Ocha's Stand-By Partner Intern

Work Location

Geneva in-person

Expected duration

6 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (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 located in the Stand-By Partners Program (SBP) under the Emergency Response Section (ERS), of the OCHA Response Support Branch (RSB), Coordination Division. SBP is an integral element of OCHA's sustained efforts to strengthen its response capacity to new and escalating humanitarian emergencies. It is a mechanism whereby external SBP organizations provide 'gratis' humanitarian experts for temporary support to country offices. Supported by a growing number of external SBPs, it allows for the rapid deployment of humanitarian experts for temporary support to offices confronted with sudden emergencies and sharp increases in workload. SBP have established rosters of staff, which can be quickly recruited and deployed, offering a cost-effective and flexible way of temporarily augmenting OCHA's field capacity. This in turn helps OCHA meet the demands of multiple humanitarian crises. The number of requests for new SBP deployments and extensions have been increasing every year, and at the same time the processes have become more complex. The SBP team requires additional and dedicated capacity to support with the handling and tracking of SBP requests, nominations and extensions, as well as with the implementation and stabilization of a new data management tool. The intern will directly support the SBP team in fulfilling mandated activities and projects. Tasks will include: 1. Support handling of new SBP requests, nominations, deployments and extensions of SBP experts. 2. Timely recording and tracking of requests, nominations and extensions. 3. Monitor the newly introduced data management tool. 4. Support analysis of Performance Evaluation Reports and development of stories. 5. Provide support as required.

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, international studies, public administration or humanitarian 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. 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, 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.