Field Office Intern

In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:

- Be a recent graduate (those persons who completed their studies within one year of applying) or current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by UNESCO.

- Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to work of the Organization.

Please note that candidates who have immediate relatives (father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister) working as  staff members of UNHCR are not eligible. Under the direct supervision of the Head of FO Milan, the Milan FO Intern will perform the following tasks:

- Support the Head of FO in Monitoring and reporting of the different activities implemented under the responsibility of Milan FO.
- Support the Head of FO in ensuring that deadlines for monitoring and reporting of UNHCR operational activities are met on a regular basis.
- Support the Head of FO in drafting regular reports to the UNHCR Representative.
- Drafting agenda and minutes of internal meetings of Milan FO.
- Support the Head of FO in organizing, drafting the agenda and reporting on relevant meetings with key actors, both institutional and from the private sector.
- Support the Head of FO in coordinating with the Public Information (PI) Unit in Rome HQ.
- Support the Protection Unit in providing technical guidance and supervision to the partners on asylum, access to rights and services for PoC; assist referring and follow-up cases amongst UNHCR staff and its implementing partners.
- Contribute to the follow-up and implementation of the Community-Based Protection (CBP) Unit project, especially the Community Outreach Volunteers (COV) and Communication with Communities (CwC) and the GBV related ones.
- Support the Durable Solutions Unit in monitoring and reporting on the different projects implemented under the responsibility of Milan FO, notably: Welcome, One Stop Shop, Community Matching, PartecipAzione and the Manifesto for an Inclusive University initiative.
- Support the Durable Solutions Unit in providing technical guidance and supervision to partners working for the integration and inclusion of PoC.
- Support the organization of activities with communities, events with partners, key actors and stakeholders, in coordination with the different Units in Milan FO as per operational needs.
- Support in monitoring archive of available printed material for dissemination/training/advocacy.
- Update and develop contents for websites, newsletters, other communication products as needed and requested.
- If needed and requested, provide support to Refugee Status Determination (RSD) and Statelessness unit in their day-to-day activities.


Minimum qualifications required

Essential
- University studies in Law, Human Rights, Political Science, Social Science, Community Development/Social Work, or related areas
- Fluency in both English and Italian
- Computer literacy (MS Office)
- Good communication and teamworking skills
- Good organizing skills and ability to work autonomously

Desirable
- Previous relevant working experiences in the field of asylum and refugee protection
- Knowledge of other UN languages
- Additional computer skills: ability to use other IT tools, e.g. Wordpress Fluency in both English and Italian is essential. Knowledge of other UN languages is desirable. The successful candidate will be based with the team in the UNHCR Field Office in Milan.

The present internship is for an initial duration of six months. Upon the agreement of the intern and the supervisor, an internship may be extended up to a maximum total cumulative internship duration of eight months, provided that the eligibility criteria continue to be met.

The expected start date is tentatively mid-September/beginning of October 2022. The internship is to take place in accordance with the working hours of the UNHCR Office where the internship is located, and it is normally on a full-time basis (Mon-Fri, from 9am to 5pm).

Obtaining and renewing current visas and residence permits including all associated costs, are the responsibility of the intern. In addition, interns are fully responsible for arranging medical insurance covering the full internship period. 

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

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.  Assessment of short-listed candidates might comprise of both an interview and a written test.

UNHCR has a ZERO TOLERANCE policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, and sexual harassment. Successful candidates will be subject to mandatory UN Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment clearance check prior to receiving an offer. UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, training or any other fees). All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member and engagement under a UNHCR affiliate scheme or as an intern is subject to proof of vaccination against Covid-19.

In case of any queries, please contact the HR Team at itarovacancies@unhcr.org.

For technical problems relating to the online application, please contact the Global Service Desk at hqussd@unhcr.org.
========================================================================================================
See below for this postion's Operational Context
======================================================================================================== In Italy, UNHCR works with the Italian government, other organizations and Persons of Concern (PoC) to uphold their basic human rights and to improve laws and national systems so refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons and all those forced to flee stay safe, get documents, can go to school, work and exercise other rights. Through its staff and partners, UNHCR is engaged in activities aimed at ensuring full and equal enjoyment of rights by all PoC, addressing protection risks in an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) sensitive manner, with a particular focus on persons with specific needs, such as unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). UNHCR's protection delivery is based on a community-based protection approach, which aims at putting PoC at the center of all decisions affecting their lives. Based on this approach, UNHCR promotes active refugee participation in all aspects of the UNHCR programme cycle, builds protection strategies and solutions in partnership with them and supports the community's own goals, also through better communication with communities.

Improving integration prospects for refugees in Italy is also among UNHCR¿s top protection priority in its 2021-2024 strategy, particularly encouraging the engagement of both institutional actors and the private sector. UNHCR is significantly increasing its collaboration with local authorities, municipalities and civil society in Italy in general and through its Milan office in particular; fruitful collaborations have been already established in Milan, Turin, while other locations are under consideration.

The Milan FO Intern will support the different Units in all relevant activities carried out by UNHCR Milan FO. S/he will have the opportunity to strengthen and deepen the knowledge acquired during University studies on asylum, refugee protection, integration of PoC and related issues through her/his work experience in close coordination with Milan FO colleagues, including on-the-job training and coaching. The closing date for submission of applications is Thursday 18 August 2022 (23:59 Geneva time).

---