UN Internship 2024- Humanitarian Affairs I (Temporary Job Opening)

The internship within the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in line with the United Nations (UN) Internship Programme, aims to provide a framework by which students from diverse academic backgrounds gain exposure to the United Nations through assignment to offices within the Secretariat in order to enhance their educational experience and gain experience in the work of the United Nations. Additionally, it provides the United Nations offices with the assistance of qualified students specialized in various professional fields.  Interns shall not represent the United Nations in any official capacity.  For additional information on the Programme, please visit: https://www.unog.ch.
The Programme is unpaid and full-time. The intern should adhere to the established official weekly working hours of respective duty station (if based in a field-office location); the general working hours at at United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) are 40 hours per week, from 8.30 until 5.30 with one hour for a lunch break.  The intern should adhere to the established official weekly working hours of respective duty station if the internship is based in a field-office location.  All costs associated to the internship are to be borne by the intern, specifically: travel, visas, accommodation/ living expenses and medical insurance for the entire duration of the internship.  The United Nations accepts no responsibility for the medical insurance of the intern or costs arising from injury, illness or death that may occur during an internship.  A person who is the child or sibling of a staff member shall not be eligible to apply for an internship at the United Nations. An applicant who bears to a staff member any other family relationship may be engaged as an intern, provided that he or she shall not be assigned to the same work unit of the staff member nor placed under the direct or indirect supervision of the staff member. For purposes of this instruction, “child” means (i) the child of a staff member; (ii) the child of the spouse of a staff member (stepchild); and (iii) the spouse of a child of a staff member or a staff member’s spouse (son- or daughter-in-law). “Sibling” includes the child of both or either parent of a staff member and the child. To apply to this job opening please go to: https://inspira.un.org or https://careers.un.org.

Org. Setting and Reporting

The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is the UN Secretariat department responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to complex emergencies and natural disasters.  OCHA also ensures that there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response effort.
OCHA Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) work relates to providing support to the UN System in assisting governments in emergency response and preparedness, providing updates on new and on-going emergencies, monitoring humanitarian issues, and providing OCHA headquarters (HQ) with the latest information to inform decision making. ROSA provides support and services to United Nations Country Teams (UNCT) in twenty-five countries in Eastern and Southern Africa.
This internship will be based in Johannesburg, South Africa and covers 15 fifteen countries (Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and the intern will under the overall guidance of the Head of Office and under the direct supervision of the Deputy Head of Office. This internship is being offered for a minimum period of three (3) months, up to a maximum period of six (6) months, with an estimated starting date in Mid-May 2024.

Responsibilities

Daily responsibilities will depend on the individual’s background, duties may include but are not limited to: assisting in the design and preparation of studies, events and presentations on humanitarian, disaster, emergency relief, and related issues and in various follow-up activities; assisting in research, analysis and presentation of information gathered from diverse sources on assigned topics/ issues; assisting in the organization of meetings, seminars, conferences, workshops, and other fora with other agencies and partners to facilitate exchanges of professional expertise and views on related subjects/ issues, serving as reporter to such events; contributing to the preparation of various written documents e.g. assisting in the drafting of sections of studies, background papers, policy guidelines, parliamentary documents etc.; supporting the Emergency Preparedness and Response Team in monitoring and reporting events in the region; assisting in the preparation of country humanitarian analysis and priority issues; assisting with the development of materials for regional training of partners or events; performing other research-related duties as requested by supervisor, as appropriate.

Competencies

CLIENT ORIENTATION: considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients ” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.
COMMUNICATION: speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
TEAMWORK: works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Education

To qualify for an internship with the UN Internship programme, applicants must meet one of the following requirements:
– Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); or
– Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent); or
– Have graduated with a university degree and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one year period of graduation from an academic programme.
Applicants who are unable to commence the internship within one year of graduation shall not be accepted. The University degree must be in the area of political science, social science, international studies, public administration, economics, engineering, earth sciences or a in related field.

Work Experience

Applicants are not required to have professional working experience for participation in the internship program though any academic and/or practical experience in humanitarian affairs issues including humanitarian financing mechanisms, humanitarian funding trends, gender equality programming, emergency preparedness, crisis/ emergency relief management, rehabilitation, development and/ or human right is desirable as is practical experience in drafting and researching socio-economic topics. Applicants should be computer literate in standard software applications; have a demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations, a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter and; have a demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which includes willingness to understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat (UNS). For this internship fluency in English (both oral and written) is required. Knowledge of French is an advantage. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Assessment

Candidates will be assessed based on their Personal History Profile (PHP). Individual interviews may be conducted by the Hiring Manager directly for further consideration. A complete online application (Cover note included in the PHP) is required. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. The cover Note must include:
-Title of degree you are currently pursuing;
– Graduation date (when will you be graduating from the programme);
– IT skills and programmes in which you are proficient; -Explanation why you are the best candidate for the internship position.
In your PHP, be sure to include all past work experience, if any; IT skills and three (3) references. Due to high volume of applications received, ONLY successful candidates will be contacted.

United Nations Considerations

Job openings posted on the Careers Portal are taken off at midnight (New York time) on the deadline date.
Applications are automatically pre-screened according to the published evaluation criteria of the job opening on the basis of the information provided by applicants. Applications cannot be amended following submission and incomplete applications shall not be considered. The selected candidate will be subject to a reference checking process to verify the information provided in the application.
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the At-a-Glance on “The Application Process” and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” on the upper right side of the browser on Inspira.
The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations – Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
Candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.