Knowledge Management Intern - (Open to Kyrgyzstan Nationals Only)

Background

UN Women Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. UN Women’s work in Kyrgyzstan is aligned with its corporate priority areas: promotion of women’s economic empowerment; elimination of violence against women and girls, engagement of women in all aspects of peace and security processes; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. As a part of the United Nations Country Team, UN Women supports the government and civil society in the implementation of international commitments on women’s rights and gender equality.

Unit/Project Background:

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) persists as a pervasive violation of human rights and a major impediment to achieving gender equality in Kyrgyzstan. The Concluding Observations (COBs) of the 2015 CEDAW Committee highlighted a number of serious shortcomings in the state’s performance in protecting the rights of and ending violence against women and girls. The COBs expressed a particular concern about the high prevalence and persistence of bride kidnapping and early marriage as practices deeply entrenched in society, despite the existence of comparatively progressive legislation.

Kyrgyzstan has the highest prevalence of bride kidnapping in the world. The 2016 Gender in Society Perception Study conducted by UN Women, UNFPA and IOM, in partnership with the National Statistics Committee, found that 20% of all marriages countrywide were a result of kidnap. The practice was observed to a greater or lesser extent throughout the country. However, the rate in rural areas was found to be 1.7-1.8 times higher than in urban areas, with figures ranging from 2% in Bishkek City to 60% in Talas province, 45% in Issyk-Kul province and 28-31% in Jalal-Abad and Naryn provinces. While the national data show that the proportion of women married by age 18 is gradually decreasing after reaching its maximum at the turn of the century, the 2016 Common Country Assessment (CCA) suggests that early marriage is an on-going issue, although difficult to measure due to its hidden nature. In line with this argument, the CCA points out the steady increase in early motherhood over the last decade, with 7.4 children per 1,000 born to women in the 15-17-year-old age group in 2014, as against 4.4 in 2006.

In early 2018, the UN Women Country Office in Kyrgyzstan has launched a new EU funded project entitled “Across Generations and Gender Borders – Communities Combatting Gender-Based Violence in Kyrgyzstan” to reduce gender-based violence in the target communities, with a special focus on non-consensual marriage practices, by tackling the root causes of VAWG, namely deep-rooted patriarchal attitudes. Research shows that people formally express negative views on non-consensual marriage practices but their personal experience and opinions contradict this official standpoint. To bring about behavior change across generations, the project will help target communities act together to eliminate non-consensual marriage practices and associated violence against women and girls of all ages. The project will be implemented by UN Women in a partnership with NGOs HelpAge International and Agents of Change. The project will run for three years, starting from 2018, and focus on four provinces in Kyrgyzstan: Issyk-Kul, Talas, Batken and Osh. 

Expected results:

1. Women and girls are skilled and empowered to transform gender relations on individual, family and community levels;
2. Platforms for inter-generational communication and collaboration are established and communities are equipped with tools and legal knowledge to combat violence against women and girls;
3. Older people, youth, women and men are informed and aware about the negative consequences of gender based violence for women and for societies.

The theory of change of project is that if patriarchal norms, attitudes and behaviours are changing to support gender equality and resist VAWG, then the gender based violence is reduced in target communities, because a community with zero tolerance of gender-based violence or discrimination will enable women and girls fully realize their potential in in education, economic empowerment, and political participation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Description of Responsibilities & Learning Objectives:

Under the primary supervision of the EIDHR Project Specialist and the secondary supervision and overall guidance of the National Programme Officer of UN Women Country Office in Kyrgyzstan, the intern will attend to the following activites:

• Support research on different topics in the field of EVAWG with a special focus on early and non-consensual marriage practices that would support the work of the project;
• Familiarize herself/himself with the available resource on the GALS methodology globally, best practices and its application, and the manuals, reports and data available on the introduction of GALS in Kyrgyzstan;
• Assist in monitoring of all project activities and progress towards achieving the project output on GALS implementation and preparing regular updates for use by UN Women and its partners;
• Document outcomes of strategic discussions for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the project output on GALS implementation;
• Document human case studies on the outcomes of GALS to transform gender relations at individual, family and community levels and record them in appropriate medium such as articles, photos, videos for further publication at UN Women web-site;
• Supporting the organization of activities implemented by UN Women or its partners, such as workshops, trainings, coordination meetings, media events, etc. Expected support will be in the form of: event organization and logistics; materials preparation and minute-taking as necessary; support to work of experts engaged in the activities, communicating and liaising with relevant stakeholders etc.;
• Drafting inputs and ensuring regular updating of UN Women knowledge database and dissemination of relevant products and publications to partners;
• Assist in translation of documents;
• Perform other relevant duties as required by the supervisor.

Learning Objectives:

• Increased understanding of UN Women’s work and the UN system;
• Strengthened research skills in the area of violence against women and girls;
• Improved analytical, documentation and knowledge management skills;
• Work as a team member in a multicultural setting.

The internship offers students the opportunity to acquire direct exposure to UN Women’s work. It is designed to assist a student in using her/his communication and management skills to assist the organization in organizing its work and ensuring it is made readily available. During engagement in  other events the intern will be treated under the rules governing ‘participants’.

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
• Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

• Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

• Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards other.

Conflict Management:

• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

• Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent research, writing and organizational skills;
• Ability to multi-task and address competing priorities;
• Strong computer skills with the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point are required;
• Skills and experience in conducting sociological research and developing research methodology and tools, preferably on issues related to gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Basic knowledge and experience in gender analysis and gender mainstreaming in the development and/or humanitarian context is required;
• Experience in generating analytical reports, using quantitative and qualitative methods, would be an asset;
• Experience in developing communications products would be an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications

Education:

• The intern must have studies in gender studies, sociology, psychology or a closely related subjects at the university level with classes and/or experience including on research methodology and tools;
• Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor's level or equivalent); Have graduated with a university degree and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation.

Language:

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English and Kyrgyz is required; knowledge of Russian and/or Uzbek is a distinct advantage.

Interns are not financially remunerated by UN Women.

Application Information:

• UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest;
• Selected applicants must provide the internship application, two letters of recommendation, proof of health insurance and school enrollment, passport, and visa (if applicable).

Note: In July 2010, the United nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

UN Women Internship Policy:

1) Applicants to the United Nations internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

(a)    Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);

(b)    Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent);

(c)    Have graduated with a university degree (as (a) (b) above) and, if selected, must commence the internship;

2) UN Women internship programme does not provide a salary or remuneration for the internship;

3) All the expenses connected with the internship will be borne by the intern, sponsoring Government or institution;

4) UN Women accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship;

5) The intern is responsible for obtaining necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed;

6.) Interns are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed to positions in the professional and above category in UN WOMEN during the period of the internship or for six months immediately following the expiration date of internship;

7) The intern must provide proof of enrollment in a health insurance plan, proof of school enrollment, a scanned copy of his/her passport, two letters of recommendation, and application.

Attention:

All online applications must include (as an attachment) the completed Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment.

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.