Internship in Volunteer Knowledge and Innovation Section

Duration: Opportunities of between 3 and 6 months are available on an ongoing basis through 2014. Please specify your availability.

Start Date: Currently filling positions beginning May/June 2014

Background

The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) is the United Nations programme that supports sustainable human development globally through the promotion of volunteerism and the mobilization of volunteers. It operates against a background of growing recognition that volunteerism brings benefits to both society at large and the individual volunteer; that it makes important contributions, economically as well as socially; and that it contributes to more cohesive societies by building trust and reciprocity among citizens. Universal and inclusive, UNV embraces all types of volunteer action while holding to the values of free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity, which are the foundations of volunteerism.

UNV is headquartered in Bonn, Germany and has approximately 150 staff positions – the majority in Bonn with some dozen positions in different UN peacekeeping missions, and other Headquarters locations (e.g. New York and Tokyo). In the field, UNV has country office teams, composed of UNV Programme Officers (UNV volunteers) and Country Office Assistants, in many of the UNDP country offices. The major organizational groups within UNV are:

• The Office of the Executive Coordinator (OEC);

• The Evaluation Unit;

• The Corporate Planning and Performance Unit;

• The Volunteer Programme and Management Group (VPMG) comprising the Peace and Development Divisions; Volunteer Recruitment Resources Section (VRRS); Volunteer Knowledge and Innovation Section (VKIS); supported by a Quality Assurance Unit;

• The Partnerships and Communications Division (PCD); and

• The Management Services Division (MSD) comprising sections for Information Support Services, Finance, Human Resources, as well as Units for Common Services and Administration.

The Volunteer Knowledge and Innovation Section (VKIS) enhances UNV’s proactive capacity to mainstream volunteerism into peace and development initiatives through:

• Promoting sound volunteer management practices, including the development of innovative volunteering solutions (volunteer modalities and volunteer management resources and tools) and the management of the Online Volunteering service;

• Leading the delivery of volunteerism advisory services for integration of volunteerism for peace and development into policies and programming; and for enhancing the recognition of volunteerism contributions;

• Leading initiatives for Volunteer Learning and Knowledge management.

• Facilitating and supporting advocacy initiatives at national and global level with the objective to integrate volunteerism in the post-2015 development agenda including follow up to major UN Conferences and Summits in economic, social and environmental fields.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the coordination of the Knowledge Management Associate and supervision of specified VKIS staff, the intern will support building UNV substantive knowledge and capacity to promote and facilitate volunteerism for peace and development globally; as well as to enhance UNV policies, programming and partnerships. Assignments may include:

• Research, track, scan, analyze key developments within UNV and among partners

• Develop reports or policy briefs, with reviews of articles, reports, and online sources in different languages, on selected trends in volunteerism, volunteer management, and volunteering contributions to peace and development

• Analyze reports, surveys results and briefs to extract key messages and develop summaries.

• Support the recruitment and management of online volunteers to support VKIS activities.

• Support development of joint publications and networking activities with volunteer involving partners

• Taking minutes, preparing presentations/materials, and support for in-house working groups, workshops, or consultative meetings • Contribute to the development of the State of the World’s Volunteers Report (SWVR)

• Support the development of advocacy and communication materials (tools, videos, articles, databases etc.)

• May be requested to undertake additional tasks subject to workload and skill sets of the individual recruited. The intern is also expected to strengthen his/her knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and other publications

Learning opportunities for the intern

• General understanding of the work and mission of the UNV programme, and of volunteerism’s contribution to peace and development effectiveness;

• Insight and hands-on experience with UNV research, policy analysis and volunteer learning and knowledge management activities;

• Insight and hands-on experience in UNV’s role in advocating and promoting volunteerism for peace and development; and

• Become more familiar with working in a United Nations / international organization and in a multicultural environment.

Minimum Qualifications & Experience

• Currently enrolled in a Master’s degree / programme in development, social science, political science, communications, knowledge management, evaluation or a related field. (Please note that only candidates who will be returning to their studies upon the completion of their internship qualify for an internship with UNV.)

• Strong interest in development cooperation and in the work of the United Nations Volunteers programme.

• Previous experience in developing countries is desirable. Knowledge of the UN work environment an advantage.

• Experience in volunteering a strong asset.

• Excellent oral and written communications skills and demonstrated research abilities and interest

• Internet proficiency as well as proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required. Experience with the development of statistics, charts in Excel and Web 2.0 tools (especially social networking) an asset.

• Fluency in English is required; Fluency in French, Arabic or Spanish an asset.

General Terms and Conditions

• UNDP Conditions of Service for interns (http://www.undp.org/internships/) apply for interns working at UNV Headquarters.
• The Internship Programme operates on a non-remunerative basis. Costs and arrangements for travel, visa, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of the intern.
• The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNV but to complement an intern’s studies. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship.
• UNV accepts no responsibility for the intern’s medical insurance or for costs arising from illness during the internship. Interns are required to provide proof of medical insurance coverage.
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted and called for a motivational interview that will take place on an ongoing basis.

Applications (Application form, CV & cover letter in English), including the dates and length of your availability, should be sent via e-mail to jeandedieu.kamanzi@unv.org

This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

http://www.unv.org/en/about-us/employment/internship/vacancies/doc/internship-in-volunteer-knowledge-1.html