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Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Intern, USPSU

Washington D.C.

  • Organization: UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  • Location: Washington D.C.
  • Grade: Internship - Internship
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Human Settlements (Shelter, Housing, Land, Property)
  • Closing Date: Closed

Terms of Reference
Protection and Solutions Unit, UNHCR Washington Multi-Country Office
UNHCR Washington DC

Title: Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Intern
Duty Station: Washington D.C., USA
Duration: minimum of 12 weeks
Contract type: Internship
Expected Start Date: 23 August 2021 or 30 August 2021

Background Information/Organizational Context:
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Representation for the USA and the Caribbean, based in Washington D.C., seeks an intern to assist staff in its Protection and Solutions Unit (PSU). For a description of UNHCR¿s global work, please see http://www.unhcr.org
UNHCR¿s Protection and Solutions Unit (PSU) serves asylum-seekers, refugees, and stateless persons in the territory of the United States (U.S.), promoting protection in law and policy, as well as engaging in U.S. resettlement policy and local integration issues. The PSU¿s resettlement staff also support UNHCR¿s Caribbean Unit by managing refugee resettlement operations out of the Norther Caribbean states and territories. The PSU informs government officials, attorneys, and NGOs about international standards of refugee protection and protection for stateless persons. Staff regularly meets with partners to discuss U.S.-specific issues related to refugee protection and statelessness, provides comments on proposed legislation and regulations, submits amicus briefs on select legal issues, engages with the U.S. government to provide technical assistance or advice to promote consistency between U.S. policy and international standards, and conducts training and public presentations to a range of audiences. Throughout all of these endeavors, UNHCR maintains close communication with government partners in a range of U.S. agencies to ensure that our cooperative relationship is maintained.
The Resettlement section of the PSU works primarily in three areas including: US resettlement policies impacting global resettlement, US policy regarding refugees resettled in the US and resettlement activities out of the Northern Caribbean region. The latter area will be the primary focus of this internship with an emphasis on the Dominican Republic.

Duties and Responsibilities:
¿ Assist the Resettlement section in drafting resettlement applications for refugees within the Northern Caribbean region.
¿ Conduct interviews in Spanish with refugees in the Caribbean to obtain basic protection information.
¿ Conduct research and writing projects on current issues in refugee law and public policy related to resettlement.
¿ Observe and report on resettlement related meetings and conferences with government agencies and various NGOs working in the field.
¿ Research and draft Country of Origin information for refugees in the resettlement process. 
¿ Participate in regularly scheduled staff meetings
¿ As needed, perform interpretation and translation for refugees in the Caribbean region and draft NFF based on conversations. 
¿ Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications Required:
¿ Graduate Degree or JD, either already obtained or in-process.
¿ Strong interest in refugee rights, international relations, human rights and humanitarian response.
¿ Excellent writing skills.
¿ English language (fluency required); Fluency in Spanish or Haitian Creole strongly preferred.

   Terms of Internship:
¿ UNHCR offers full time Internships. Interns are responsible for their housing, their legal stay in the United States, health insurance, and any other related documentation.
¿ Interns who do not receive financial support from an outside institution will receive an allowance to support costs related to food and local transportation.
¿ An internship does not create any expectation or entitlement to employment with UNHCR at the conclusion of the internship. An intern cannot be considered for regular positions for six months following the completion of the internship, however, a former intern may be engaged under any affiliate scheme with no break in service. To be considered for this position, candidates must submit their application through the UNHCR portal and CVs/Resumes will not be accepted by email. We thank all applicants, but will only contact those applicants who will be interviewed. No phone calls please.

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For any technical problems encountered during the online application, please contact the Global Service Desk (hqussd@unhcr.org) prior to the deadline to allow sufficient time to resolve the issues. For any questions regarding the selection process, please contact Human Resources (usawaadm@unhcr.org)


We are committed to maintaining diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity and culture.  Persons belonging to minority groups, persons with special abilities, men and women, are encouraged to apply for vacancies. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

We do not confirm receipt of applications or report on the status of the process. Only qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview.
UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing or any other fees). Please note that the closing date for this internship advertisement is Friday,16 July (midnight Geneva Time).
This vacancy is now closed.
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