Org. Setting and Reporting                

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Subregional Office for South and South-West Asia (ESCAP SSWA), based in New Delhi, offers internship opportunity for a minimum of two months with an opportunity for extension to up to six months.

The internship is UNPAID and full-time.  

Interns work five days per week (37.5 hours) under the supervision of staff member(s) in ESCAP-SSWA which they are assigned to.  
ESCAP-SSWA covers ten member States in South and South-West Asia, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

The work programme of ESCAP-SSWA covers analytical and normative work, policy support and advocacy, technical assistance and capacity building activities, along five priority areas, as per the mandate received from UNESCAP member States:
？Inclusive growth,  supporting achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), structural change and job creation, gender equality and women’s empowerment, social protection, and sustainable development
？Strengthening connectivity, trade and transport facilitation, and regional economic integration
？Regional cooperation for food and energy security
？Regional cooperation for disaster risk reduction
？Assisting LDCs and LLDCs in implementation of the Istanbul and Almaty Programmes of Action as well as SDG targets

A key mandate of ESCAP-SSWA is to support the countries in the subregion to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

Learning Opportunities during the course of internship:

ESCAP-SSWA provides interns with an opportunity to enhance their understanding of: i) socio-economic challenges the subregion is facing in particular within the 10 countries served; ii) the processes of regional and multilateral cooperation; iii) mandates and operations of United Nations in developing countries in its efforts to provide policy advice, capacity building and platform for governments to create space for economic and political integration.

Responsibilities                

Under immediate supervision, the intern is responsible for contributing to the research project(s) related to the work programme of SSWA for the implementation of the SDGs. The topic of the project will depend on the intern’s background, skills, and interest.

Other duties may include undertaking the following:

(a)Regular monitoring of relevant developments, policy trends and news articles related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs in the subregion;
(b)Monitor and collect details on national policies on selected sustainable development issues of ESCAP-SSWA member States
(c)Collect data, generate figures and tables, describe and analyze the tables and results to support ESCAP-SSWA staff in related research and analytical work
(d)Attend conferences, seminars, meetings and other events and provide written highlights and briefing notes
(e)Provide administrative, organizational and conference management support for ESCAP-SSWA events
(f)Other activities as may be decided by the supervisor                

Competencies                

The United Nations Core Competencies include:

？Communication: Ability to draft clearly and concisely, good written and oral language skills.
？Teamwork: Good interpersonal skills, ability to work collaboratively with colleagues from different national and cultural backgrounds to achieve organizational goals.
？Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be ‘clients’ and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view.
？Planning & Organizing: Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work and
monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary
？Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments, and delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards                

Education                

To qualify for an internship with the United Nations Internship Programme, applicants must meet one of the following requirements:  

a)be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); or
b)be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent); or  
c)have graduated with a university degree (as defined above) and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation.                

Work Experience                

Applicants are not required to have professional work experience for participation in the programme but shall be computer literate in standard software applications. Familiarity with econometrics and empirical data analysis methods and relevant software package (e.g.  EViews, Stata, SPSS, and Python) is desirable. Data handling skills and skills in using spreadsheets, Excel is also an asset.                

Languages                

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written English is required for the internship. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an asset. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the official languages of the United Nations Secretariat.                

Assessment                

N/A                

Special Notice                

Candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

The United Nations shall place 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. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). 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 At-a-Glance on "The Application Process" and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of Inspira account-holder homepage.  

Applications are pre-screened by the system according to the published requirements of the job opening on the basis of the information provided in the application. In relation to the requirements of the job opening, applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their qualifications, including their education, work experience, and language skills. Each applicant must bear in mind that submission of incomplete or inaccurate applications may render that applicant ineligible for consideration for the job opening. Initial screening and evaluation of applications will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted. Applications cannot be amended following submission.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at midnight (New York time) on the deadline date.                

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 or sexual abuse, or crimes other than minor traffic offences, 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.

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.                

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.