Background:
UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.
As the lead UN entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, UN Women plays a central role in advancing global norms and standards, supporting their implementation at regional and national levels. The UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO), established in Istanbul, Tรผrkiye, in 2014, provides strategic guidance, technical support, and coordination to country-level efforts across the region. ECARO collaborates with national gender equality mechanisms, governments, civil society, the private sector, and UN system partners to promote transformative change for women and girls.
Countries across Europe and Central Asia have achieved meaningful progress in promoting gender equality. However, systemic challenges persist, including entrenched gender stereotypes, socio-economic disparities, underrepresentation of women in decision-making, and gender-based violence. These are further exacerbated by the impacts of regional crises, economic instability, climate change, and humanitarian emergencies.
To address these challenges and accelerate progress, UN Women in the region focuses on the following strategic priority areas:
Women's Leadership and Political Participation: Supporting women's meaningful participation and leadership at all levels of decision-making, and promoting inclusive governance through partnerships with governments, civil society, and international stakeholders. Women Economic Empowerment: Enhancing womenโs access to economic opportunities by advancing equal pay, decent work, social protection, care services, digital inclusion, and enabling policy environments that support womenโs entrepreneurship and economic resilience. Ending Violence Against Women: Addressing root causes of violence through prevention strategies, legal reform, institutional capacity-building, survivor-centered services, and community engagement. Women Peace and Security: Ensuring womenโs participation in peace processes, conflict prevention, and post-conflict reconstruction, and promoting accountability for gender-based violations in humanitarian and crisis contexts. Gender Data and StatisticsGender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting: Advocating gender equality to be mainstreamed into national planning and budgeting processes, ensuring transparency, accountability, and adequate public investment in gender-responsive policies and services. Humanitarian & Climate Responseย And other key functional areas include: Strategic Planning, Monitoring & Reportingย Communications Strategic Partnerships, Intergovernmental and Normative Engagement Partnership and Resource Mobilization Human Resourcesย Operations (Administrative, Finance/Budgets, Procurement & Travel, Security Occupational Health and Safety)UN Women Europe and Central Asia Office is developing a roster of qualified interns. This is not a recruitment, but based on the roster, UN Women can recruit interns from the roster as the need arises.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
Under the overall guidance of the designated supervisor, the intern will closely collaborate with the UN Women team in areas relevant to their specialization. The intern will contribute to advancing the overall goals of UN Women's mandate by supporting the implementation of programme activities, as well as assisting in operational and administrative functions within the Regional and/or Country Offices, as required.
Learning objectives:
Develop a comprehensive understanding of how gender equality and women's empowerment are promoted through UN Women programmes and activities.ย Gain meaningful professional experience in an international development environment, contributing to career development and future employment opportunities. Learn how to support women in enhancing their self-agency and developing skills in areas aligned with their interests and needs.Competencies :
Core Values:
Integrity; Professionalism; Respect for Diversity.Core Competencies:
Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues; Accountability; Creative Problem Solving; Effective Communication; Inclusive Collaboration; Stakeholder Engagement; Leading by Example.Please visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competencies:
Excellent research, writing, analytical, and organizational skills. Ability to work effectively in collaborative settings. Ability to multi-task and address competing priorities. Ability to produce high-quality deliverables in a timely manner. Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office; familiarity with basic design applications are asset.Required Qualifications:
Applicants to UN Women Internship Programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:ย
A person who is the child or sibling of a UN Women personnel is not eligible to apply for an internship. An applicant who bears any other family relationship with a UN Women personnel is eligible and may be engaged as an intern, provided that the intern must never be assigned to the same work unit of the related personnel or be placed under the direct or indirect supervision of the same.
Language Requirements:
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is an advantage. (French, Arabic, Chinese, or Spanish).Other Requirements
Sound Analytical Writing Skills, Interest in Gender issues, Strong Research skills.Renumeration:
Interns who are not in receipt of financial support from other sources such as universities or other institutions are eligible to receive a stipend from UN Women to partially subsidize their basic living costs for the duration of the internship.ย
Application Information:ย
All applicants must submit CV and a motivation letterย with their application indicating their available timeframe for the internship programme. (When completing your application profile, please make sure to include all relevant experience and skills on Quantum) Due to the high volume of applications received, UN Women can ONLY contact successful candidates. The successful candidate will be required to provide proof of enrollment in a valid health insurance plan at the duty station of the internship, proof of school enrollment or degree, a scanned copy of their passport/national ID and a copy of a valid visa (as applicable).ย ยStatements :
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.
Diversity and inclusion:
At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates,ย and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,ย ability, national origin,ย or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.
If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.
UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere toย UN Womenโsย policiesย and proceduresย andย theย standardsย of conduct expected of UN Women personnelย and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)
Disclaimer:ย
UN Women does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process.
Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.
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