Communications Internship at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Duties and Responsibilities

The intern would be an integral member of the Communications team under BES-Net under the supervision of the Policy Specialist and working in very close coordination with the Online Platforms Support Officer and the Communications and Knowledge Management Officer/focal point. The main responsibility of the intern will be to support the communications team in their day-to-day activities as well as co-lead strategic outreach and advocacy opportunities through the following tasks:

Assist with the management of the BES-Net website:

• Assist in uploading publications, documents, photos/videos, events, jobs etc. to the website;
• Liaise with team members, country teams and UNESCO and UNEP-WCMC in reviewing and updating latest content from country teams on the website;
• Assist with website improvements as required (e.g. adding metadescriptions, improving SEO, cleaning the back end, etc.);
• Periodically check and test website functionalities and provide inputs in terms of user experience for further improvements.

Provide editorial support:

• Conduct research and draft articles on given thematic areas and cross-cutting areas in the field of biodiversity and ecosystem services;
• Contribute to developing web stories and other communication products based on the progress of the activities in the BES-Net target countries;
• Support the development of the partner/expert of the month articles in coordination with respective BES-Net partner organizations and experts;
• Assist in the production of the monthly e-newsletter;
• Support the production of new knowledge products, including infographics, multimedia materials, MOOCs and e-learning material and publications on best practices;
• Support in drafting video scripts, assist in video editing for social media videos on key biodiversity themes;
• Research peer-reviewed scientific articles, grey literature, reports on best practices and experience learnt, as well as events, job opportunities and e-learning courses on given thematic areas and cross-cutting areas in the field of biodiversity and ecosystem services;
• Translate articles and social media posts from English to French or Spanish.

Assist with other tasks as needed:

• Support the planning and organization of events, virtual workshops, meetings and webinars, including the documentation of events;
• Attend meetings when required and taking meeting minutes;
• Undertake research, data collection and analysis on the key BES themes, as required;
• Support other/ad hoc activities as seen relevant and needed. 

Competencies

• Intellectual curiosity and desire to learn about biodiversity and ecosystem services;
• Excellent research and organizational skills, with the ability to multitask;
• Ability to understand and summarize scientific information with accuracy;
• Detail-oriented and basic design skills;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Ability to work both independently and in a team;
• Desire to work with people with different language, national and cultural backgrounds;
• Respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and the UNDP Statement of Purpose.

Required Skills and Experience

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

Experience:

• Experience in communication-related activities;
• Familiarity with social media platforms, digital media channels and website content management is an asset;
• Knowledge and experience of online networking and/or collaboration tools is an asset;
• Experience in biodiversity, conservation, ecosystems or environment-related areas is an asset;
• Previous related work experience in a national or an international entity would be an asset.

Language skills:

• Proficiency in written and spoken English required;
• Proficiency in written and spoken French or Spanish required;
• Fluency and/or knowledge in an additional UN language is an asset.