About Us

The OPCW internship programme is aimed at motivated students with an interest in gaining experience in international organisations. The programme normally provides work placements in the Technical Secretariat for a three to six month period. The objective of the internship is to provide you with first-hand experience in the day-to-day working environment of an international organisation. You will work with our international experts towards the OPCW mission to achieve a world permanently free of chemical weapons.

As part of our team, working directly with outstanding and inspiring career professionals, you will be exposed to high-profile conferences, participate in meetings, and contribute to our analytical work as well as the organisational policy of the OPCW.

General Information

• Contract Type
  Intern
• Remuneration
  A monthly stipend of €450 (four hundred fifty euro)
• Closing Date
  13/12/2023

Responsibilities

Job Summary

The Secretariat for the Policy-Making Organs facilitates meetings and wider consultations between States Parties and the Technical Secretariat, ensuring substantive and operative support to the policy-making organs and their subsidiary bodies in their decision making processes, including the follow-up and implementation of their decisions.

In support of this, the Secretariat for the Policy-Making Organs is responsible for the setting of agendas, coordination and meeting support for all scheduled and unscheduled meetings, provision of internal guidance including language and document-processing support to ensure the timely circulation of official-series documents, and provision of reprographic services within the Organisation.

Main Responsibilities

During this internship, you will:

• Learn about the day-to-day work of an international organisation;
• You will observer the political decision-making process of a treaty based organisation;
• You will gain experience in a diplomatic environment;
• Discover the challenges faced in maintaining the archives relating to the work of the policy-making organs.

You will have a chance to work in the following sections of the Secretariat for the Policy-Making Organs:

1. PMO Main Office: Assisting the Director and the Planning and Coordination Officer with research, planning, and reporting on matters relating to the meetings of the policy-making organs;
2. PMO/Documentation and Reprographic: Assisting with the verification of migrated audio/video files, correction, and uploading of missing files of the recordings of the policy-making organs for retention on a new cloud-based platform (Connected Views);Assisting with the asset management of publications retained in the PMO Archive;
3. PMO/Conference Services: Assisting with preparation for and during sessions of the policy-making organs, and any other unforeseen meetings as required; Assisting with preservation and archiving of documents relating to the policy-making organs.

Qualifications and Experience

Education

Essential:

• enrolled in and have completed at least one year of a degree programme in a university (or equivalent tertiary institution) or; in a graduate school programme (second university degree or higher) or;
• have graduated from a university or a graduate school within a year prior to the commencement of the internship and;
• be a citizen of an OPCW Member State.

Desirable:

• Proficient in the use of MS Office software and knowledge of SharePoint desirable.

Skills and Competencies

• Teamwork – We work collectively towards the common goal of eliminating chemical weapons. As a team member, you are expected to listen to and value people’s ideas and expertise, and be willing to learn from others;
• Commitment to Continuous Learning – The OPCW is committed to a process of continuous learning;
• Technological Awareness – To keep up with the fast pace of technological change, but the Organisation offers training as well as support to keep ahead of developments in technology;
• Language requirements – Be fluent in both written and spoken English;
• Attention for detail.

Languages

Fluency in English is essential and a good working knowledge of one of the other official languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) is desirable.

Additional Information

Acceptance for the programme shall not carry with it any expectation of employment with the OPCW. Interns may not apply for, or be appointed to, any posts or positions at the OPCW within six months of the internship agreement end date. The internship programme is run in accordance with the applicable internal rules and where applicable the OPCW Staff Regulations and Interim Staff Rules.

1. Participants in the Internship Programme receive no financial remuneration from the OPCW for expenses that they incur in relation to the programme. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, taxes, accommodation, living expenses and repatriation, etc. are the responsibility of the intern. The intern has to enter and exit the country in accordance with the applicable immigration procedures in The Netherlands.
2. Participants will be asked to provide proof that they have sufficient financial means for living expenses for the period of their internship.
3. Interns will work with the normal working pattern of the OPCW which will amount to no more than 40 hours a week.
4. Participants who are citizens of non-EU countries should agree not to undertake other work in the Netherlands during their internship other than as an intern at the OPCW, notwithstanding whether such other work is compatible with the discharge of their functions with the OPCW.

Only fully completed applications submitted before the closing date and through OPCW CandidateSpace will be considered.

Only applicants under serious consideration for a post will be contacted.

Applications from qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged.

OPCW General Terms and Conditions