Political Affairs Intern: Policy Planning

Internship

Overview

Assist the Policy Planning Team with various tasks related to peace operations.

You have:

• Be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher).
• Be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor's degree or equivalent).
• Experience or research knowledge on peacekeeping missions, international organizations, or humanitarian settings.
• Foundational knowledge/background in programme evaluations, project management, or designing and producing professional communications products.
• Fluency in spoken and written English is required for the internship.
• Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an advantage.

Contract

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

Work Location

UNHQ New York

Expected duration

2-6 months

Duties and Responsibilities

This internship is UNPAID and is designed to be in person and full-time (35 hours per week), on the United Nations premise (New York, USA). This internship can be adjusted based on the needs of the successful candidate to part-time (20 hours per week) and/or remote. A fulltime internship is for an initial period of two months, and a part-time internship is for an initial four months. Internships may be extended up to a maximum of six months, depending on the needs of the Division. This internship is located in the Policy Planning Team in the Policy and Best Practices Service (PBPS), Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training (DEPT) in the Department of Peace Operations (DPO). The Policy, Evaluation and Training Division (DPET) is mandated to develop and disseminate the policy and doctrine guiding the work of Peacekeeping Operations. In addition, the division has the responsibility to evaluate, at the request of the heads of the departments, how those policies are being applied, gather lessons learned and best practices, and use that information to guide the development, coordination and delivery of standardized training, so as to complete the learning cycle. DPET is also responsible for developing and maintaining strategic cooperation with various UN and external partners. The Policy and Best Practices Service (PBPS) is part of the Policy Evaluation and Training Division (DPET) of the Department of Peace Operations. It provides support to both DPO and DOS. The core function of PBPS is to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of peacekeeping operations through the exchange of good practices between missions, the development of guidance material that reflects lessons learned, and thematic policy support in selected areas. PBPS also leads several reform processes. Responsibilitites: The intern will support the Policy Planning Team with the following tasks: • Assistance in monitoring national and regional level political developments; • Assistance in the review of various policies, papers and other documents/materials; • Assistance in preparing reports, concept papers, policy documents, talking points, articles and other materials; • Assistance in the development of strategic communications, presentations and visualizations; • Attending and taking notes at conferences and meetings; • Assistance in preparing thematic discussions, brown bags or events organized by the Policy Planning Team; • Assistance in editing, content creation for internal and external communications products, including digital, newsletters, learning products or translation; • Assistance in information management; • Assistance in statistical analysis or data extractions; • Assistance with project management development.

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). 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. Applicants must be a student in the final year of the first university degree (bachelor or equivalent), Master's or Ph.D. Programme or equivalent, or have completed a Bachelor's, Master's or PH.D. Programme. Do you meet any of the above criteria? If yes, please indicate which one and attach proof to the application. Please note that you will have to provide an official certificate at a later stage. Experience or research knowledge on peacekeeping missions, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and/or humanitarian settings is desirable. Foundational knowledge/background in programme evaluations, project management, and/or designing and producing professional communications products is desirable. Knowledge/background in statistics for social sciences, and use of various software for data analysis and data visualization (e.g. Excel, PowerPoint, EFM Verint, Power BI, SharePoint) or related field is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written English is required for the internship. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an advantage. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the official languages of the United Nations Secretariat.

Additional Information

Not available.

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 6 days ago - Updated 27 minutes ago - Source: careers.un.org