Copywriter Internship

Background

The Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) is responsible for positioning UNDP as the world’s leading global development network, promoting its global authority and thought leadership on sustainable development and the interconnected issues of poverty, inequality, and climate change. BERA leads and supports UNDP in building and nurturing strategic relationships and alliances essential to achieving its mission.

Creating strong political and financial backing for UNDP by providing partners and supporters with a clear understanding of what UNDP does and how our mission, capabilities and flagship services relate to them. The Bureau leads UNDP’s work on innovative and diversified partnerships and ways of financing the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is also responsible for global campaigns on critical development issues, which aim to inform government policies and build partnerships around high-impact solutions. BERA coordinates and sets corporate standards across the functions of partnerships, marketing and communications within UNDP and leads on internal communications.

BERA is positioned around three service lines; Public Partnership; Advocacy, Marketing and Communications (AMCG); and Private and Finance Partners, all working in close collaboration and coordination under the guidance of the Directorate and with the support of the Management Support Unit and Strategic Analysis and Engagement team.

BERA has a robust network of Representation Offices (Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo and Washington D.C.) and Regional Teams in five hubs (Africa, Arab States, Asia Pacific, Europe and CIS, and Latin American and the Caribbean) co-led with Regional Bureaux, all of which play a critical role in audience centric communications and management and strengthening of relationships with Public and Private Partners to help build a strong brand for UNDP within the local ecosystem.

Within BERA, the AMCG leads and manages external communications through strategy, media, digital communications, marketing, branding and global storytelling. The Brand and Marketing Team in AMCG manages UNDP’s brand and creates marketing products and resources to promote UNDP and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring that messages resonate and gather support from audiences that span from government decision-makers to the general public. It manages the Marketing Services Hub (MSH) which operates as UNDP’s in-house agency, managing a roster of external experts to produce marketing communications projects for teams and leverage the expertise of the Brand and Marketing team to provide high-quality communication services aligned with the UNDP brand, tone and visual guidelines. The team also manages the online a fast-growing initiative that empowers people around the world to promote the SDGs.

Assignment Description:

Reporting primarily to the Copywriter & Creative Lead and additionally to the Team Leader of UNDP’s Brand and Marketing team, the Copywriter Intern will help support multiple brand and marketing projects across all media, including print, digital and social. Projects include content creation, concepting, and copywriting support on: UNDP marketing campaigns and events; UNDP Shop online store, emails and product descriptions; illustrated UN/UNDP reports on sustainable development subjects; video scripts; presentation decks; branding guidelines; microsites; social media posts; etc.

The selected candidate will also work directly with the Marketing Services Hub graphic design team, giving Copy support for short- and long-term assignments. Collaborating with team members across the broader AMCG is likely, based on project and needs.

Duties and Responsibilities

The interested candidate will:

• Provide overall copywriting support to the Brand and Marketing team
• Create ideas and copy to reach and engage different audiences
• Support UNDP Shop team with copy for new products and promotions
• Propose and create copy for Marketing Service Hub design projects

Competencies

Core competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards 
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP 
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability 
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism 
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment

Functional Competencies:

• Concepting (ideating) by oneself, and brainstorming with other team members
• Writing short-form copy (headlines, subheads, CTAs, digital headings, etc.) and long-form (body copy)
• Converting information (from a creative brief) into simple, engaging ideas
• Converting those ideas into clear, concise, compelling copy
• Working with designer/s to help visualize the ideas/copy
• Editing (revise, cut, proofread) long-form documents for print and digital
• Learning about UNDP’s work, brand values and tone-of-voice (e-learning course and other materials will be provided during internship) 
• Strong verbal communication and presentation skills
• Strong organizational skills and ability to multi-task
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint a minimum
• Proficiency in all social media platforms (IG, X, FB, etc.)
• Proficiency in shared document platforms (SharePoint, Dropbox, Google Docs)
• Proficiency in SEO is a plus
• Proficiency in design software (e.g. Adobe Creative Suite) is a plus
• Proficiency in Mailchimp is a plus
• Must be able to work in a multicultural environment and be aware of political sensitivities

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications :

 Bachelor’s degree in Creative Marketing or similar (e.g.: Communications, Advertising, Design, Branding, Journalism) of which Copywriting or copy editing is a key part of the degree course.

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

• 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 graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected,  must start the internship within one-year of graduation.
• Provide an up-to-date online portfolio of school or real-world projects with your copy that       you authored (this can include personal projects, freelance work, business initiatives etc.)

Experience:

1. Proven experience in Copywriting for marketing, advertising or design (please provide link to portfolio);
2. Knowledge of all aspects of marketing (not just communications) is a plus
3. Working knowledge of brands and visual branding is a plus
4. Interest in and/or understanding of the UN/UNDP, similar organization, sustainable development, or SDGs is a plus

Languages:

• Fluent in written and spoken English;
• Knowledge of French or Spanish an asset

Availability:

• Must be available at least three (3) days a week during NY Eastern standard time zone  working hours. Candidates who are available for full time (5) days/week are preferred.

Application procedure:

The application should contain:

1. Brief Cover Letter (in English) stating interest in and qualifications for the post;
2. Current and complete CV in English, including link to the candidate’s online portfolio (provide password if needed to access portfolio)      

Upon evaluation/review of the candidates, the candidate who is selected must submit the following documents:

1. Letter from his/her university confirming current enrollment and graduation date;
2. Copy of his/her most recent school transcript;
3. Copy of passport;
4. A copy of US Visa if the intern is not a US Citizen (if applicable);
5. Completed UNDP internship application form;
6. Signed UNDP Internship Agreement/signed remote Internship Agreement;
7. Medical Certificate of Good Health;
8. Proof of medical insurance.

Conditions:

• UNDP will not pay for the internship but will provide a monthly stipend in accordance with the provisions of the UNDP Internship policy. All other expenses connected with it will be borne by the intern or sponsoring Government or institution;
• Where an intern is financially supported by an institution, government or third party, UNDP will pay the intern the difference, if any, between the external financial support provided and the applicable UNDP stipend;
• Except for the stipend, all other expenses connected with the internship will be borne by the intern, sponsoring government or institutions;
• Interns are responsible for securing adequate medical insurance for the duration of their internship with UNDP and must provide a medical certificate of good health prior to starting the internship;
• There is no expectation of employment following the internship;
• The intern is responsible for obtaining necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed (if required)