Org. Setting and Reporting

The Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the Secretariat department responsible for strengthening international human rights mechanisms; enhancing equality and countering discrimination; combating impunity and strengthening accountability and the rule of law; integrating human rights in development and in the economic sphere; widening the democratic space; and early warning and protection of human rights in situations of conflict, violence and insecurity.

This announcement broadcasts international internship assignments with the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Rights to Development Division. This particular internship aims to attract individuals who have an interest in contributing toward the implementation of OHCHR's Dynamic Knowledge Organizational Effectiveness Action Plan, which focuses on promoting knowledge sharing and global collaboration between colleagues through the identification of appropriate tools and methodologies and building staff capacity in the use thereof.

Located in the Methodology, Education and Training Section, the Dynamic Knowledge Officer works on a number of priority areas, which include: Designing, developing and implementing innovative on-boarding practices and modalities for new staff/staff joining a new job; Designing, developing and implementing a Knowledge Hub to be hosted on the Intranet; and Identifying, launching and supporting the use of new tools and platforms that foster greater sharing of knowledge, collaboration and peer support across the organization.

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, under the overall guidance of the Chief of Section, the intern reports to the Dynamic Knowledge Officer. The assignment shall be for an initial period of three (3) months, renewable for a combined period of six (6) months, upon further approval by the supervisor, and a scheduled commencement date, ranging/starting from December 2019 through December 2020.

This internship is an UNPAID and full-time engagement that provides a framework through which students from diverse academic backgrounds gain exposure to the work of the United Nations by way of their service within Secretariat entities. Applicants should have a demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations with a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter, and have the demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs - which includes willingness to understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.

THE UNITED NATIONS IS COMMITTED TO BUILDING A DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE WORKFORCE AND WELCOMES APPLICANTS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MIGRANTS AND/OR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.

APPLICANTS SHOULD INDICATE THEIR PRESENT MATRICULATION STATUS AND PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY IN THE APPLICATION COVER LETTER.

The intern shall support OHCHR in fulfilling its mission: to work for the protection of all human rights for all people; to help empower people to realize their rights; and to assist those responsible for upholding such rights in ensuring that they are implemented.

Daily responsibilities of the Knowledge Management intern will depend on the individual's background and specific duties and may include, but are not limited to: Identification, testing and prototyping of new and innovative solutions, tools and methodologies to promote knowledge-sharing and collaboration at UN Human Rights; Creating, designing and producing multimedia content - videos, info-graphics, visuals, etc. - to support knowledge sharing and amplify dynamic knowledge work across UN Human Rights; Working with the METS Dynamic Knowledge officer to update content and maintain its intranet site and digital platforms; Monitoring, analyzing, distilling and consolidating input shared in online collaboration networks to produce knowledge products to be shared with a wider audience; Identifying and promoting areas for new and emerging cross-fertilization and collaboration opportunities within OHCHR; Supporting management, maintenance and enhancement of knowledge-sharing platforms; Supporting capacity-building efforts and development of related solutions on knowledge management and knowledge sharing; Keeping abreast of emerging trends and innovative approaches for knowledge management and pro-actively proposing and testing solutions; and Perform other related duties, as required.

PROFESSIONALISM: Shows pride in work and in achievements; Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; Remains calm in stressful situations.

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.

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.

To qualify for the United Nations Secretariat internship programme applicants must, at the time of their submission, be enrolled in a graduate school programme (i.e. Master's degree or equivalent degree, or higher) or in the final academic year of a first-level university degree programme (i.e. Bachelor's degree or equivalent degree), preferably in the area of information science, information systems, social science or a related field, OR have graduated with a university degree as defined above AND, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period from the date of graduation.

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this internship, fluency in English or French is required, knowledge of the other is an asset. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable (i.e. Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Incomplete applications/personal history profiles (PHPs) will not be reviewed. Development and Economic, Social Issues Branch managers will directly contact short-listed applicants for an interview. For this reason, in the application cover letter it is important that you:

-Specify your general interest in OHCHR, including in the thematic area of "Knowledge Management";
-Indicate recently obtained academic degree or the scheduled graduation for university study currently underway;
-Specify your period of availability and earliest commencement date; and
-Indicate information technology (IT) skills and programs in which you are proficient.

IN ADDITION TO SPECIFYING THREE REFERENCES IN THE SUBMISSION, APPLICANTS ARE ADVISED TO SUMMARIZE THEIR PRIMARY THEMATIC AND/OR GEOGRAPHICAL PILLARS AREA(S) OF INTEREST IN THE APPLICATION COVER LETTER.

Download the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which is available for the hearing impaired, in both official working languages HERE at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=eng OR https://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=frn

FAMILY RELATIONS | 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 Secretariat. 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 (e.g. stepchild); and (iii) the spouse of a child of a staff member or a staff member's spouse (e.g. son- or daughter-in-law). "Sibling" includes the child of both or either parent of a staff member and the child.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS | Feel free to download the United Nations Internship programme terms and conditions in either of the Secretariat’s official working languages (English and French) at: http://undocs.org/ST/AI/2020/1

APPLICATION PROCESS | Qualified individuals who have already established an Inspira account | https://inspira.un.org/ may apply directly to this and other opportunities with the United Nations Secretariat at: https://careers.un.org

WORKING HOURS | Interns must adhere to the established weekly working hours of the duty station where the assignment is located though not exceeding five days per week (35 hours) and a one hours lunch break.

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.

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.