Internships at the Danish Royal Embassy in Nairobi

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN PEACE AND STABILITY, GOVERNANCE, INCLUSUVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND RESILIENCE IN SOMALIA AND THE POLITICAL AND SECURITY SITUATION ON THE HORN OF AFRICA?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK IN A VIBRANT ENVIRONMENT, AT THE LARGEST DANISH EMBASSY IN AFRICA?

We are currently recruiting interns in the following areas: 1) Kenya: Governance and Health, 2) Kenya: Trade Council & Strategic Sector Cooperation , 3) Kenya: Green Growth and 4) Somalia: Country Policy and Programme – Horn of Africa
Peace and Stabilisation Programme and Humanitarian Assistance for the period 1st of August 2021 to 31st of January 2022 . As an intern, you will get a deeper insight into the political and economic dynamics of East Africa. Furthermore,
you will gain comprehensive professional experience useful to your future career. You will have dedicated colleagues ready to guide and involve you in the various tasks of the Danish Embassy and live in a city known for its vivid mix of African cultures, entrepreneurs and international agents. Internship in fragility, stability, development and humanitarian aid

As an intern in the Somalia Team at the Danish Embassy in Nairobi you will be exposed to handson experience with diplomacy and development programming in fragile settings and get insights into policy issues and international development cooperation at one of Denmark’s largest embassies.
Since the state collapse in 1991, Somalia has been one of the most entrenched conflict zones in Africa. However, in recent years, Somalia has been on a track of recovery and has undergone
critical developments. Nevertheless, the challenges for the future are many, pivoting on how politics and development translates into results for ordinary people, how the Somalia statebuilding and federalisation process are moving on, how the struggle against al-Shabaab continues, and how humanitarian efforts can reach the ones in need in order for them to move onto a peaceful, stable and development path.

Learning

The most important part of being an intern in the Somalia Team is to learn and become familiar with the inner workings of peace and stabilisation, politics, development and finally diplomacy and day to day administration. You will have plenty of opportunity to work with political relations, peace and stabilisation, economic development, human rights and the peace, humanitarian and
development nexus as well as humanitarian emergency assistance, internally displaced and refugees. 

A main part of your internship involves the day-to-day management of development, peace and stabilisation and humanitarian programmes as well as political processes. As an intern, you will assist on a broad array of topics, from acting as focal point on internal processes, over political and humanitarian reporting, to help out with administration and implementation of strategies and programmes, such as the Somalia Country Programme 2019-2023 and the Peace and Stabilisation Programme for the Horn of Africa 2018-2022. And there will be other tasks and assignments coming up on an ad hoc basis such as assisting with preparing conferences, workshops and the like.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor degree and admission at master level at a Danish University. E.g. political science, anthropology, law, development studies or public administration.
• Genuine interest in international relations and development.
• Strong interpersonal skills, work independently, demonstrate initiative and value teamwork.
• Experience with organisational work through student positions and volunteering, or if you have been living and travelling in development countries - is considered an advantage. Danish citizenship or fulfilling the following requirements: The applicant has lived in Denmark for a longer period (at least 3-4 years), is admitted at a Danish University or Business School and at the time of applying has residence in Denmark.

Practicalities

The internship will be eligible for transfer of ETCS points at a relevant educational institution. The Embassy provides a monthly supplement of DKK 4000 of which approximately half will be spent on rent for the apartment shared by the Embassy’s four interns. Due to regulationsregarding SU and compensation, you will have two options regarding receiving the supplement:

1. Choose not to receive SU and get the monthly supplement of DKK 4000 per month.
2. Receive SU and hand in documentation of concrete expenses (including flight tickets, vaccines, insurance, etc.) up to DKK 4000 per month.
3. Due to Nairobi being a city with high security risks there are certain limitations to the movements of the interns. For more information on the security situation in Nairobi, please see the Danish
4. Ministry of Foreign Affairs' recommendations on travelling in Kenya. The Embassy provides regular security briefings

