Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

H (no hardship)

Family

Internship

2024-02-01

January 18, 2024

Terms of Reference:

Background Information/Organizational context

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a humanitarian and non-political organization mandated by the United Nations to protect refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons and help them find lasting solutions to their problems. UNHCR’s activities are based on a framework of international refugee law and standards that includes the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, as well as an array of international and regional treaties on human rights and humanitarian law. UNHCR works with States, civil society organizations, the legal community, the media and other actors to ensure the protection of refugees and promote their participation and integration in the economic, social, cultural and political life of their host society.
The Communications Unit aims to generate and maintain public interest and support for people forced to flee globally and for refugees and asylum-seekers in Cyprus. Awareness-raising and sensitization activities are therefore undertaken to strengthen public information and understanding, including through media and social media work, school activities, special campaigns, seminars and constituency-building.
The Communication Unit works together with the Protection Unit to relay in the public and media discourse the main issues and challenges faced by asylum-seekers, refugees, and stateless persons in Cyprus, and promotes the legal and policy protection standards in the respective areas of concern. The Unit works with media, schools, universities and civil-society organization, among others, to enhance awareness and foster empathy by providing accurate facts and figures to address misinformation and disinformation and by humanising the discourse. The Unit maintains a website and social media accounts, as well as a special platform for information provision to asylum-seekers and refugees in Cyprus, and organises public events and discussions for a range of audiences.
The Communications Intern will support the work undertaken by the Communications Unit and shall gain experience in the areas of operation of the unit, as well as experience being part of a UNHCR team. The Intern will be supervised by the Assistant Communications Officer who will give regular guidance and advice to the incumbent.

The position

Duties and Responsibilities

The Intern will support the Communications Unit of the UNHCR Cyprus Office in all relevant activities with a particular focus on media reports collection and analysis, assisting in the organisation of events, in the drafting of briefing and fact sheets, individual refugee stories and other public information materials.
The Intern will also assist the efforts of the UNHCR Cyprus Office and the academic community of Cyprus in setting up an anti-racist Observatory. The Intern will also perform other related duties as required.

Minimum qualifications required/Eligibility

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 two years of applying) or a current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by IAU/UNESCO; and
• Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of UNHCR.

Desirable qualifications and skills

• Communication and computer skills. Excellent drafting skills as well as translation and interpreting skills.
• Innovation and Creativity
• Technological and Digital Awareness
• Political Awareness

Language Requirements

• Fluency in English and Greek is essential, knowledge of French and/or Arabic will be considered an asset.

Conditions

It is a full-time role with working hours starting from 8.00am to 4:00pm Monday to Friday. The successful candidate will be assigned to support the team in the UNHCR Country of Office, Nicosia, Cyprus
Allowance: Interns will receive an allowance to partially help to cover the cost of food, local transportation and living expenses.

To Apply

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. Candidates should have the right to work in Cyprus.

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

,

,

Desired Languages

,

,

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Other information

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance