NextGen Youth Internship

Background

More than 60 percent of the Arab region’s population is under the age of 30. Harnessing the energy of youth has the potential to build peace and stability and expand economic opportunities for them and their countries. However, unlocking these possibilities for young people requires partnership among all stakeholders, including youth themselves as well as a whole-of-society approach that widens participation and inclusion of youth in all aspects of life. In this age of complexity, the transition required is systemic and solutions need to be adaptable and holistic with a long-term vision. In response, UNDP has developed a shared agenda, a Regional Youth Project, SHABABEEK, to promote young people’s empowerment by building their capabilities and creating access to opportunities for engagement.

Bringing together governments, private sector partners, civil society and young people, the Regional Youth Team works with 17 Country Offices in the Arab region, focusing on initiatives, projects and interventions directly supporting youth in the region under the two outcome areas of Economic, and Political and Civic Empowerment.

As part of the project, a virtual space in the form of a digital platform, the NextGen Youth Platform, was created to bring together different elements of the youth innovation ecosystem. The platform bridges youths, national partners including youth serving organizations, donors, incubators, policymakers, academia, external stakeholders and individuals. The aim is to serve as a multi-functional platform that provides opportunities for networking, capacity building, knowledge exchange, resources and good practices to four identified pathways of youth, namely impact entrepreneurs, policy shapers, community builders and future-ready job seekers. Launched in January 2024, the platform also serves to track progress, showcase the work done by youth as well as by national partners. Each country has the opportunity to report on progresses made at the national level, provide activities’ updates, share announcements and exchange knowledge. In a nutshell, the platform aims to serve -a ‘one-stop-shop’ and for that it needs to be continuously updated and sustained.

The objective of the internship will be to support the population, cleaning and update of various sections/features of the platform’s backend/frontend. The intern will particularly support the data entry and validation of profiles/projects in the backend, review and update content published on the platform and support the development of relevant communication material.

Duties and Responsibilities

The intern will be based in Beirut, Lebanon. Under the direct supervision of the Project and Research Analyst and overall supervision of the Regional Youth Project Manager, responsibilities may include, but will not be limited to, the following:

Competencies

Functional competencies: 

• Strong sense of collaborative work, excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
• Keen attention to detail;
• Interest in the socio-economic development field in the Arab region;
• Excellent analytical and writing skills.

Professionalism: 

• Demonstrated problem-solving skills and judgment in applying technical expertise to resolve a wide range of complex issues/problems;
• Ability to negotiate and to influence others to reach agreement;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Shows pride in work and in achievement;
• Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter, especially governance and peacebuilding;
• Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
• Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns;
• Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges;
• Remains calm in stressful situations;
• Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work;
• Takes responsibility for incorporating the perspective of youth and ensuring the equal participation of young people as in all areas of work.

Communication: 

• Speaks and writes clearly, concisely and effectively;
• Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately;
• Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication;
• Tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience;
• Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Teamwork: 

• Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise;
• Is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda;
• Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position;
• Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Planning and organizing: 

• Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies;
• Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required;
• Allocates appropriate amount of time and resource for completing work;
• Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning;
• Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary;
• Uses time efficiently.

Accountability: 

• Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honor commitments;
• Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards;
• Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules;
• Supports subordinates, provide oversight and take responsibility for delegated assignments;
• Takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Creativity: 

• Actively seeks to improve program or services;
• Offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs;
• Promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas;
• Takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas;
• Thinks “outside the box”;
• Takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things;
• Not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches.

Technological awareness: 

• Keeps abreast of available technology;
• Understands applicability and limitation of technology to the work of the office;
• Actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks;
• Shows willingness to learn new technology.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements: 

a) Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); 

b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent); 

c) 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;

d) Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as part of this program.

Experience:

• Proven record of interest and work on youth issues and challenges in the Arab region required;
• Experience working in data collection/cleaning/entry;
• Experience in developing communications/social media material required;
• Experience in supporting / volunteering with developmental actors will be an asset;
• Experience with UNDP is as asset;
• Demonstrated ability to work well both independently and within a multicultural team;
• Good command of information and communication technology.

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