Internship - Division of External Relations, Director's Office

Terms of Reference
Internship
Division of External Relations, Director¿s Office

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a full-time internship within the Division of External Relations (DER), Director¿s Office at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Established in December 1950, UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for asylum seekers, refugees, returnees, internally displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. UNHCR currently operates in over 130 countries, using its long expertise to protect and care for millions.

Title: Intern - Director¿s Office, DER
Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland [telecommuting until further notice]
Duration: 6 months
Contract Type: Internship
Closing date for application: 06 May 2021
Start date: 24 May 2021

Organisational 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 government; partnerships with 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 programmes.

The position
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 on creating content, presentations, and reports and competent in using Microsoft Office.

Duties and responsibilities
Key responsibilities include:
¿ Prepare meeting minutes, briefings, talking points and other information packages as requested by the Director.
¿ Assist the Executive Assistant with internal communication in the division, including creating and managing content on the division¿s SharePoint and intranet and drafting all staff emails.
¿ Assist in the planning of workshops, trainings, and other meetings for the division.
¿ Manage and trouble-shoot with the Executive Assistant on challenges and opportunities raised by colleagues within the division.
¿ Collate comments and feedback on assigned documents received from internal and external stakeholders.
¿ Manage the Director¿s electronic archive.
¿ Assist the Executive Assistant and Executive Support Associate in scheduling meetings for the Director.
¿ Draft, edit, and revise internal and external documents, presentations, and other material. This includes the compilation, edition, and revision of the division¿s inputs for bi-weekly internal publications.
¿ Undertake any other tasks assigned.

Minimum qualifications required
In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:
¿ Be either a recent graduate (having 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 UNHCR.

NOTE: An individual whose father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister is a staff member of UNHCR, including a Temporary Appointment holder or a member of the Affiliate Workforce, is not eligible for an internship.

Desirable qualifications and skills
The ideal candidate will hold/have:

¿ Interest in communication and external relations work.
¿ Knowledge of MS and strong computer skills.
¿ Excellent communication skills both orally and in writing.
¿ Excellent written and spoken English; knowledge of any other language is an asset
¿ Interest in the humanitarian cause.
¿ Excellent interpersonal skills.
¿ Meticulous attention to detail.
¿ Effective time management and strong organisational abilities.

Conditions
It is a full-time role with working hours starting from 9.00am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday (40 hours per week). The successful candidate will be either home-based or with the team in the Geneva, Switzerland. The location will be determined prior to the start of the internship, and is dependent upon the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic in both the applicant¿s home country and at the duty station.

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.

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing or training.

We welcome applications from candidates with a refugee or stateless background. Please note that the closing date for this internship advertisement is Thursday 6 May 2021 (midnight Geneva time).

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