Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Risk Resilience Intern

Location : Nairobi, KENYA

Application Deadline : 11-Oct-23 (Midnight New York, USA)

Type of Contract : Internship

Post Level : Intern

Languages Required : English

Expected Duration of Assignment : 6 Months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Across the ESA region, climate related disasters and events are on the increase, in the Horn of Africa, failed rains over five consecutive seasons (for the period 2021-2022) has translated into a situation of severe food insecurity a climatic event not seen in at least 40 years. While recent rains have eased the impacts of the drought, they have also caused flooding. Similarly in the Southern Africa region countries are faced with significant climate crisis. Tropical weather systems brought heavy rainfall to the Southern Africa region causing death, displacement, flooding, landslides and damage to homes, infrastructure and livelihoods. Conflict and insecurity is another key driver of humanitarian emergencies across several countries in the ESA region. In Sudan fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has led to the loss of lives, injury and displacement both internal and to other neighboring countries. COVID-19 has impacted the region with economic growth contracting from 2.4 percent in 2019 to between -2.1 and -5.1 percent in 2020 deepening poverty levels, reducing agricultural productivity and weakening supply chains.

Disasters and their impacts contribute to inequalities key among them gender. In disaster situations, gender inequality determines the extent to which men, women, boys and girls are vulnerable to, experience and affected by disasters. Often, women and girls are disproportionately exposed to risk including sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), increased loss of livelihoods, security, and even loss of lives. Factors that contribute to the vulnerability of women and girls include deeply entrenched gender social norms, economic, religious and cultural constructs that often marginalize and exclude them. In most community structures, women occupy subordinate roles that compounds their vulnerability and hinders their effective participation in socio-economic development. In disaster settings such gender-based inequalities place women and girls at a greater risk to disasters and humanitarian crisis including limited access to early warning information, limited participation in preparedness and response planning, policy and decision-making processes.

Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Humanitarian Specialist, the intern will work in close collaboration with the programme team, ensuring timely support in carrying out processes related to advancing the programmatic and normative work of the office as well as other cross-cutting areas of knowledge management, research, and analysis.

Duties and Responsibilities

The intern will undertake the following tasks:

•  Organize, compile and process information from donors, Country offices, Regional Office, and other relevant programme teams and input to various databases i.e., SharePoint, office files among others;
•  Support efforts for resource mobilization, including preparing research for concept notes;
•  Support in the coordination of project related events, trainings and workshops and compile reports;
•  Support the Humanitarian and DRR unit in programme management across the region;
•  Collect information and data to be used for preparation of briefing notes, guidelines, briefs, talking points, and reports as required;
•  Provide programme and administrative support in the preparation of programme work plans and proposals on programme implementation arrangements;
•  Support contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
•  Participate in meetings with stakeholders and partners, at different events and initiatives as required;
•  Provide support on unit additional tasks and projects as required by the supervisor.

Learning Goals Include:

•  Develop understanding of the complex and dynamic Humanitarian and Disaster Risk Reduction landscape in the region;
•  Enhanced knowledge on Humanitarian Action and DRR;
•  Enhance knowledge on the programmatic and operational aspects of working at UN Women.

Competencies

Core Values:

•  Respect for Diversity;
•  Integrity;
•  Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

•  Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
•  Accountability;
•  Creative Problem Solving;
•  Effective Communication;
•  Inclusive Collaboration;
•  Stakeholder Engagement;
•  Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

•  Demonstrable knowledge of gender and governance issues;
•  Demonstrable Knowledge of development issues in Africa, preferably in East and Southern Africa.

Required Skills and Experience

Education & Requirements:

•  University studies in Disaster Risk Management, Humanitarian Affairs, Conflict Management, Social Sciences, Gender Equality, Program Management, or a closely related field.
•  Meet one of the following:
  •  Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
  •  Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s level or equivalent);
  •  Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within two-years of graduation;
  •  Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program which is part of a degree programme and undertake the internship as part of the program requirements.

Language:

•  Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English are required;
•  Working knowledge of another UN language is an advantage.

Renumeration: Interns who are not in receipt of financial support from other sources such as universities or other institutions will receive a stipend from UN Women to partially subsidize their basic living costs for the duration of the internship.

Application Information:

•  All applicants must submit a completed and signed P.11 form with their application;
•  Successful candidate will be required to provide proof of enrollment in a valid health insurance plan at the duty station of the internship, proof of school enrollment or degree, a scanned copy of their passport/national ID and a copy of a valid visa (as applicable).

Note: In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)