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Are you interested in international business development and strategy? Are you motivated to take part in building a platform for Danish businesses looking to enter a new market, while working with business development and gaining skills within public affairs? Would you like to work in a vibrant and challenging environment at the largest Danish Embassy in Africa? We are currently recruiting an intern for the period 1 st of August 2021 to 31st of January 2022 to join the Trade Council in Nairobi, Kenya. As an intern, you will get insight into the political and economic centre of East Africa and gain comprehensive professional experience useful to your future career. You will be part of a dedicated team of colleagues ready to guide and involve you in the various tasks of the Danish Embassy, and live in a city known for its vivid mix of African cultures, entrepreneurs, and international agents.

An internship with the Trade Council will entail gaining market insights, building strategic public affairs services and engaging Danish businesses in scaling their business in Kenya. This is done by leveraging synergies between Denmark’s bilateral country program with Kenya and Danish strongholds, and identifying opportunities for Danish solutions to contribute to Kenya’s goals. You will be part of the Business Team, which provides consultancy services to Danish companies in collaboration with three Sector Counsellors working within food and agriculture, maritime and environment. You will get insight into business development, Danish development assistance, doing business in emerging markets and economic diplomacy in Kenya.

Trade Council: Business Development and Public Affairs Consultancy Services

The Trade Council is responsible for building trade relations between Denmark and Kenya incl. exports, sourcing, foreign direct investment, and strategic partnerships with Kenyan business partners. The overall mandate for the Trade Council is to engage in economic diplomacy, leveraging Danish commercial strongholds to pave the way for Danish goods, knowledge and values. The team assists Danish small and medium sized companies and larger corporations wishing to expand existing activities in Kenya or seeking to enter the Kenyan market. Business development activities include market and sector analysis, identification and due diligence of potential partners, meetings with key customers and relevant stakeholders, as well as arranging delegation visits and events with multi-stakeholder participation. The team also provides strategic public affairs advisory by engaging Kenyan government institutions and public sector stakeholders to develop positioning of Danish companies and their engagements in Kenya.

The work will include

• Project management of a concrete business development project with delivery at the end the internship
• Participating in and coordinating meetings with Danish and Kenyan companies, as well as with Kenyan ministries and authorities.
• Conducting research and contributing to market and sector analysis, partner searches, and developing sector material related to the economic and business framework conditions relevant to Danish companies.
• Assisting in preparing and conducting visits by Danish trade delegations, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danish authorities and other events.
• Contributing to the communication strategy of the Embassy ( website and social media), and assisting in coordinating communication across Trade Council teams in the region.
• General administrative tasks and general assistance with ongoing assignments for Danish companies.

Qualifications

1. A Bachelor degree and admission at master level at a Danish University or Business School in a relevant field, studying for instance business, economics, political science or communication.
2. Genuine interest in business development, public affairs and development cooperation.
3. Working experience from private businesses or other relevant institutions is not a requirement, but is considered an asset.
4. Systematic, independent and responsible in your approach to an internship that unfolds in an international, intensive and demanding environment.
5. You have the ability to work independently, demonstrate initiative and you value working in teams.
6. Fast to learn, ready to adapt, and good multi-tasking skills are highly valued qualities.
7. You have strong skills in oral and written English as well as Danish, and are helpful and open to the wide task portfolio at the Embassy.
8. Danish citizenship or fulfilling the following requirements: The applicant has lived in Denmark for a longer period (at least 3-4 years), is admitted at a Danish University or
9. Business School and at the time of applying has residence in Denmark.

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Are you interested in International Development, Green Growth, Climate Change, Sustainability and public-private sector collaboration in Africa? Would you like to work in a vibrant and challenging environment at the largest Danish Embassy in Africa? We are currently recruiting interns for the period 1 st of August 2021 to 31st of January 2022 in the following areas: 1) Governance and Health, 2) Somalia, 3) Trade Council & Strategic Sector Cooperation, and 4) Climate and Resilience. As an intern, you will get a deeper insight into the political and economic centre of East Africa. Furthermore, you will gain comprehensive professional experience useful to your future career. You will have dedicated colleagues ready to guide and involve you in the various tasks of the Danish Embassy and live in a city known for its vivid mix of African cultures, entrepreneurs, and international agents.

