Internship – Advocacy Communication

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

 

For every child, Education. 

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. We support quality education outcomes for refugee, internally displaced and other crisis-affected girls and boys, so no one is left behind. ECW works through the multilateral system to both increase the speed of responses in crises and connect immediate relief and longer-term interventions through multi-year programming. ECW works in close partnership with governments, public and private donors, UN agencies, civil society organizations, and other humanitarian and development aid actors to increase efficiencies and end siloed responses. ECW urgently appeals to public and private sector donors for expanded support to reach even more vulnerable children and youth. ECW is administered under UNICEF’s financial, human resources and administrative rules and regulations; operations are run by the Fund’s own independent governance structure.

 

How can you make a difference?

Under the overall guidance of the Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and the direct supervision of the Chief, of Advocacy/Communications, the selected intern(s) will provide professional advocacy and communication support to ECW’s Advocacy & Communications Section, to support the development and implementation of the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) strategic plan.

 

KEY FUNCTIONS / RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support ECW’s Chief, Advocacy/Communications, and the ECW Advocacy/Communications team in preparing human impact stories, social media assets, infographics, presentations, fact sheets, blogs, and advocacy material.
• Collect, analyze, verify and synthesize information to facilitate advocacy and communication external outreach, development, design and preparation.
• Prepare inputs and draft Communications and Advocacy material, and review documentation and reports, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and relevancy of information.
• Support ECW global campaigns and major high-level events, with relevant donors, governments and partners, such as the 222 Million Dreams Campaign and Postcards from the Edge Campaign.
• Support ECW’s digital platforms in terms of content, monitoring, analytics.
• Support uploading contents to the ECW photo and video library.
• Expand ECW contacts lists via Cision, mailchimp and internal databases.
• Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned for knowledge development in the area of Advocacy and Communications.
  Support monthly analytics reporting for social, earned media and website.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable Advocacy and Communications approaches.
• Research, benchmark and report on the best and cutting-edge practices for advocacy, communications and external relations.

 

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

• been enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree programme, or graduated within the past two years.
• an academic background in Communications, Publix Relations, Marketing, or Advocacy.
• reached at 18 years of age by the time of your application.
• proficiency in English at an advanced level in speaking, writing, and reading.
• a strong command of French, which is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated exceptional academic performance as evidenced by university transcripts.
• No immediate family members (such as parents or siblings) employed by any UNICEF office or the ECW Secretariat.

 

Visa and Working Conditions:

Office space is available in New York and Geneva based on discussion. Applicants who are in the USA or Switzerland at the time of application (for the US with a valid OPT/CPT if international student) are personally responsible for arranging any visa or immigration requirements, covering the entire period of their internship.

The intern can work from home/remote-based, working collaboratively with the Advocacy/Communication team by email, WhatsApp, Zoom, etc. Intern is responsible for their individual IT/technology/internet.

ECW is looking for 2 interns in total. The internship is full-time (35 hrs) and working hours are flexible and set-up in mutual discussion with the supervisor taking into account existing study commitments. Interns will be linked to the ECW Secretariat and Advocacy and Communications Team in New York. Interns may take up to 2.5 days per month off work for any reason, including for medical reasons. The stipend will be reduced for any absence beyond this quota.

Expected starting date: 1 April 2024. Preferred duration: at least 6 months (maximum of 6 months; 26 weeks). An internship may be terminated by either party, with a notice period of at least two weeks.

 

Monthly stipend:

Interns will receive a stipend based on their location. USD 1,700 per month in the following offices: New York, Geneva, and Copenhagen; or 70% of the monthly salary of the GS level 3 step 1 in all other the duty stations.

Insurance:
UNICEF will not be responsible for costs arising from accidents and/or illness incurred during the intern’s service. Therefore, the selected candidate must provide proof of enrolment in a health/accident plan prior to starting his/her work.

 

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…
(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3)Drive to achieve results for impact(4)Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6)Thinks and acts strategically (7)Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to selected candidates who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts. 

 

This is how cinfo can support you in the application process for this specific position: 

• Application preparation: Before you apply for this position: Improve your application documents by registering for a Job Application Support. Our coaches are here to help tailor your application to the requirements of the job (service provided at your own cost).
• Interview preparation: When invited to the interview: Prepare for the interview by registering for a Job Application Support.
• Additional services for  Swiss nationals who get invited to  the selection process (written test, interview, assessment centre, etc.):
  • Let us know by writing to recruitment@cinfo.ch. We flag matching applications to HR partners and SDC/SECO for visibility.
  • Benefit from free interview/assessment preparation by registering here: Interview and Assessment Centre Preparation for Jobs in Multilateral Organisations. Our coaches stand ready to help prepare for upcoming interview/assessment centre.​