Internship at the Solutions Unit, Division of Resilience and Solutions in Geneva, Switzerland

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR INTERNSHIP

Organizational Unit: Solutions Unit, Division of Resilience and Solutions

Duty station: UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland

Duration of the internship: 6 months (June to November 2018)

Expected start date: Friday 1st June 2018

Background information/Organizational Context:

The arrival of large numbers of asylum seekers at Europe's borders in 2015 galvanized attention on the issue of forced displacement and has shed some light on the most protracted situations around the world, especially in Africa. The emphasis of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on reducing global poverty and on the inclusion of poor and marginalised groups like refugees and IDPs so as "to leave no-one behind" also had strong policy resonance with both development and humanitarian organisations.
This principle guided UNHCR's engagement in a series of key initiatives throughout the year 2016, including the Solutions Alliance Roundtable, Wilton Park, the World Humanitarian Summit, the UN General Assembly's meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants, and the United States Leaders' Summit on Refugees. All these processes and events contributed to establishing and strengthening UNHCR's relations with a number of non-traditional partners in an effort to bridge the gap between humanitarian and development worlds. All these reflections are now informing the establishment of the Comprehensive Refugee Responsive Framework (CRRF), which will be an integral part of the design of a Global Compact on Refugees in 2018.
The CRRF provides an important platform for developing partnership-based responses to large-scale refugee situations and for engaging with both States and a wide range of existing and new partners, including development actors and financial institutions. Individuals and companies in the private sector are also increasingly prominent and visible partners, contributing with funding, technical expertise, creativity, and innovation. They are also often well positioned to drive policy change and influence public opinion, and will play an important role in the application of the CRRF. As work on the development of the CRRF is taken forward, it will potentially have a transformative effect across the entire spectrum of our work and the partnerships that support it.
This new paradigm presents great opportunities but also comes with significant challenges for UNHCR, both internally and externally. The organisation will have to undergo systemic changes to successfully lead and coordinate this shift in international assistance to refugees, to complement life-saving humanitarian support with longer term support including opportunities for sustainable livelihoods, access to education, inclusion and catalysing wider economic development in host countries. An ambitious but necessary undertaking which will combine the resources, talents and expertise of governments, NGOs, the multi-lateral system, the private sector, humanitarian and development actors.

DRS/Solutions Unit
The Solutions Unit of the Division for Resilience and Solutions is at the heart of this paradigm change in UNHCR and supports the organisation's new approaches to refugee response and solutions.
The work of the Solutions Unit includes:
- Policy development: Establish institutional policies necessary for the planning and execution of solutions initiatives, including guidance on budget, staffing and training.
- Partnerships & Coordination: Promote interagency coordination and strengthen partnerships at the global level, advocating for the inclusion of the needs of the displaced in development    planning; and support operations to build partnerships with local stakeholders.
- Field support: Provide guidance to operations to ensure that results-based, multi-year multi-partner strategies are in place that allow for a comprehensive approach towards solutions.  Strategies should address the legal, political, economic and social dimensions of displacement and development.
- Knowledge management: Support an evidence-based approach to measuring and demonstrating results, and contribute to standard-setting on information gathering, analysis, and management, as well as the collection and systematization of good solutions practices.

Duties and Responsibilities
The intern will provide valuable support to the Solutions Unit of the Division for Resilience and Solutions at Headquarters in Geneva. The responsibilities will include:
- Support to the work of the Solutions unit and its collaboration with other UNHCR HQ divisions, including through the development of tools, templates, organization of meetings etc.;
- Support budgetary monitoring activities for the Solutions Unit and OSTS;
- Assist in conducting research and qualitative/quantitative analysis related to solutions and development issues; and undertake research to assist OSTS in the preparation of documents in the areas that the unit covers;
- Assistance in fulfilling reporting requirements, drafting documents, filing etc.;
- Assist in providing direct support to country offices on questions related to solutions;
- Help in the maintenance the solutions unit filing system; and
- Additional support to the unit/section as required.

The intern will gain knowledge on:
- Issues regarding the search for durable solutions (local integration, reintegration) of refugees and the variety of aspects (legal, social, economic) related to solutions;
- Internal processes and inter-divisional collaboration in a large humanitarian organization;
- Inter-agency and cross-sectoral collaboration in a humanitarian context;
- UNHCR¿s work on solutions in field and country offices around the world;
- Other issue areas central to UNHCR's work (incl. livelihoods and self-reliance, emergency response, international protection);
- Different UN organizations, partners, donors; and
- Working in a multicultural, multilingual team.

The intern will learn how to:
- Develop templates, tools and guidance documents;
- Conduct research pertinent to the section¿s work; and
- Work across sectors and divisions to advance durable solutions for persons of concern.

Minimum qualifications required
In order to be considered eligible for an internship, the following criteria must be fulfilled:
- Be a recent graduate (those persons who completed their studies within one year of applying); or a current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme 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 to the work of the Organization.
Also, the following requirements
- Excellent oral and written English skills. Knowledge of French, Spanish and/or Arabic (oral and written) is an asset;
- Very good analytical, communication and research skills;
- Good knowledge of refugee issues and durable solutions highly desirable;
- Ability to work independently, when necessary; and
- Flexibility, team working skills, professional and personal integrity.

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. Please note that the closing date for applications to this internship is Sunday 29 April 2018 (midnight Geneva time).