Internal Relations Intern

Duties and Responsibilities:
- Provide background information and data for briefings to local and international media. 
- Keep track of evolving issues concerning persons of concern to be able to suggest stories and topics for the media to cover.
- Assist in the preparation of high-level visits including government officials, foreign delegations and the media.
- May be required to compile information for regular reporting such as weekly reports, monthly bulleting and situational reports.   
- Contribute to the draft of donor reports and briefings.
- Assist with the preparation of informative materials for persons of concern.
- Assist the unit in preparation for meeting with central Government i.e., presidency, ministers, and vice ministers and/or diplomatic corps and embassies.
- Assist in the organization of World Refugee Day events and all related activities (2023).
- Assist in activities related to the visibility of UNHCR¿s work in Costa Rica including the creation of social media content. 
- Assist with coordination related activities, particularly under MINARE  (Government Coordination).
- Assist documenting best practices and lessons learned in the implementation of MINARE and Global Refugee Forum pledges.
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum qualifications required:
-  Bachelor of Arts or 4-year college degree in social science, preferable International Relations
- Proficiency in English and Spanish ¿ a third UN language desired
- Computer literacy and good drafting skills Organizational Unit:  External Relations Unit
Duty station: San José, Costa Rica
Duration of the internship: 6 month (max 9 months)
Expected start date: September 2022
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See below for this postion's Operational Context
======================================================================================================== Operational context
Costa Rica, historically a human rights champion, has a favorable framework for the protection and integration of asylum-seekers and refugees. The country has ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention, the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons; and has also developed national normative on refugees. The determination of refugee status is carried out by the Costa Rican State through the Migration Authority with assistance from UNHCR.
Following the recommendations included in the Annex I of the New York Declaration (2016), Costa Rica engaged in the development of its own Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework national chapter in 2017. This national chapter, locally known as MINARE, was the result of a broad-based consultation process with different stakeholders that identified the protection gaps for refugees and asylum seekers and outlined specific commitments to address those needs, strengthen the asylum system and facilitate the integration of refugees and asylum seekers. The same year and with the MINARE in place, Costa Rica signed the San Pedro Sula Declaration that set the grounds for the establishment of the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS), as regional coordination platform to develop regional cooperation and responsibility sharing mechanisms among its members.
Currently, Costa Rica is facing challenges due to the significant increase in the number of asylum-seekers in the past 5 years, particularly from Venezuela and Nicaragua, but also from North of Central America, Colombia, and Cuba. Despite Government¿s efforts, this recent influx has posed serious strains on the national systems of response including education, health, social protection, and legal assistance. This situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns over security. The Refugee Unit¿s capacity to receive and process cases was exceeded causing significant delays on delivering asylum-seeker documentation and work permits which affected the access of people of concern to rights and services and ultimately increased their vulnerability.
In 2018, UNHCR opened a field office in Upala, in the north of the country. The team perform regular missions to regular and irregular border crossings and to border communities to ensure early identification of cases, timely referrals and to provide humanitarian assistance to those in greater need. In 2020, another field office was opened in San Jose to provide basic services to persons of concern including registration, socio-economic evaluations, delivery of humanitarian assistance including cash-based intervention and medical insurance. 
UNHCR will continue to support the national authorities and key partners to respond to the situation of persons of concern, strengthen and guarantee protection and solutions. UNHCR will also continue to support the Government of Costa Rica to reach its pledges to eradicate statelessness.

Nature of the Position
The External Relations Unit is responsible for stablishing and nurturing positive relationship with national and international stakeholders including Government of Costa Rica, international donors, national and international media, private sector, civil society and persons of concern. Regular activities include communications and public information, donor relations and resource mobilization, UN interagency coordination, events, campaigns and goodwill ambassadors, governance and partnerships, digital engagement, reporting and strategic communications. 
The external relations intern is normally supervised by the External Relations Officer or another professional staff depending on the staffing structure of the Office and internal arrangements. The intern will receive regular guidance and advice from the supervisor. Advice and operational support may also be received from other senior staff and support units at the Country Office.
The External Relations Intern will support the operation in all activities included in the section below related to duties and responsibilities.   
All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties in line with the regulatory framework of UN and UNHCR which includes Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core and functional competencies and UNHCR¿s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Covid-19 Vaccination and related Safety Measures:
UNHCR has a responsibility to prevent and curb the spread of COVID-19 as part of its accountability to its workforce and the communities it works in and serves. Whilst other measures (such as hand hygiene, physical distancing, ventilation and wearing masks) remain crucial, being vaccinated against COVID-19 plays a key role in protecting oneself, families, colleagues, and the community including persons of concerns and has been proven to significantly reduce risks of serious illness and death from COVID-19. Therefore, in alignment with other UN agencies and based on the advice of the UN Medical Directors network, UNHCR strongly urges all colleagues to get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves and others.
Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member and engagement under a UNHCR affiliate scheme or as an intern is subject to proof of full vaccination, independently of contract type and duration, unless the candidate is based in a location with documented lack of access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Therefore, the people recommended for the position must provide proof of vaccination or the medical recommendation that justifies non-vaccination. HOW TO APPLY

External candidates:
- Candidates must submit their application through UNHCR's official application site: www.unhcr.org/careers.html
- click on Vacancies
- Look for Costa Rica
- To apply you must register in the upper right part of the page
Click on position you are interested  and follow the instructions



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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 (cossarrhh@unhcr.org).

CVs will NOT be accepted by email. ONLY THOSE APPLICATIONS SENT THROUGH THE SYSTEM WILL BE CONSIDERED.

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 and possibly a written test.

CLOSING DATE
Closing date for submissions or applications is on 24 May, 2022 at 16:00 hours (Costa Rica time).
No late applications will be accepted.
UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing or any other fees).