Work Location

in-person, with possibility hybrid or remote

Expected duration

6 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system's designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. The Latin America and the Caribbean Office located in Panama City works closely with the 33 countries of the region - including 16 small island developing States, with a population of about 650 million people. The office works to serve the needs of the region and its activities are integrated into the work programs approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly of UN Environment (UNEA). The overall objective of the Subprogramme Economic and Finance Transformations is to promote and support countries and stakeholders to design policies and initiatives to reduce the use of natural resources and its related negative impacts, supports countries in the transition to inclusive green economies and more sustainable patterns of consumption and production, which are important elements to achieve sustainable development. On the sustainable consumption side, UNEP will embark on a new project in January 2022 called “Eco-Advance”, financed by the German International Climate Initiative (IKI). This initiative will strengthen collaboration and knowledge exchange on ecolabelling in the Latin America and Caribbean region. This includes operationalizing the first regional ecolabel – the Sello Ambiental de America – aiming to change the rules of the game for sustainable consumption and production and promote a more sustainable trade in the region. Additionally, UNEP has been providing technical assistance to the public and private stakeholders on the development of sustainable public procurement (SPP) policies and the use of ecolabelling in combination, to achieve maximum synergies and better deliver the common goal of stimulating the demand and supply of sustainable products. UNEP has also been supporting sustainable production practices in the private sector, paying special attention to Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs), through activities that include Eco-innovation, resource efficiency and cleaner production, and Life Cycle Approaches. UNEP is implementing regional initiatives with the objective of providing capacity development and technical assistance to the public and private sectors on the development of inclusive green economy policies and sustainable finance products and practices, to achieve maximum synergies and better deliver the common goal of sustainable development. The intern will work under the supervision of the Programme Management Officer at the Economic and Finance Transformations Subprogramme. The position will be supporting implementation of the following projects/initiatives: • IKI Eco-Advance (a regional approach to ecolabelling) • GO4SDGs • Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) • Environmental Training Network • Circular Economy Coalition This will include the following thematical workstreams: • Sustainable Consumption and Production • Consumer information tools • Environmental Education • Sustainable lifestyles • Sustainable Public Procurement • Circular economy • Sustainable Tourism 3 interns are sought for a six-month internship period. The Internship is UNPAID and full-time. Interns work five days per week (40 hours) under the supervision of a staff member under the Economic and Finance Transformations Subprogramme.

Qualifications/special skills

Applicants must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements: a. Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); b. Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree program (minimum bachelor’s level or equivalent); c. Have graduated with a university degree Be computer literate in standard software applications. Have demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter; Have a demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views. Final year undergraduate or master’s degree student in Environmental Sciences, Economics, International Relations/ Development, Social Sciences, Law, Business Administration and/or related field.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this internship, fluency in oral and writing English and Spanish are required, since work will require research and communication, including reading and interviews, in both languages. Knowledge of another UN official language is desirable

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.