Position Overview

The Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) works with a global network of partners to build an inclusive industry that makes clean cooking accessible to the three billion people who live each day without it. Established in 2010, CCA is driving consumer demand, mobilizing investment to build a pipeline of scalable businesses, and fostering an enabling environment that allows the sector to thrive. Clean cooking transforms lives by improving health, protecting the climate and environment, empowering women, and helping consumers save time and money. In alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, CCA is working to achieve universal access to clean cooking by 2030.

CCA seeks to make high-impact clean cooking solutions desirable, affordable, and accessible for consumers and viable for businesses to provide sustainably at scale. It supports companies that design, manufacture, distribute, and retail biomass, ethanol, biogas, and LPG-based clean cooking solutions in addition to more efficient wood and charcoal cookstoves. It also supports technology innovation with the aim to commercialize new technologies such as highly energy-efficient electric cookers for off-grid/mini-grid communities.

The User Insights Lab (UIL) is a major new initiative that aims to drive demand and catalyze a transformational shift in the market by surfacing insights into clean cooking end-users’ needs, behaviors, and preferences, and embedding these insights into the design and implementation of clean cooking products, programs, and policies. It does so through multidisciplinary action-research, bringing together ideas and tools from fields such as behavioral economics, data science, product and user experience design, consumer insights, and diffusion of innovation.

The UIL Summer 2023 Post-grad Intern will be an integral member of the team during a formative time in the UIL’s journey. The Intern will support the team as we sharpen the UIL’s approach by developing and testing hypotheses from across disciplines; this will include conducting research and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, building the UIL’s web presence, and soliciting feedback from users and high-level experts. Additional specific projects will be co-created with the Intern based on the candidate’s expertise and interest. Strong candidates will bring a foundational understanding of business or research, and a drive to understand people and what drives their decisions, with experience applying specific methods from a relevant discipline.

This internship remote. The Intern will need to have access to a computer and internet connection. This is a paid internship.

*Please note this is a paid internship opportunity from May 30, 2023 -September 1, 2023*

Essential Functions

• Support the team in identifying and synthesizing multidisciplinary learnings to inform the approach and research of the UIL; this might include: conducting literature reviews, participating in stakeholder interviews, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, and identifying and presenting key themes and research questions.
• Help build out and test the UIL’s web presence including a prototype User Insights Hub by identifying and tagging relevant content, building a live database, and collecting feedback from users.
• Support the design and planning of a convening of high-level experts from across UIL relevant disciplines; attend convening and support execution depending on event details and timing.
• Draft thought leadership blog pieces, case studies or papers, depending on interest and expertise.
• Participate in relevant meetings, such as team meetings, all-staff meetings, internal webinars, and other learning opportunities.
• Other duties as assigned.

Selection Criteria

• Candidate must be enrolled in a graduate degree-granting program during the internship or must be a recent graduate (within 8 months of graduation) of a graduate program.
• Pursuing relevant graduate degree, such as: business, behavioral economics, psychology, economics, data science, or design.
• Knowledge of and/or interest in at least 1 of the following areas: consumer insights research and strategy, diffusion of innovation, behavioral science, business/data analytics, customer centricity and customer experience, social network analysis.
• Interest in energy access, climate action, global health, and women’s empowerment.
• Creative mindset with the ability to problem-solve and work under pressure.
• A strong willingness to take initiative and a desire to learn.
• Skills in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets or Airtable, PowerPoint, and Miro are desirable.
• Ability to meet regular attendance/tardiness policy.
• Must have a personal laptop computer and access to the Internet.
• Must be available to work a maximum of 29 hours per week.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States.

The United Nations Foundation is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative-action employer. The United Nations Foundation provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

The United Nations Foundation is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative-action employer. The United Nations Foundation provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.