Research Intern

National governments, civil society and the private sector are struggling to keep up with rapid technological advances in the digital sphere that provide enormous opportunities but can also prove disruptive and with potential for misuse by state and non-state actors. Against this backdrop, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres established a High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation in July 2018. The Panel consists of 22 eminent leaders from Governments, the private sector, academia, the technical community, and civil society. The Panel is tasked with advancing proposals in the form of a final report to strengthen cooperation in the digital space among Governments, the private sector, civil society, international organizations, the technical and academic communities and all other relevant stakeholders. The Panel’s report and its recommendations will support Member States in their consultations on these issues and provide a high-level independent contribution to the broader public debate.

A Secretariat has been established to provide substantive and process support to the Panel’s activities.This internship is offered with the Secretariat.

The Research Intern will have two primary responsibilities;

1)     Monitoring and acknowledging public inputs received on our website (www.digitalcooperation.org) with supervision from Secretariat staff. Creating a system to track and categorise the inputs received against the research areas addressed by the panel (inclusive economy and development, data, human rights, Digital trust and security and values, principles and mechanisms).

2)     Finding relevant articles, experts (scheduling meetings with them), annotating, aggregating and summarising reports, and taking meeting notes during virtual calls.

Education 

• A first-level university degree in public policy/administration, political science, international relations, computer science or similar field is required.
• A recent graduate or current enrolment in a post-graduate degree in public policy/administration, political science, international relations, computer science or similar field is highly preferred.

Experience

•  Experience in research and drafting .
• Previous internship or work experience in a digital technology related field is preferred.
• Internship experiences can be considered as work experience.
• A background in or knowledge of the digital technology landscape and corresponding issue areas is preferred.
• High level of written and verbal communications
• Comfort with virtual collaboration platforms such as Slack, Skype, Google Drive, etc.  
• Pro-active worth ethic, able to thrive in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Ability to work with a diverse team in a rapidly-changing work environment
• Experience being able to parse through large amounts of information in order to create synthesized and clear written outputs

• Fluency in English is required. 

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

Based in New York, the Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations.

The SDC’s services include grants management, development and special initiatives support, and technology support to the UN and UN agencies.

The SDC is part of the New York Service Cluster that supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as a broadening community of other New York-based United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management.