External Relations Support Intern

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.

UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities:

• Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems
• Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy
• All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence 
• Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action

UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda. The entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world.

Internship Office Background

Established in Seoul in 2022 with support from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of the Republic of Korea, the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality the Centre seeks to function as a ‘knowledge hub’ to facilitate research, education & training, sharing of innovations and lessons learned, networking, and development of multi-stakeholder partnerships for the achievement of gender equality in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Since establishment (as of Nov. 13 of 2024), the Centre has directly implemented more than 50 activities for Korean and regional stakeholders. Centre’s work has firmly established UN Women’s presence and developed extensive partnerships in ROK; raised awareness for key gender equality issues and built institutional and professional capacities for promoting gender equality for Korean as well as regional stakeholders. 

In 2023-4, the Centre’s work focused on (1) Women’s Economic Empowerment, (2) Ending Violence Against Women, (3) Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Humanitarian Action, and (4) Women, Peace and Security. 

UN WOMEN Centre of Excellence offers a small group of outstanding final year undergraduate and graduate students, the opportunity to acquire direct exposure to UN WOMEN’s work and gain technical knowledge and experience in international development and multilateral cooperation. The Centre’s working language is English; and it offers an international working environment. 

The internship will offer multi-faceted experience of deepening one’s knowledge on various gender issues and building the professional experience with practical skills with related communications, partnership development, and events organization for UN WOMEN, along with exposure to an international and regional network of UN WOMEN’s work. It will also provide exciting communication and collaboration opportunities with Korean government and non-government institutions, as well as with overseas UN WOMEN offices and their national partners in various countries in the Asia-Pacific Region.  The internship will help refine the communications and writing skills in the field of international development with women’s empowerment and gender equality at heart. Overall, this internship experience will strengthen the candidate’s core skills for any career in the future. 

External Relations Team covers private sector partnership, communications, and Women, Peace and Security programme. Please see the Naver blog the team maintains, along with examples of the ER team’s work in the past: 

• 유엔여성기구 성평등센터 공식 블로그 : 네이버 블로그
• Established extensive network with private sector companies, and convened the “Seoul Gender Equality Dialogue” and UN Women Seoul Dialogue with over 500 participants from the private sector (in totoal) on how to increase women’s representation in key industries, and how to attract and retain women talent.
• Hosted the First Korea Peacekeeping Forum for Women’s Empowerment” and the Second Korea Peacekeeping Forum in partnership with the ROK Ministry of National Defense, involving over 400 military leaders and officers, diplomats, and UN staff from more than 40 countries, with the keynote address of the former UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon on the inaugural event. 
• Hosted two International Women’s Day commemoration event in March with over 200 participants

Description of Responsibilities

Learning Elements

After completing this internship, the Intern will have:

• Increased substantive knowledge of gender equality work in Korea and in the Asia Pacific Region;
• Increased knowledge related to programme implementation, documentation and management;
• Increased work experience in communications and public information for the international development sector, under the leadership of senior professionals offering mentorship in this area;
• Increased pool of professional contacts through networking with UN Women colleagues and other UN colleagues throughout the UN System;
• Experience of working as a team member in a multicultural setting.
• Increased understanding of UN Women’s work and the UN system;

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 visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Research, writing, and organizational skills;
• Ability to work with different actors, including through remote contact;
• Ability to produce high-quality deliverables in a timely manner;
• Ability to take initiatives, ask questions, and contribute substantively;
• Strong computer skills, including Word, Excel, and Power Point.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing (in English), in a clear and concise manner;
• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards other.

Qualifications

Education

The Intern must have studies in international development, gender studies, social sciences, or other subject relevant to this position at the university level. 

• Meet one of the following:

  a) Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme, or higher);

  b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent);

  c) Be enrolled in a mandatory national service programme of which the internship may form a part;

  d) Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within two-years of graduation.

Language

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English and Korean are required; 

Renumeration 

Interns who are not in receipt of financial support from other sources such as universities or other institutions will receive a stipend from UN Women to partially subsidize their basic living costs for the duration of the internship.

Statements :

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, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, 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 to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel 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.)