Background

CORPORATE 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.

INTERNSHIP OFFICE BACKGROUND:

More than half of the world’s young people alive today, live on this continent. At the moment, roughly 68 of every 100 people in Asia are of working age. It is a region facing up to the challenges of extreme poverty and climate change, but brimming with economic dynamism and a youthful workforce to deliver on unfulfilled potential. What’s more, nearly a billion people in Asia are below the age of 15; which means by 2050 the region will have more working-age people, and fewer older and younger dependents than at any point in its history. This ‘youth bulge’ offers the region a unique opportunity for economic progress, to lift millions more out of poverty, and ultimately close the gap with the developed world.

Young people in the region are 5-7 times more likely to be unemployed than their older counterparts at the same level of education. Women’s access to education and participation in the labour force remain stubbornly low across populous swathes of the region. The next wave of development gains as envisioned by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals must address the needs of those left behind. These are big issues and our solutions must be equally bold. UNDP’s Asia Pacific Human Development Report for 2016, released in April this year, examines these demographic trends and sets out clear policy directions that governments can harmonise with their national development plans and strategies.

UNDP and its partners believe that youth can make a real and positive difference and create their own opportunities by engaging with these challenges head on through social entrepreneurship and innovation, exploring dynamic approaches to mobilizing their peers and communities and creating adaptive solutions to addressing Youth economic marginalisation. Against this backdrop, UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub together with its partners are developing a regional project on Youth Economic Empowerment and Social Innovation. With the great majority of Asia’s peak-era workforce still in their early years, now is the time to invest in interventions that will harness their potential. In not doing enough to ride this wave, we risk losing the most potent inter-generational opportunity we have had in ensuring the well-being of one-half of humanity.

Duties and Responsibilities

Competencies

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

Education:

Candidates must meet one of the following educational requirements:

• currently in the final year of a Bachelor’s degree; or
• currently enrolled in a Master’s degree; or
• have graduated no longer than 1 year ago from a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree or equivalent studies.

Field of study: Development Economics, Social Sciences or equivalent.

IT skills:

• Knowledge and a proficient user of Microsoft Office productivity tools;

Language skills:

• English required; Chinese an asset
• Knowledge of other UN languages is an advantage.

INTERNSHIP CONDITIONS

• UNDP internships are not remunerated. All expenses connected with the internship will be borne by the intern or her/his sponsoring entity;
• UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship;
• Interns are 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 must provide proof of enrolment in health insurance plan;
• Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity;
• Interns are expected to work full time but flexibility is allowed for education programmes;
• Interns need to obtain financing for subsistence and make own arrangements for internship, travel, VISA, accommodation, etc.

NOTE: If selected for the position, interns are requested to provide a letter from university confirming current enrollment and graduation date, a copy of school transcript, a letter of endorsement from a professor, a medical certificate of good health, a copy of medical insurance coverage during internship assignment in Thailand, and a copy of passport.