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 fulfil 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, hope…

UNICEF’s Programme Group leads the organization’s efforts to achieve results for the most disadvantaged and excluded children everywhere, following the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2022–2025. Work is done in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the international commitments related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Programme Group provides global thought leadership, influences global policies and partnerships in support of child rights, and contributes technical support to UNICEF’s Regional and Country Offices to maximize the difference our programmes make in children’s lives. The division shapes internal policy and practice in priority areas, supports UNICEF’s engagement in key programme partnerships and collaborates with other divisions for fundraising, advocacy and influencing. It also plays a vital role in managing technical talent and promotes a management approach that strengthens connections with Regional and Country Offices and enhances collaboration across sectors and divisions. The Director, Programme Group, guides UNICEF programmes and can commit the organization to programme strategies and approaches aligning with the goals and targets of the Strategic Plan, SDGs and universal Child Rights.

UNICEF is exploring ways of delivering programmes more at scale and with greater efficiency. In recent discussions, the role of the private sector has increasingly emerged as a possible avenue for growth. To advance this area of work, UNICEF has proposed some promising initiatives and themes it would like to unpack further and create a roadmap for testing different business models.

Through this internship, you will have the chance to contribute to a new and emerging strategy and help the organization think through new business models to fund, finance or deliver our programmes.

How can you make a difference?

As part of our team, you will be a key contributor to developing a strategy and roadmap engaging private sector for programme delivery, as well as an investigation of innovative approaches to programme delivery at scale and greater efficiency.

This work is part of a forward-thinking initiative designed to explore innovative approaches to partnerships for programme delivery. It aims to reexamine and potentially redefine how UNICEF collaborates with various partners to achieve greater scale, efficiency, and impact. This initiative involves a thorough investigation of new partnership models, addressing key areas of interest, and proposing experimental trials. Through these efforts, the initiative seeks to uncover and implement strategies that can significantly advance UNICEF’s mission to support and protect the world’s most vulnerable children.

A list of topics and regions already exists; this will be discussed at the start of the internship to narrow it down.

The expected scope of work includes:

Further flesh out the concept note into something actionable:

• Deeply understand the vision of the concept including its purpose, strategic goals, and the content of its 5 different pillars.
• Support the development and refinement of concept notes for two of the five pillars and develop any necessary Terms of Reference (TOR. For example, the pillar on venture building, mission aligned organizations and partner hacking, impact and investment models, and private providers of public services.
• Analyse case studies or precedents to determine the effectiveness of different models and examine successful and unsuccessful applications in similar or different contexts to draw lessons.
• Develop a detailed plan that outlines the steps for testing the selected business model. This includes defining milestones, timelines, resources required, and the process for scaling up if the test is successful.
• Propose a methodology that can be used for developing new business models and new mission driven projects and ventures.
• Identify potential risks and challenges that could arise during the implementation of the business model and suggest strategies to mitigate these risks.
• Communicate results to colleagues and stakeholders through written reports, slides and other means

Consultations with external experts and internal experts at UNICEF:

• Interact with professionals in the relevant fields and with UNICEF representatives to refine the pillars concept notes based on expert advice and UNICEF’s specific needs and guidelines.

Support in establishing the Founders Council for the Social Entrepreneurship pillar:

• Assist in setting up the Founders Council, a strategic advisory group intended to guide UNICEF’s engagement with social entrepreneurs.
• Facilitate the recruitment of council members by identifying potential candidates, coordinating communication, and managing the invitation process.
• Help in the preparation and organization of the Founders Council meetings, including drafting agendas, coordinating logistics, and compiling necessary background materials.
• Serve as a liaison between council members and UNICEF, ensuring consistent communication and follow-up on action items.

For the Social Entrepreneurship pillar, identify business model innovations and improvements:

• Seek opportunities to innovate or improve upon business models, from adapting the model to better fit the regional context and incorporating new technologies to finding more efficient processes.

Are you eligible?

• Have the following eligibility requirements.
• Be enrolled within the past year, or have graduated within the past two years from a graduate degree program with a preferred major in Economics, Social Sciences, Political Sciences, Business or a related field

Are you qualified?

• A business and entrepreneurial mindset
• Strategic thinking and planning skills
• Intellectual curiosity
• Hands-on aptitude, emotional intelligence and self-management skills
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills
• The ability to look beyond the tasks assigned, take ownership of projects and make suggestions on how to improve the role
• The ability to handle and respect multiple deadlines while working independently with different agents on several projects
• Excellent academic performance, demonstrated by recent university or institution records
• Support from a professor who would support the endeavor
• Proof of medical insurance covering their time at the duty station
• No immediate relatives (e.g., father, mother, brother, sister) working in any UNICEF office and no other relatives in the line of authority to which the intern will report
• Fluency in English (required); knowledge of another official UN language (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian) is an asset

The following are considered assets:

• Project management skills
• Proven writing skills

Work modality:  The internship is full-time, either onsite in New York or remotely, if in an appropriate time zone.  Please indicate your availability in the cover letter.

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

During the recruitment process, we may 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 interns, including leave entitlement 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 promoting 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.

Remarks: 

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to delivering the best results for children.

UNICEF Interns must have proof of medical insurance covering their time at the duty station.

UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer, without compensation, if a visa or Proof of health insurance coverage is not obtained, or necessary medical/inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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

There is no expectancy of employment at the end of this internship.