagement plan focusing on Climate working in close collaboration with local actors.

Partnership development, Knowledge management and administrative support (30%):

• Update database of relevant UN contacts/partners that can be leveraged to deliver on key objectives of UNDP with the aim to enhance internal information exchange within UNDP, including with HQ and country offices;
• Update UNDP Geneva office media database;
• Support sponsors and partners mapping to prepare for resource mobilization strategy.

Core Values:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Demonstrates an international outlook and an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
• Demonstrates an ability to manage workload with minimum supervision and collaborate with a wide range of colleagues in a fast-paced environment, while meeting deadlines;
• Demonstrates an intellectual curiosity and a deep desire to learn, displaying strong versatility and adaptability.

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates sound understanding of sustainable human development issues;
• Demonstrates strong interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, with experience to pro-actively reach out to new internal and external partners;
• Demonstrates strong writing skills, particularly the ability to present persuasive, coherent and well-founded arguments, in a style that is accessible to a broad audience of policymakers, private sector and activists;
• Demonstrates drive to achieve results in timely manner and to seek and find solutions to any problems encountered;
• Demonstrates sound political acumen.

Functional Competencies:

• Strong organizational skills and ability to multi-task;
• Ability to convert complex and abstract ideas into simple visual concepts;
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) required;
• Proficiency with digital/social media and database management systems;
• Familiarity with graphic design software and online communication platforms/partners management tools (e.g. CRM software, Mailchimp) is an asset.

Education:

• Applicants must at the time of application, meet one of the following requirements:
• Be enrolled in a post graduate degree programme (master programme or higher) in International Development, Political Science, Innovation or Economics, Marketing, Journalism and Communication or any relevant Social Science related programme; or
• Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (bachelor degree or equivalent), in above relevant field; or
• Have recently graduated with a university degree, as defined in the above field and, if selected, the candidate must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

Experience:

• Experience in a development-related area, either at local or international level, ideally in advocacy;
• Experience in project management and partnerships building and event coordination;
• Demonstrated experience in drafting high quality external messaging. Experience in content development for blogs, newsletter and social media would be an asset.
• Knowledge of multilateral organizations would be an asset.
• Strong computer skills (Word, Excel) and experience using online tools such as Sharepoint.

Language:

• Fluency in English or French is required;
• Proficiency in German would be an advantage.

Conditions of internship:

• As of 1 January 2020, Interns may be given a stipend in accordance with the UNDP Internship Policies, if the intern is not financially supported by any institution or programme, such as a university, government, foundation or scholarship programme; a stipend is intended to compensate for the cost of living at the duty station.
• Interns are responsible for securing adequate medical insurance for the duration of the internship. UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship.
• To travel to the duty station, 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.
• Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity.
• 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.
• The intern will be evaluated at the end of the contract and due recognition of work will be issued in writing.
• For more information about the application process and UNDP's internship terms and conditions, visit: www.undp.org/internships  

How to Apply:

Applicants should send a cover letter, and CV through the online portal. Please note that only one document can be uploaded, therefore please scan the cover letter and CV all into one document.

Selected candidates will be contacted by email and will be asked to submit the following documents:

• Letter from his/her university confirming current enrollment and graduation date;
• Letter of recommendation from a professor;
• Copy of his/her most recent school transcript;
• Copy of national passport;
• Completed UNDP internship application form (to be provided upon selection);
• Signed UNDP Internship Agreement (to be provided upon selection);
• Medical Certificate of Good Health (to be provided upon selection);
• Proof of medical insurance coverage for the duration of the internship assignment in Switzerland (to be provided upon selection).