Internship - Governance Service, Executive Office in Geneva, Switzerland

Terms of Reference
Internship
Governance Service, Executive Office

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a full-time internship within the Governance Service 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: Conference management Internship
Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland (telecommuting is acceptable)
Duration: 3 months
Contract Type: Internship
Applications closing date: 21 September 2021
Start date: 1 October 2021

Organisational context
The Governance service is responsible for managing relations with the 107 member States of the Executive Committee of UNHCR, including the organization of 3 meetings of its standing Committee and its annual plenary session, early October. Currently, member State meetings take place in hybrid form, allowing for both virtual and in¿person participation in the 6 UN languages. The service ensures the timely delivery of quality governance reports to member States and supports the organization of other large meetings such as the high-level officials meeting of the Global Refugee Forum, scheduled for mid-December 2021.

The position
We are a team of ten people and are looking for an intern who can support our work, in particular on the conference management side.  We offer the opportunity of hands-on experience working behind the scenes of large and often high-level UN member State member State meeting, in a dynamic, motivated and diverse team. The internship provides a chance to gain a deeper understanding of how the UN works and how one of its main humanitarian agencies is governed. During the internship you will be exposed to, and be able to learn from, highly topical debates about some of the most salient issues related to global forced displacement, it causes and its impact.

Duties and responsibilities
¿ Support the drafting, managing and tracking of invitations to large events;
¿ Support the logistical and organizational aspects of member state meetings and ad hoc briefings, both for online, hybrid and in-person events;
¿ Be part of a team of online moderators to manage and trouble shoot virtual meetings in several languages;
¿ Take substantive notes at governance meetings and contribute to meeting reports;  
¿ Provide other support as required.

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:
¿ Bachelor¿s or Master¿s degree in Political Science, International Affairs, International Development, Communications, International Law or other relevant field;
¿ Interest in refugee and forcible displacement issues;
¿ Fluent in English (native speaker level ¿ C2) and good level of French (C1);
¿ Excellent written and oral communication skills;
¿ Strong organizational skills;
¿ Presence in Geneva during the internship.

Conditions:
It is a full-time role with working hours starting from 08.00am to 06:00pm Monday to Friday (40 hours per week), but in the run up to meetings and conferences, work outside these hours may be required. While this overtime can be compensated during less busy moments, a certain level of flexibility with regard to office hours is required. The internship will be partially home-based, partially in the office in Geneva, Switzerland.

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 Tuesday 21 September 2021 (midnight Geneva time).