Intern, Local Development Finance UNCDF Regional Office for East and Central Africa

Contract

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

Background

UNCDF (UN Capital Development Fund) is the United Nations Capital Development for local development finance, inclusive finance and the promotion of Women and Youth empowerment in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which main objective is to facilitate access to public and private capital for the most underserved people. Its expertise enables it to develop «last mile» financial models in areas where infrastructures, access to basic services, financial and non-financial services are lacking to unlock public and private resources at the national level. The expected impact is to reduce poverty and encourage economic local development. UNCDF’s work is based on two approaches:

• Inclusive Digital Economy– New technologies and saving-based approach allowing individuals, households and small businesses to better participate in the local economic development by providing the tools and financial services they need to escape poverty and manage their financial situations.
• Localized Investments– Thanks to fiscal decentralization, innovative local/municipal financing and structural financing of investment projects –, which contribute to promote public and private financing to boost local economic growth and sustainable development.

Duties and Responsibilities

Context:

UNCDF is co-leading the Resilience Local Food Supply Chain Alliance (RLFSCA) with WFP as a post UNFSS summit coalition to support member states to transform their food systems.

The intern will support the Local Transformative Finance Practice (innovative financing and own source revenue of municipalities and local governments) to implement post United Nations Food System Summit (UNFSS) country pathways. Particularly member states and organization that are committed to engage with the RLFSCA. The support will lead contribute to address food security and agricultural value chains challenges. The support aims at boosting MSMEs in the agricultural value chain in cities and rural. The achievement of these objectives will be possible through capacity building programs, the development of innovative financial mechanisms, and the identification, structuring and financing of projects with high tax and revenues for municipalities and local governments.

More specifically, the intern will support UNCDF teams in the implementation and development of their programs by:

• Support the analysis of business model of Small-Medium Agro-Entreprises in Sub-Saharan countries.
• Support the creation of a database containing qualitative and quantitative results of case studies on Agri-SMEs.
• Contribute to UNCDF activities in the Resilient Local Food Supply Alliance including at the country and Coordination level.
• Contribute to the production of the publication/communication tools “Contribution of agri-food SMEs in the transformation of food system in member states.”
• Providing analytical support to municipalities and local government on the MSMEs tax administration.
• Support development of concept papers, project proposals, country reports, meeting reports etc…
• Contribute to UNCDF's resource mobilization efforts.

Work Arrangements :

• The intern will be home-based.
• The intern will work under the supervision of the UNCDF Food System Focal Point and the LTF senior team.
• The position is open to candidates from all nationalities.
• Please note that internships are paid about USD 100 per month. UNCDF's internal rules do not allow the organization to provide compensation for travel and living expenses;
• Please note that interns are not employees of UNCDF;
• All costs/fees associated with the intern’s participation in the program must be borne by the intern.

Competencies

• Demonstrated interest in rural/local development issues in sub-Saharan Africa;
• Demonstrated experiences in agriculture, food system finance, local government own source revenue, food security value chains etc…;
• Excellent writing, analytical and research skills;
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written)
• Ability to take initiatives and work independently and in teams;
• Excellent computer skills (Word, Excel, Power Point).

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

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

• Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme, or higher) in food system management, economics, agro-economics or similar studies, bank and investments;
• Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent);
• Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation;
• Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as part of this program.

Language:

• Excellent knowledge of French and English (written and oral).

General Internships Terms & Conditions:

• UNCDF Internship programme is governed by the UNDP Internship Policy Framework and Rules.
• Under the new revised UNDP Internship Policy, UNCDF will provide a modest monthly internship stipend to its interns, in accordance with the provisions of the UNDP Internship Policy. All expenses connected with the internship will be borne by the Intern or her/his sponsoring entity/institution. Stipends are available only for full-time and part-time internships at this time.
• Selected Interns must be able to share proof of education enrolment and/ or graduation, medical/ health and life/accident insurance valid for the location in which the internship will be carried out and be able to provide insurance documentary proof at the time of their selection;
• The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNCDF but to complement an Intern’s studies and learning growth
• There is no expectation of employment at the end of these internships.

Application Process:

• In your application, please state in one paragraph why you would like to be considered for the internship and your primary motivation to apply for this role;
• Please note that you will need to answer the mandatory questions on timeframe and availability (under Additional Questions section), which is a part of the internship application process, in addition to your cover letter;
• Please submit your Resume/CV and an application using the UNCDF Internship Application form: http://www.uncdf.org/download/file/127/2509/internshipdoc
• Applications should include the application form and latest resume. Applicants are welcome to submit any additional work samples or portfolios in one single file, preferably PDF;
• Please note that the UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents (CV/ Resume, Cover Letter etc. into a single file before uploading).

• Interested candidates can apply at any time indicating the timeframe of their availability in the internship form. However, only those candidates selected for interviews/ further assessment by hiring managers will be contacted.

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