Internship - Communications and Social Media Intern

WFP Canada Office, Ottawa

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status, disability.

The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability, and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change.

We are currently seeking to fill a Communications and Social Media intern position, initially working remotely, but available to work in the downtown Ottawa Office when open.

An internship at WFP is a great opportunity to acquire practical work experience while contributing to the goal of reaching Zero Hunger. Interns at WFP Canada gain profound insight into highly relevant political processes in the UN and in government entities. The assignment allows gaining a deep understanding of how humanitarian assistance in emergency contexts is implemented and how it is interconnected with long-term development cooperation. As WFP is solely financed through voluntary contributions and Canada is currently one of the largest government donors, the work of the WFP Canada office is critical for the organization. An internship provides the opportunity to shape public opinion as well as influence policymakers, supporters, and donors in Canada to sustain funding for humanitarian assistance as well as for longer-term development activities.

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General Information

• Title of Post: Communications and Social Media Intern
• Supervisor: Communications Officer
• Unit: Communications
• Country: Canada
• Duty Station: Ottawa (remote internship until the office is opened)
• Duration of internship: 6 months
• Expected Start Date: tentative February 2022

Duties and responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Communications Officer, the candidate will perform the following duties:

• Daily press and media monitoring;
• Manage social media accounts in both French and English, translate, publish, edit and create content to share over social media channels and monitor statistics;
• Support the organization of WFP events;
• Assist in drafting statements, op-eds, press releases, reports, magazine and newspaper articles for publication;
• Support donor visibility efforts ;
• Work on brand building campaigns for the Canadian market;
• Translate documents from French to English and vice versa;
• Manage a contact list of influencers, journalists and media outlets and ensure a regular flow of news/information about WFP’s work is distributed;
• Perform other related duties as required.

Qualifications and experience

• Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate programme from a recognized university, have completed at least two years of the programme and attended classes in the past 12 months; OR recently graduated from an undergraduate or graduate programme (within six months prior to the application to the internship programme) from a recognized university and have attended classes in the last 12 months of enrolment in the university;

Relevant fields of study are: Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, International Development or other related to the mandate of WFP;

• Excellent command of both English and French;
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook).

Required soft skills/WFP Competencies:

• Ability to produce high-quality written materials, write clearly and concisely and work within tight deadlines;
• Experience in the fields of social media management, image processing such as Canva, Mailchimp, Eventbrite, content management systems and writing for the web would be an asset;
• Understanding of Canadian values and bilingualism.

Working Languages

Working knowledge of English and French (proficiency/level C) is required.

Supervision (Level/Methods of Supervision)

Under the direct supervision of the Communications Officer, the incumbent will be provided with close mentoring, guidance and technical supervision. Performance planning and reviews as well as learning and development discussions will be a part of the supervision. The Director will provide second-level supervision. With the support of a comprehensive induction package and assignment of a buddy/mentor, the intern will rapidly become a productive member of the team.

Training components

Throughout their assignment WFP interns have access to an industry leading learning platform, WeLearn, including language learning. Depending on opportunities and availability of funds, he/she may participate in WFP workshops or seminars, as appropriate.

Learning Elements

At the end of the assignment, the Intern should:

• Have a greater understanding of the World Food Programme’s work and its role within the wider humanitarian system;
• Experience of the use of social media in brand building;
• Understand how to contextualize communications materials for Canada, considering Canadian bilingualism and values;

Other relevant information

Due to COVID-19, the chosen candidate will be required to work remotely from home until the WFP Canada office is opened. The successful candidate will be provided with the necessary support and onboarding material remotely. Once the WFP Canada office is opened, the candidate will be required to work from the office in Ottawa, Ontario. The office will fully adhere to all Public Health Safety recommendations.

VA Reference no: 156059

Closing Date: 6 February 2022

Terms and Conditions:

• Interns receive a monthly stipend from WFP up to the maximum amount of US$1000 per month
• WFP will recognize candidates’ educational credentials from recognized institutions that have been certified by competent international or national authorities such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) or Ministries of Education.
• Candidates who bear any of the following relations to WFP staff members are not eligible to apply: sons, daughters, brothers or sisters.

Persons with a disability, female applicants and applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply. All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

Fighting Hunger Worldwide