Internship - Partnership and Coordination Service in Geneva, Switzerland

Terms of Reference
Internship
Division of External Relations, Partnership and Coordination Service

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a full-time internship within the Partnership and Coordination Service (PCS) of the Division of External Relations (DER), at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Established in December 1950, UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for asylum seekers, refugees, returnees, internally displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. UNHCR currently operates in over 130 countries, using its long expertise to protect and care for millions.

Title: Refugee Sports Coordination Intern
Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland [telecommuting until further notice]
Duration: 6 months
Contract Type: Internship
Closing date for application: 13 May 2021
Start date: 24 May 2021

Organisational context
UNHCR¿s Partnership and Coordination Service (PCS) is responsible for ensuring UNHCR approaches partnerships in a strategic and coherent manner. The Service provides support to regional and country offices on relationships with UN agencies, NGOs, sports organizations, advocacy partners and others and ensures that UNHCR exercises effective field leadership and coordination in line with its mandate and agreed frameworks. Located in Geneva, PCS comprises the Inter-Agency and Coordination Section (IACS), the NGO and Civil Society Section, and the Sports Section.
The incumbent will be part of the Refugee Sports Coordination team, which works to provide guidance and support on the use of sport as a tool for protection and development in forced displacement situations, as well as identifying and nurturing sports partnerships and programme opportunities that benefit the children and youth that UNHCR serves.

The position
UNHCR is looking for individuals with a wide range of skills and a strong interest in the mission of the organization to support our work. The incumbent will work under the overall responsibility of the Senior Refugee Sports Coordinator, and under the direct supervision of the Associate External Relations Officer (Sports Coordination) who will on a regular basis discuss the various issues and tasks to be assigned to the incumbent.

Duties and responsibilities
The incumbent¿s tasks shall include, inter alia:
¿ To support UNHCR¿s engagement in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2021, including weekly conference call coordination, preparation of meeting minutes, briefings, talking points and other information materials as requested.
¿ To conduct media monitoring and produce a weekly update on sports initiatives for /with refugees globally.
¿ To support the team¿s efforts on outreach to and communication with sport partners.
¿ To support the facilitation of sport partners in the Global Refugee Forum process and the activities in the lead-up to the High-Level Officials Meeting in December 2021.
¿ To produce other materials, as required, related to the sport for protection approach and the use of sport as a tool for protection.
¿ To support the broader PCS team during meetings and events.
¿ Undertake any other tasks assigned.

Minimum qualifications required
In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:
¿ Be either a recent graduate (having completed their studies within one year of applying) or a current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by UNESCO ; and
¿ Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of UNHCR.

NOTE: An individual whose father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister is a staff member of UNHCR, including a Temporary Appointment holder or a member of the Affiliate Workforce, is not eligible for an internship.

Desirable qualifications and skills
The ideal candidate will hold/have:

¿ Interest in communication and external relations work.
¿ Strong interest in the humanitarian cause, sport for development and peace, communication and advocacy, humanitarian, development or external relations work and issues related to child/youth development.
¿ Excellent interpersonal skills.
¿ Excellent communication skills - both orally and in writing.
¿ Strong English language skills, any other language is an asset.
¿ Experience preparing briefs, presentations and communication materials.
¿ Some experience with Photo/video editing tools, Adobe InDesign, Salesforce and/or an interest in learning new software packages as required.
¿ Strong computer skills including a working knowledge of Microsoft Office 365.
¿ Research, analysis and information management skills.
¿ Diplomacy.
¿ Discretion.
¿ Meticulous attention to detail.
¿ Effective time management.
¿ Strong organizational abilities.

Conditions
It is a full-time role with working hours starting from 9.00am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday (40 hours per week). The successful candidate will be either home-based or with the team in the Geneva, Switzerland. The location will be determined prior to the start of the internship, and is dependent upon the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic in both the applicant¿s home country and at the duty station.

Allowance: Interns who do not receive financial support from an outside party will receive an allowance to partially help to cover the cost of food, local transportation and living expenses.
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The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing or training.

We welcome applications from candidates with a refugee or stateless background. Please note that the closing date for this Internship advertisement is Thursday 13 May (mid-night Geneva time).