Danish Support to Climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience in Kenya

Economic growth in Kenya, which has been steadily increasing in recent years, is highly natural resources dependent. Sustainability of this growth, therefore, depends to a large extent on a rational, efficient use of resources (energy, water, land and other resources) and effective control of negative externalities such as water and air pollution, land degradation, and waste production. Kenya’s future possibilities for fostering sustainable growth and employment and ensuring a clean and healthy environment will be determined and restricted by the choices that are made today in relation to the pattern and quality of growth

The transition to a greener and cleaner development path is a global imperative as explicitly recognized in recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals. Danish Development Assistance in Kenya plays an enabling role in supporting Kenya reduce the environmental footprints of economic activities and ensuring sustainable use of natures’ resources for improving economic welfare of people, especially those that depend directly on such resources. In addition, the Danish Government has emphasised the need to prioritise climate change in development assistance. This means continued and concerted focus by the Embassy on addressing the impacts of climate change in Kenya.

Learning

As an intern, you will be an integrated part of the Climate and Resilience Team. You will be working on a wide range of issues including public and private sector solutions that focus on climate change, energy efficiency, water resource management, agri-business and community driven development. As an intern in the Teams, you will have an opportunity to work closely with the Team Leaders and programme staff in implementing the Denmark - Kenya Partnership policy 2021-2025.

More details about the Strategic Framework for the Denmark – Kenya Partnership can be found on the MFA’s webpage: https://um.dk/en/danida-en/strategies%20and%20priorities/country-policies/kenya/

Together with relevant Programme staff you will:

• Participate in tasks related to the Climate and Resilience Programme
• Participate in tasks related to climate change activities with specific focus on projects related to access to water in ASAL areas, community driven development in the rangelands and implementation of innovative green tech solutions.
• Participate in and coordinate meetings, gatherings and events in relation to development partners, government stakeholders, civil society and multilateral organisations etc.
• Provide administrative support day-to-day and during visit programmes for missions
• In addition, you will learn about public diplomacy efforts to promote the work done by the Embassy by providing support towards the implementation of the Embassy’s Strategic Communications activities in collaboration with the communications-working group.
• As an intern, you will be acquainted with the practical workings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These include learning about the management of development programmes and getting familiar with the financial and archiving systems used by the Ministry.
• Other tasks will come up on an ad-hoc basis

Qualifications

• A Bachelor degree and admission at master level at a Danish University in a relevant field for this position.
• Genuine interest in sustainability and growth, climate change and development  cooperation.
• Working experience from relevant institutions or private businesses is not a requirement but is considered an asset.
• Responsible, independent and mature in your approach to an internship that unfolds in an international, intensive and demanding environment.
• Ability to work independently, demonstrate initiative and value working in a team.
• Quick to learn, ready to adapt and good multi-tasking skills are highly valued qualities.
• Good English and Danish language skills.
• Danish citizenship or fulfilling the following requirements: The applicant has lived in Denmark for a longer period of time (at least 3-4 years), is admitted at a Danish University or Business School and at the time of applying has residence in Denmark.

Practicalities

The Embassy provides a monthly supplement of 4000 kr. of which approximately half will be spent on rent for the apartment shared by the Embassy’s four interns. Due to regulation regarding SU and compensation, you will have two options regarding receiving the supplement:

1. Choose not to receive SU and get the monthly supplement of DKK 4000 per month.
2. Receive SU and hand in documentation of concrete expenses (including flight tickets, vaccines, insurance, etc.) up to DKK 4000 per month.

Due to Nairobi being a city with high security risks, there are certain limitations to the movements of the interns. For more information on the security situation in Nairobi, please see the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' recommendations on travelling in Kenya. Regular security briefings will be provided by the Embassy.