Work Location

Switzerland

Expected duration

March-September 2024

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is the part of the UN Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response efforts. OCHA’s mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention and facilitate sustainable solutions. This job opening announcement broadcasts multiple internship opportunities with OCHA’s Inter-agency Support Branch (IASB) in Geneva. The intern, under the general guidance of a primary supervisor, shall strengthen thematic support to OCHA’s portfolio on disability inclusion. OCHA’s Focal Point on disability & inclusion, who is housed within the IASC secretariat, leads on the implementation of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) within OCHA. She also spearheads the operationalization of several OCHA public commitments to make humanitarian action inclusive of persons with disabilities. This is done in cooperation with partners from within and outside of the United Nations System, through a number of advocacy platforms. The intern will report to the OCHA Disability Focal Point. Tasks will include: – Supporting the “Inclusion” area of common concern at the Humanitarian Networks and Partnership Weeks (HNPW); including through the scheduling of sessions, producing and updating a programme and related communications, monitoring of events, note-taking, creating content for social media posts, and ensuring follow-up with session organizers. – Updating and creating content for knowledge management initiatives of the topic and internal SharePoint pages, including articles for the OCHA hub thematic page and public facing websites. – Supporting everyday activities related to furthering inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action as well as the implementation and reporting of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) throughout OCHA. – Researching and producing analysis, reports, articles, training materials, social media posts, and other documents as needed, in cooperation with other OCHA entities as required. – Attending internal and external meetings and produce meeting readouts.

Qualifications/special skills

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements: (a) be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); (b) be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent). The University degree must be in the area of political science, social science, international studies, public administration, economics, engineering, earth sciences or in a related field. Applicants to the UN Internship Programme are not required to have professional work experience. However, a field of study that is closely related to the type of internship that you are applying for is required. Your training, education, advance course work or skills should benefit the United Nations during your internship. Applicants must be a student in the final year of the first university degree (bachelor or equivalent), Master’s or Ph.D. Programme or equivalent, or have completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PH.D. Programme. Do you meet any of the above criteria? If yes, please indicate which one and attach proof to the application. Please note that you will have to provide an official certificate at a later stage. Applicants should have good knowledge of standard software applications, especially MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and MS Teams.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written English is required for this internship. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is desirable, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish are the official languages of the United Nations Secretariat.

Additional Information

Not available.

Intern Specific text

Interns are not financially remunerated by the United Nations. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of interns or their sponsoring institutions. Interns who are not citizens or permanent residents of the country where the internship is undertaken, may be required to obtain the appropriate visa and work/employment authorization. Successful candidates should discuss their specific visa requirements before accepting the internship offer.

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.