Internship: Early Childhood Development in Emergencies - ECD, PD, NYHQ/Home based - Req

Contract

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope.

Background

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action.

Bearing in mind that over 250 million of the world’s most disadvantaged children under 5 years of age are at risk of not achieving their developmental potential, UNICEF is working to ensure access to early childhood development and quality care programmes for all young children.

In the past years, the profile of Early Childhood Development (ECD) has gained attention globally as an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals. While there has been progress in advancing the ECD agenda in development as well as humanitarian contexts, significant challenges remain.

Programme development and partnerships are critical elements of UNICEF’s ECD agenda to secure adequate resources, forge alliances for multilateral collaboration, and drive renewed momentum on ECD at global and country levels. Given the prominence of ECD within the SDGs and within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, the ECD portfolio and workload at UNICEF’s HQ in New York has grown significantly in size and complexity. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased the workload for ECD in emergencies. Thus, to address administrative and operational constraints and to ensure capacity, the ECD Section is looking to recruit an intern to support the immediate needs and the delivery of key commitments, interact with country offices and key internal/external partners, and carry out operational tasks.

Purpose

The ECD Section seeks a paid intern for a period of six months to support the ECD in Emergencies portfolio, including work around COVID-19. The intern will assist and provide broad support to knowledge management, background research and document preparation, and engage with other key sections in the Programme Division, as well as with other divisions. The intern will provide support in coordinating workstreams and tracking workplan progress under a COVID-19 grant (includes multiple Country Offices, the Division of Communications and an external partner – Sesame Workshop); in managing partnerships and engagement in external networks (Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies [INEE] ECD Task Team; Early Childhood Peace Consortium); and support the development of global products. They will learn about programme development, humanitarian action, advocacy, partnership collaborations and knowledge sharing in ECD.

The intern will work under the direct supervision of the ECD Specialist (P4) and in collaboration with the rest of the members of the ECD Section at New York HQ. The intern’s work will be invaluable to the delivery of commitments under major programme goals.

The intern is expected to provide operational, administrative and technical assistance in the following:

• Support the ECD Specialists in developing global products in coordination with other sections (e.g., a redesigned ECD Kit and Care for the Caregiver in Humanitarian Contexts).
• Support the ECD team’s engagement with other UNICEF offices and sections, including compiling feedback from country and regional offices, reviewing documents, and coordinating the preparation of papers and evidence briefs related to ECD in Emergencies, including in the COVID-19 response.
• Support the ECD Specialists’ engagement with external inter-agency groups and networks, such as the INEE ECD Task Team, the Moving Minds Alliance, and the Global Refugee Forum.
• Support operation and administration around the Early Childhood Peace Consortium, for which UNICEF is the Secretariat. Tasks include supporting the Chair with advocacy efforts and providing general administrative assistance.
• Support the ECD team as needed in knowledge management, notetaking, arranging conference calls and following up.

Expected Results

• Support successful and timely implementation and follow-up of workplans related to humanitarian ECD and parenting products, documents, communications, and events.
• Contribute to reporting on progress toward the Strategic Plan by monitoring situation reports, consolidating and tracking references related to ECD and parenting, and supporting monitoring and reporting on emergency activities and examples.
• Contribute to effective project management in support of the COVID-19 grant from the LEGO Foundation.
• Support collation of information on proposed ECD knowledge products on ECD and Parenting (in collaboration with Disabilities, Gender and Social Protection)

Benefits of Internship

• This internship will complement academic training and provide exposure to efforts in humanitarian response and global development agendas.
• The intern will expand existing skills in knowledge management, technical writing and inter-agency/cross-sectoral coordination and communication.
• This internship will provide exposure to potential career pathways in the area of ECD in Emergencies, communication, and knowledge management, by offering real-life experience in a culturally diverse international organization.

Duration

26 weeks, estimated start date in June 2021.

Salary/Payment In accordance with the internal standard operating procedure, interns are paid a stipend of US $1,700 per month for full-time work, subject to availability of funds. There is no expectancy of employment at the end of the internship.

Insurance UNICEF will not be responsible for costs arising from accidents and/or illness incurred during the intern’s service, whether on or off UNICEF premises. Therefore, the selected candidate must provide proof of enrollment in a health/accident plan prior to start their work. If accepted, the intern will be required to provide a copy of health insurance coverage and to fill out the relevant UNICEF forms on conditions regarding service as an intern.

Working Environment The intern will begin work remotely (and will continue to work remotely until clearance for return to office) as a safety measure against the COVID-19 pandemic. They will work online with the ECD Section and report to the supervisor of this internship. They are not expected to travel during the assignment. The intern will be expected to participate in virtual Section meetings, as well as other UNICEF meetings of interest, including the seminar series for UNICEF interns. Guidance will be provided on a regular basis.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will…

• Be enrolled in a graduate degree programme or have graduated within the past two years in the area of Psychology, Education and Public Health or another relevant social science. Undergraduate students with professional experience in key tasks may also be considered.
• Familiarity with the field of ECD, early learning, or working in humanitarian contexts.
• Working experience in the field of ECD, humanitarian contexts, programmes, budget, planning, monitoring, partnership development/management, and/or advocacy and communication is a strong asset.
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required; knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.
• Strong writing and communication skills in English.
• Competencies:
• Communicates effectively with varied audiences.
• Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment and has excellent interpersonal skills.
• Sets high standards for quality of work and consistently achieves project goals.
• Translates strategic direction into plans and objectives.
• Identifies urgent and potentially difficult decisions and acts on them promptly.
• Demonstrates, applies and shares expert technical knowledge across the organization.
• Able to work proficiently under tight deadlines.
• Able to undertake remote work online proficiently.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

Our core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. To view our competency framework, please click here.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, appearance, socio-economic status, ability, age, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply to become a part of the organization.