Org. Setting and Reporting

These three slots of internships are located in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) UAE, Abu Dhabi. Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Climate change team in New York, the Humanitarian Intern will work on reviewing, documenting, mapping and analyzing humanitarian action relevant to climate change as well as support work related to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Conference of the Parties (UNFCCC COP) and other climate change related meetings and events. The Humanitarian intern works in close collaboration with the OCHA Climate team to achieve delivered tasks and responsibilities.

OCHA is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. 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 posting is for three slots of Internships and will report to the Head of Office, OCHA UAE and are for a maximum period of six months beginning at a mutually agreed time. The interns will be physically hosted in OCHA UAE offices.

Responsibilities

The intern will be responsible for the following duties:

-Support the monitoring, analysis and reporting on humanitarian action or disaster relief/management in emergency situations related to climate hazards.
-Contribute to the various reports, documents and communications both for OCHA and Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Climate Change Sub-Group e.g., drafts sections of surveys, background papers, policy guidelines, parliamentary documents, briefings, case studies, presentations, correspondence, talking points, etc.
-Assist in the preparation and planning of side events related to climate change at The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), UNFCCC COP or otherwise
-Supports advocacy initiatives on issues related to climate change and humanitarian needs through the collection of information, liaison with humanitarian partners, government officials, the media, etc.
-Actively engages in working groups, meetings, conferences, consultations with other agencies and partners on humanitarian and emergency response matters.
-Assist in the daily work of the office including the development of road map, coordination with other branches of OCHA
-Prepare information materials for humanitarian advocacy and sharing with other partners.
-Perform any other administrative work related to the office work.
-Performs other duties as required.

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 United Nations Internship Programme, applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

(a) Applicants must be enrolled in a Bachelor’s (final year), post-graduate, master’s or Ph.D. programme or equivalent, preferably in political science, social science, international relations, public administration, Law, economics or other field related to climate change and disaster risk reduction is a requirement.

(b) Applicants that have successfully completed an academic programme in a discipline mentioned above must commence the internship within period of one-year i.e., twelve months from date of graduation.

Work Experience

No working experience is required to apply for the United Nations Internship Programme. Your training, education, advance course work or skills should benefit the United Nations during your internship.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this internship, fluency in English (both written and oral) is required. Knowledge of Arabic is desirable.

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 and Personal History profile) 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 Personal History Profile, be sure to include all past work experience, if any; IT skills and three (3) references.
Due to the high volume of applications received, ONLY successful candidates will be contacted.

Special Notice

Applicants are encouraged to apply for internships which relate directly to their studies and/or skills and expertise. Applicants are asked to please indicate preferences which best match her/his suitability and do so carefully in order to enhance the value of the internship for both the intern and the receiving UN department.

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 advertisement, “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.

In line with the United Nations internship programme, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs-(OCHA) internship provides a framework by which students from diverse academic backgrounds gain exposure to the work of the United Nations through assignment to offices within the Secretariat. The Programme endeavours to attract qualified students, offering them an opportunity to enrich their educational experience through exposure to the work of the Organization. Equally, it provides the Office with the assistance of students specialized in various professional fields. The internship is an unpaid and fulltime opportunity, and the intern must adhere to the established official weekly working hours of the duty station where it is based with one hour for a lunch break.

The Internship Programme is unpaid and full-time, though it may be undertaken through a combination of in-country and remote modalities, depending on the circumstances of the candidate. All costs associated to the internship are to be borne by the intern, specifically: travel to/from Abu Dhabi, 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.

To apply to this job opening please go to: https://inspira.un.org or https://careers.un.org.

Interns shall not represent the United Nations in any official capacity. For additional information on the Programme, please visit: https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places 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. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

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.