Intern – Youth Engagement (Europe and Central Asia)

Background
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is UN’s leading agency for sustainable development, working across 170 countries and territories to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through its policy expertise at global, regional, and country levels, UNDP integrates knowledge, partnerships, and innovation to address complex challenges and drive inclusive progress. The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region is home to nearly 240 million people across 19 countries and territories, spanning Central Asia, the South Caucasus, the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, Cyprus, and Türkiye. While many ECA economies have attained middle-income status and achieved significant human development milestones, they remain vulnerable to economic uncertainty, political instability, demographic shifts, and climate change impacts. Rising geopolitical tensions, governance challenges, and environmental degradation pose further risks to sustainable peace and prosperity.

One of the most pressing challenges in the region is youth employment and economic inclusion. Recent data indicates that the youth unemployment rate in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region decreased to 15.16 percent in 2023, down from 16.17 in 2022. Despite this improvement, education-to-employment transitions remain slow and uneven. Labour market transformations are accelerating, with automation, green industries, and digitalization projected to impact 22 percent of all jobs over the next five years. However, without targeted investment in future-ready skills, young people risk exclusion from emerging economic opportunities.

At the same time, the green economy is expected to create 24 million jobs globally by 2030, yet youth remain vastly underrepresented in these sectors, making up less than 10 percent of “green talent” worldwide. Meanwhile, environmental risks in the ECA region continue to escalate, with waste generation increasing by over 20 percent in the last decade, 75 million people projected to face water scarcity by 2050, and 75 to 80 percent of Central Asia’s population exposed to drought risk. A just transition is critical, yet most ECA countries have yet to fully integrate green recovery measures into their economic strategies, further widening the gap between climate commitments and youth workforce readiness.

UNDP plays a pivotal role in bridging these gaps by equipping young people with green and digital skills, fostering entrepreneurship, and facilitating private sector engagement. The UN Youth2030 Strategy, Security Council Resolutions 2250 (2015) and 2419 (2018), and UNDP’s Strategic Plan (2022-2025) all emphasize the need for youth-centered approaches in economic, governance, and climate-related action. Likewise, the UNDP Gender Equality Strategy (2022-2025) recognizes the intersectionality of youth and gender, ensuring that young women and marginalized groups are included in economic transformation efforts. To amplify youth participation and regional cooperation, UNDP’s Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) established the Generation Nexus regional youth network for climate, peace, and security in 2022. The Network serves as a collaborative platform where young people can engage in joint advocacy, skills development, project co-design, resource mobilization, and private sector engagement. Since its inception, the Network has grown significantly, developing an annual work plan, capacity-building programs, and strategic partnerships. As part of UNDP’s broader efforts to empower youth for a sustainable and peaceful future, the selected intern will play an integral role in supporting the Network’s sustainability, expanding its outreach, and mobilizing resources to strengthen youth-led initiatives across the ECA region. This position offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in international development, youth engagement, and regional policy work, contributing to innovative solutions for climate action, peacebuilding, and economic resilience. The Governance and Peacebuilding (GPB) Team of UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub, covering the ECA region, provides advisory services to the countries in the areas of governance, anti-corruption, public sector transformation, digitalization, human rights, security, rule of law, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding. It supports UNDP country offices and works with national, local and regional partners to advance new thinking and solutions to address complex governance and peace challenges in the region, towards accelerating the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

· Support research and analysis on youth empowerment, governance, and development challenges and opportunities.

· Contribute to the design of regional offers and strategies related to youth engagement and governance.

· Contribute to drafting concept notes, background documents, and analytical pieces to inform the development of new programmatic initiatives focused on youth empowerment.

· Support the organization of meetings and workshops relevant to GPB's work on youth engagement and governance.

· Assist with detailed donor mapping exercises, identifying stakeholders and resource mobilization opportunities in the areas of governance and youth.

· Support day-to-day activities related to regional youth and governance initiatives.

· Prepare communication materials (including articles, blog posts, etc.) to disseminate research and analytical findings from UNDP’s work on youth engagement and governance.

Education:

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

requirements:

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

· Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s

level or equivalent);

· Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) in a degree programme

in relevant discipline such as Business or Public Administration or other related fields, and, if

selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

· Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as

part of this program.

Experience & Skills:

· Demonstrated strong interest and/or academic background in urban/local governance, green/just transition, development, or related issues is a requirement

· Experience in writing analytical products, drafting and editorial work is an asset

· Prior research or programmatic experience in the ECA region is an asset

· A desire to work with and gain the confidence and respect of people with different language, national and cultural backgrounds

· Respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and the UNDP Statement of Purpose.

· Written and spoken proficiency in English is a requirement

Notes:

Financial Issues

Internships within the UN system are subject to conditions the applicant must get familiar with before signing his/her internship agreement. Starting from January 2020 interns may receive stipends according to UN rules and regulations. Where an intern is financially supported by an institution, government or third party, UNDP will, subject to the rules of such institution, government or third party, pay the intern the difference, if any, between the external financial support provided and the applicable UNDP stipend.

Any further costs associated with the internship must be borne by the nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students; or by the student, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence and make his or her arrangements for travel, accommodation and other costs.

Application procedure

The application should contain:

· Brief Cover Letter (in English) stating interest in and qualifications for the post

· Current and complete CV in English

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Candidates who are selected for must submit prior to the interview the following documents: ·

 Official document(s) confirming your education status stated in Section “Qualifications”; 

· Proof of medical and life/accident insurance valid for the location in which the internship will be carried out. Selected intern must have medical and life insurance. 

Conditions: 

· UNDP only accepts interns for a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 6 months.

· UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship. 

· Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity. 

· It is important to note that interns are responsible to arrange for their own visa and residence documents and need to plan for these well in advance. 

Subsequent Employment 

The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNDP but to complement an intern’s studies. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship. It is important to note that interns are responsible to arrange for their own visa and residence documents and need to plan for these well in advance. More information available at: https://www.undp.org/careers/types-of-opportunities/internships