INTERN - HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS

Internship

Overview

Assist in humanitarian affairs tasks and support advocacy efforts.

You have:

• Be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher) or in final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent).
• Excellent knowledge of standard software applications, especially MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel and MS Teams is required.
• Fluency in spoken and written English is required.
• Fluency or knowledge of other UN official languages is desirable.
• A demonstrated keen interest in humanitarian issues and in the work of the United Nations and a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter are desirable.
• A demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs.

Contract

This is a I-1 contract. It usually requires 0 years of experience, depending on education. More about I-1 contracts.

Work Location

New York/Full-time/Part -time/Remote/In-person/Hybrid

Expected duration

August 1 2026 - January 2027

Duties and Responsibilities

The intern, under the general guidance of the Section Chief and Humanitarian Affairs Officers, perform a variety of tasks, depending on the internship period, including but not limited to: Support drafting talking points, memos and other documents to support communications with ERS contacts including but not limited to government officials, other UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, diplomatic missions, media. And support developing respective strategic partnerships; Support advocacy efforts to mobilize resources, including for UN-wide Humanitarian Response; Support organization and participation in work groups, meetings, conferences, consultations with other agencies and partners, and humanitarian and emergency relief-related matters; Assist in drafting and preparing background documents, reports, issue briefs, talking points, presentations etc. on humanitarian issues; Research, analyze, and present information gathered from diverse sources on assigned topics/issues related to humanitarian and other relevant policy and legislative issues; Maintain awareness of current humanitarian affairs and related issues, to include relevant political, policy, gender considerations, or other developments in the specific subject area, country, or region concerned; Respond to a variety of inquiries and information requests internally and externally, and prepare related correspondence; Performs other duties as required.

Qualifications/special skills

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements: (a) be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); (b) be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent). Please note that proof of this will have to be attached to the application and that an official certificate will have to be provided at a later stage. Do you meet any of the above criteria? Please indicate which one and attach proof to the application. Please note an official certificate will be required at a later stage. Applicants to the UN Internship Programme are not required to have professional work experience. However, a field of study that is closely related to the type of internship that you are applying for is required. Excellent knowledge of standard software applications, especially MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel and MS Teams is required. A demonstrated keen interest in humanitarian issues and in the work of the United Nations and a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter are desirable. A demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views, is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this position, fluency in spoken and written English is required. Fluency or knowledge of other UN official languages is desirable.

Additional Information

The planned start date is 1 August 2026 is flexible. The minimum internship period is 2 months full time, the maximum period is 6 months. A part-time set-up may be considered as long as it fulfills the needs of the office and equates to the full-time minimum and maximum periods (for example, a 50% part-time internship of 4 months equates to the minimum period of 2 months fulltime).

Intern Specific text

Interns are not financially remunerated by the United Nations. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of interns or their sponsoring institutions. Interns who are not citizens or permanent residents of the country where the internship is undertaken, may be required to obtain the appropriate visa and work/employment authorization. Successful candidates should discuss their specific visa requirements before accepting the internship offer.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

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Potential interview questions

Added 5 days ago - Updated 5 hours ago - Source: careers.un.org