Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York. OCHA is the part of the United Nations 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.

The internship is within the Information Services Section (ISS) of the Information Management Branch (IMB). The intern will be reporting to the Information Services Officer within ISS. The internship will be remote with the possibility of being in person or hybrid (partly remote and partly in person). The internship will be on a full time basis with a maximum duration of six months.

Responsibilities

The daily responsibilities will depend on individual’s background, duties may include but are not limited to supporting projects and activities related to the citizen development initiative at OCHA. Citizen development encourages non-IT employees to apply low-code technologies to automate business processes and improve efficiencies. The particular the low-code technology being used is Microsoft Power Platform. The candidates should have the ability to write technical documents and cultivate citizen developer community. It is desirable that the candidate have a strong technical background.
In particular the intern will:
– Assist in defining, planning and organizing citizen developer events, primarily the Quarterly Community meeting; and online webinars, technical meetups, demos and trainings;
– Cultivate the online Power Platform citizen development community. Create informative content to spark interest and inform the community about the latest tools and hacks that are available in Power Platform. Provide feedback to the team on the trends and interests of the user and the community, to help guide the unit workplan and fine-tune user support;
– Collect data on success of various outreach initiatives and events related to citizen development, with the intent of analyzing their effectiveness;
– Provide development support and mentorship; and
– Assist in creation and delivery of the training programs.

Competencies

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

Planning and Organizing:
– Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies
– Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required
– Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work
– Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning
– Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary
– Uses time efficiently

Creativity:
– Actively seeks to improve programmes or services
– Offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs
– Promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas
– Takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”
– Takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things
– Is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches

Education

To qualify for an internship with the United Nations Internship Programme, 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); or,
(b) Be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s level or equivalent).

Interested candidates must be pursuing or pursued their degree in areas related to this Job Opening: Business Administration (General, Management, or Computer Science) Management (General, Information Systems), Information Technology (Information Management, Information Systems, or Information Architecture, Information Systems), International Relations, Policy Development, or a related field.
In addition, interested candidates must:
– Be computer literate in standard software applications including MS Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point);
– Have a demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have 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 include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.
Interested candidates must be pursuing or pursued their degree in areas related to this Job Opening: Business Administration (General, Management, or Computer Science), International Relations, Policy Development, Management (General, Information Systems), Information Technology (Information Management, Information Systems, or Information Architecture, Information Systems) or a related field.
In addition, interested candidates must:
– Be computer literate in standard software applications including MS Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point, SharePoint);
– Knowledge of Power Platform and Azure is highly desirable;
– Have a demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have 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 include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.

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 the position(s) advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French or Spanish is desirable.

Assessment

To apply to this job opening please go to: https://inspira.un.org or https://careers.un.org. A completed online application (Cover Note and Personal History Profile) is required. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. The Cover Note must include:
– Degree Programme (What are you currently studying?)
– Graduation Date (When will you graduate or when did you graduate from the programme?)
– List the IT skills and programmes that you are proficient in (in particular any relating to SharePoint, Power Apps, Power BI or Microsoft Azure)
– List your top three areas of interest.
– Explain why you are the best candidate for this specific internship.
– Explain your interest in the United Nations Internship Programme.
– Please also indicate the time when you are available for an internship, including your earliest possible start date.

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.

The selected candidate is expected to start as soon as possible. The duration of the internship is for a maximum period of six months

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, 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 full-time 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.

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. For internships in the United States of America, interns who are not United States citizens, permanent residents or not currently in the United States on a nonimmigrant visa status will be required to obtain a G-4 visa. If already in the United States of America on another non-immigrant visa status other than G-4, interns will be responsible for ensuring that they have a valid visa, and if required, employment authorization, allowing them to undertake the internship.

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.