Public Administration Intern null

Your role

Expected duration:

The internship is for two months with an opportunity for extension, depending on the needs of the Division. Interns work five days per week (35 hours) under the supervision of a staff member in the department or office to which they are assigned. The unpaid internship is designed to be in person and full-time at the New York duty station. Depending on the situation of the successful candidates, the internship may also offer a Flexible Work Arrangement to be conducted fully remote, hybrid (in-person and remote), part-time, and/or temporary FWA for G-4 visa processing.

About the position:

This internship position is situated in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government, Secretariat of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA). CEPA is a UN technical advisory body that studies and makes recommendations to improve governance and public administration structures and processes for development. It assists the United Nations Economic and Social Council by reviewing trends, issues and priorities in public administration, notably about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in support of the implementation and progress reviews of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The internship is unpaid and full-time. Interns work five days per week (35 hours) under the supervision of a staff member in the department or office to which they are assigned. The unpaid internship can be performed either in person at the New York duty station or through a hybrid work arrangement (a combination of in-person and remote).

Responsibilities:

Specific responsibilities will depend on the individual's background, the internship period and the priorities of the Secretariat at the time of the internship.

Duties may include:

• Providing support to substantive research and data analysis relating to the operationalization of the UN principles of effective governance for sustainable development;
• Contribution to the production of training materials, guidelines, online interactive tools and resource materials addressing various topics in transparency, open government, data governance, fiscal institution-building and policy processes;
• Providing substantive and technical servicing of meetings, seminars and workshops, including preparation of background documentation, summaries and meeting reports;
• Performing other duties to support the team as required.

About you

Qualifications/Special Skills

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
• Be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent).
• Applicants to the UN Internship Programme are not required to have professional work experience. However, advanced studies in public administration, economics, sustainable development, international relations, public policy or related areas are required.
• Applicants must be students in the final year of their first university degree (bachelor's or equivalent), Master’s or Ph.D. Programme or equivalent, or have completed a Bachelor’s, Master or PhD. Programme.
• Do you meet any of the above criteria? If yes, please indicate which one and attach proof to the application. Please note that you will have to provide an official certificate at a later stage.

Skills:

• Strong research and analytical skills as well as excellent written communication skills in English are required.
• The candidate should have a sound knowledge of one or more areas of public administration and a demonstrated interest in questions of open government, transparency, digitalization, data governance and/or macroeconomic policy processes.
• Applicants should have a good knowledge of standard office software applications such as MS Word PowerPoint and Excel.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written English is required for the Internship Programme. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an asset. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the official languages of the United Nations Secretariat.

Intern Specific text

The United Nations does not financially remunerate interns. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of interns or their sponsoring institutions. Interns who are not citizens or permanent residents of the country where the internship is undertaken may be required to obtain the appropriate visa and work/employment authorization. Successful candidates should discuss their specific visa requirements before accepting the internship offer.

Benefits

The internship is unpaid, full-time.

If you join as a full-time employee, you will get the following benefits:

• Holidays and leave
• Health insurance
• Retirement pension
• Tax exemption
• Allowances
• Discover the invaluable experiences, skills gained, and career-boosting opportunities throughout the journey.

Training & development

During this internship, interns will acquire hands-on experience in conducting research and data analysis to support effective governance for sustainable development. You will also develop skills in creating educational resources, facilitating meetings, and producing detailed reports, thereby strengthening your capabilities in public administration and policy implementation.

Career progression

You will be allowed to work with the United Nations people. As part of their team, working directly with outstanding and inspiring career professionals and senior management, you will be exposed to high-profile conferences, participate in meetings, and contribute to analytical work and organizational policy of the United Nations. Initially, you will take on the amount of responsibility you can shoulder; the growth potential, however, is yours to develop.

Sources

The following sources were used in researching this page:

• youtube.com/unitednations
• careers.un.org/payandbenefits
• careers.un.org/job-level CP