Legal Intern

Background

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground and in 170 countries and territories, we offer global prospective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Office of Legal Services (OLS) serves as in-house counsel in UNDP. The Corporate and Institutional Law Practice (C&I) handles the Organization’s institutional and commercial legal matters, including contracts, privileges and immunities, and legal aspects of financing agreements. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Senior Legal Advisor and Head of C&I, the intern’s duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Assignments ranging from review and assistance to OLS lawyers on claims, contracts, agreements and intellectual property matters as well as research on various projects. The internship allows for a great deal of interaction and opportunity to receive guidance from and engage with the OLS lawyers.

Competencies

Competencies:

Functional:

Strong organizational and research skills;

Excellent analytical, communication (oral and written) and writing skills;

Excellent interpersonal skills;

Respect for diversity: understanding of the United Nations system, operations and structures;

Work under minimum supervision and tight deadlines;

Computer proficiency: MS Office applications

Corporate:

Demonstrate integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP values and ethical standards;

Promote the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications:

Education:

• In order to qualify for the program, the student must be enrolled in a graduate-level degree program leading to a Juris Doctor degree, Master of Laws (LLM) or one that is comparable if outside the United States.  If the applicant has graduated, the internship must commence within one year of graduation.
• Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent);
• Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English;
• Knowledge of another United Nations official language is desirable (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish).

Internship Conditions:

• UNDP internship programme does not provide a salary or remuneration for the internship.
• UNDP offers a modest monthly stipend to help cover basic daily expenses related to the internship, such as meals and transportation at the duty station,
• All other expenses connected with the internship will be borne by the intern, sponsoring Government, or institution,
• UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship,
• The intern is responsible for obtaining necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed,
• Interns are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed to, any post in UNDP during the period of the internship,
• The intern must provide proof of enrollment in a health insurance plan,
• Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity.

Subsequent Employment

The purpose of the internship is not to lead to further employment with UNDP but to complement an intern’s studies; therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship;

Application procedure:The application should contain:

1. Brief Cover Letter (in English) stating your motivation, interest in which specific area for the post and your availability;
2. Current and complete CV in English.
3. Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.