Application deadline: 21 March 2010

Duration:  3 months (May 2010 – July 2010) at UNV headquarters in Bonn

Background

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the United Nations programme that supports sustainable human development globally through the promotion of volunteerism and the mobilization of volunteers. It operates against a background of growing recognition that volunteerism brings benefits to both society at large and the individual volunteer; that it makes important contributions, economically as well as socially; and that it contributes to more cohesive societies by building trust and reciprocity among citizens. Universal and inclusive, UNV embraces all types of volunteer action while holding to the values of free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity, which are the foundations of volunteerism.

UNV engaged 7,753 UNV volunteers in 2008, on a total of 7,991 assignments. With an average of 39 years and the requisite professional skills and qualifications of some 5 to 10 years relevant experience, UNV volunteers served in 132 countries in 2008 and came themselves from 159. The majority – 79 per cent – come from developing countries themselves. One third of UNV volunteers served in their own countries, with the others carrying out international assignments. The financial equivalent of programme activities exceeds US$150 million annually. 

UNV is headquartered in Bonn, Germany and has approximately 150 staff positions – the majority in Bonn with some dozen positions in different UN peacekeeping missions, and other Headquarters locations (e.g. New York and Tokyo). In the field, UNV has country office teams, composed of UNV Programme Officers (UNV volunteers) and Country Office Assistants, in many of the UNDP country offices.  The major organizational groups within UNV are:

• The Office of the Executive Coordinator;
• The Evaluation Unit;
• The Corporate Planning and Performance Unit;
• The Volunteer Programme and Management Group (VPMG) comprising the Peace and Development Divisions; Volunteer Recruitment Resources Section (VRRS); Volunteer Knowledge and Innovation Section (VKI); supported by a Quality Assurance Unit;
• The Partnerships and Communications Division (PCD); and
• The Management Services Division (MSD) comprising sections for Information Support Services, Finance, Human Resources, as well as Units for Common Services and Administration.

Volunteer Knowledge and Innovation (VKI) Section enhances UNV’s proactive capacity to mainstream volunteerism into peace and development through:

• Developing innovative volunteering solutions, including new/improved volunteer modalities and initiatives;
• Online Volunteering (OV) Service;
• Advisory support, knowledge products, and coordinated learning for Integration of volunteerism for peace and development into policies and programming; and for enhancing the management of UNV volunteers and quality/recognition of their contributions;
• Knowledge Management;
• Development of a former UNV volunteer network to build an ongoing volunteerism for peace and development legacy.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Section Chief of the Volunteer Knowledge and Innovation Section, the intern will support this section in a variety of research, writing, and Knowledge Management related tasks. Depending on the competencies and interests of the intern, assignments would include:

• Research and analyze UNV practices in assigned topics. Develop reports or policy briefs with reviews of practices, lessons learned, and recommendations on good practices.  
• Research, collect, analyze and edit documents related to UNV’s thematic areas, UNV volunteer management and UNV organizational procedures.
• Collect and analyze background materials on Knowledge Management. Assist Knowledge Management activities, especially in the field of virtual networks and online facilitation.
• Taking minutes and preparing presentations for in-house committees.
• Organise and archive terminated UNV volunteer files ensuring that individual files are maintained consistently and in line with UNV standards.
• Perform other duties as required.

The intern is also expected to strengthen his/her knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and other publications.

Learning opportunities for the intern

• General understanding of the work and mission of the UNV programme, and of volunteerism’s contribution to development effectiveness;
• Insight and hands-on experience in UNV’s research and Knowledge Management activities;
• Insight and hands-on experience in volunteer management; and
• Become more familiar with working in an International Organization and in a multicultural environment.

Minimum Qualifications & Experience

• Currently enrolled in a Master’s degree / programme in social science, political science, communications, Knowledge Management, business administration or a related field. (Please note that only candidates who will be returning to their studies upon the completion of their internship qualify for an internship with UNV.)
• Strong interest in development cooperation and in the work of the United Nations Volunteers programme.
• Previous experience in communications or Knowledge Management, as well as experience in developing countries is desirable. Knowledge of the UN work environment an advantage.
• Good oral and written communications skills and demonstrated research abilities and interest.
• Internet proficiency as well as proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required. Experience with the development of statistics, charts in Excel and Web 2.0 tools (especially social networking) an asset.
• Experience in volunteering a strong asset.
• Fluency in English is required; Fluency in French or Spanish an asset.

General Terms and Conditions

• UNDP Conditions of Service for interns (www.undp.org/internships/) apply for interns working at UNV Headquarters.
• The Internship Programme operates on a non-remunerative basis. Costs and arrangements for travel, visa, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of the intern.
• The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNV but to complement an intern’s studies. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship.
• UNV accepts no responsibility for the intern’s medical insurance or for costs arising from illness during the internship. Interns are required to provide proof of medical insurance coverage.
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted and called for a motivational interview that will take place at the end of March 2010.

Applications (CV & cover letter in English) should be sent via e-mail
to benjamin.kumpf@unvolunteers.org until 21 March 2010.