UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering an internship position within the Division of
External Relations, Director’s Office in our headquarters’ in Geneva, Switzerland.
Title: Internship
Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland
Duration: 6 months
Contract Type: Internship, full-time basis
Closing date: 18 February 2020
Start date: 4 March 2020
Organizational context
UNHCR’s Division of External Relations (DER) is responsible for global communications
and advocacy; partnerships and coordination with civil society, NGOs and UN agencies;
partnerships with the government; partnerships with the private sector; and the organization’s records
and archives.
The DER Director’s Office provides overall guidance, support and strategic
direction for the work of the Division and the entire organization, in line with UNHCR’s strategic
directions and in support of the UN Refugee Agency’s protection and assistance programs.
What are we looking for?
We are looking for a dynamic intern who has a good understanding of the UN system and
humanitarian issues, and/or external relations, who can support the work of the Director of
External Relations.
The incumbent will report to the Executive Assistant of the Director of External Relations. The Executive Assistant will work closely with the incumbent and discuss the various issues and tasks daily. The ideal post-holder will be comfortable working in a fast-paced and reactive environment, have the skills and ability to support creating content, presentations and reports and competent in using Microsoft Office.
Key responsibilities will include:
- Preparing meeting minutes, briefings, talking points and other information packages as
requested by the Director, and assisting in scheduling meetings for the Director.
- Assisting the Executive Assistant with internal communication within the division, including
- Creating and managing content on the division’s SharePoint and intranet and drafting all
staff emails.
- Assisting in the planning of workshops and training for the division.
- Managing and troubleshooting with the Executive Assistant on challenges and opportunities raised by colleagues within the division.
- Collating comments and feedback on assigned documents received from internal and
external stakeholders.
- Undertaking any other tasks assigned.
Essential minimum qualification:
In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility
criteria:
- Recent graduate (those persons who completed their studies within one year of applying)
or current student in a graduate/undergraduate school program from a university or
higher education facility accredited by UNESCO; and
- Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of
interest in the work of the Organization.
- Please note that candidates who have immediate relatives (father, mother, son, daughter,
brother or sister) working as staff members of UNHCR are not eligible.
: Desirable qualifications
- The candidate must be interested in communication and external relations work
Knowledge of graphic production and design
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office and strong computer skills
- Good understanding of new and evolving technologies and digital platforms
- Excellent communication skills both orally and in writing
- Required languages: English is essential; any other language is an asset
- Working experience in development or humanitarian environment is desirable
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Diplomacy
- Discretion
- Meticulous attention to detail
- Effective in time management and strong organizational abilities
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Location
The successful candidate will be based on the team in Geneva, Switzerland.
Conditions & Allowances:
It is a full-time role with working hours starting from 9.00 am to 6:00 pm Monday to Friday (40
hours per week).
Allowance: Interns who do not receive financial support from an outside party will receive an
allowance to partially help to cover the cost of food, local transportation, and living expenses.
How to apply:
Interested applicants should submit their application through www.unhcr.org/careers.html.
N/B : Interns should be ready to cover their own travel to the duty station as well as any additional costs above and beyond any allowance they may receive from UNHCR. It is the intern’s responsibility to arrange for a visa and to cover related costs. UNHCR can provide support with the required documents.
Information from the UNHCR website.