Dakar, Senegal

6 months

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is mandated to assist Member States in their struggle against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism. In the context of global counter-terrorism, UNODC is mandated to provide assistance to requesting Member States in their efforts to address the legal and criminal justice aspects of preventing and countering terrorism. The UNODC Regional Office for West and Central Africa of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC ROSEN) is located in Dakar, Senegal, and covers 22 countries (15 in West Africa and 7 in Central Africa), where French, English, Portuguese, and Spanish are spoken. The Office responds to the challenges presented by the region, and to the call for support from member states. A cross-cutting and multilateral strategy based on the principles of shared responsibility is developed and implemented in the most effective way for peace building, Security sector reform, National institution building, and capacity building efforts to contribute to the creation of an environment conducive to socioeconomic development for the benefit of the people of West Africa. UNODC is represented in the region by the Regional Office for West and Central Africa located in Dakar, as well as a network of Programme and Project Offices in most other countries in the region. This presence of UNODC in the region ensures that sufficient expertise and capacity is in place to drive forward UNODC’s Regional Programmes for West and Central Africa and respond to national priorities throughout the region. The vision of UNODC ROSEN is to contribute to and support the efforts of West and Central African States, as well as those of Regional Organizations and the Civil Society, to respond to evolving human security threats and to promote the rule of law and good governance. The Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB) of UNODC is one of the United Nations’ key providers of counter-terrorism technical assistance in the legal and criminal justice related areas. It does this by providing assistance to countries to become parties to the international legal instruments related to terrorism and to incorporate their provisions into national legislation, building capacity of national criminal justice entities and practitioners, and facilitating international cooperation in criminal matters. To achieve sustained impact, TPB has developed technical assistance tools, and broadening the scope of assistance in terms of its substantive content and support to the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (the Strategy encourages UNODC to enhance its provision of technical assistance to Member States and it encourages Member States to resort to the technical assistance delivered by the Office). Assistance delivery is pursued under the framework of the new UNODC global project on Preventing and Countering Terrorism and in coordination with other global programmes and the relevant UNODC regional and country programmes and relevant UN organizations. The internship is located in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for West and Central Africa (ROSEN), Dakar, Senegal. These internship positions are offered for an initial period of three months that could be extended to six months with various reporting dates, starting from February 2025, with an opportunity for extension, subject to the needs of the department and the availability of the intern. The internship is UNPAID and full time. Interns work five days per week (40 hours) under direct supervision of the Regional Coordinator Terrorism Prevention in ROSEN. (For more information please visit www.unodc.org) Under overall supervision of the Regional Coordinator of the Terrorism Prevention Branch, and under direct supervision of one or more staff members, the intern shall undertake the following duties which may include, but are not limited to: - Assist with conceptualizing, planning, organizing and implementing of technical and capacity building assistance activities for West Africa, aimed at strengthening the capacities of criminal justice counterparts to prevent and counter terrorism; - Draft letters, concept notes, meeting agendas and summaries relevant to the team’s technical assistance activities; - Contribute to the elaboration of background documents, presentations, briefing notes, summaries, talking points and speeches; - Assist in the preparation of national and regional technical assistance workshops, meetings, high-level events and conferences; - Attend and take notes at meetings, as required; - Support the programme’s outreach through the preparation of social media posts and web stories; - Contact and coordinate with vendors and meeting participants for administrative purposes; - Perform other tasks, as necessary.

(a) be enrolled in, or have recently completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); (b) b) be enrolled in, or have recently completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent). (c) or (c) have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined above) (OFFICIAL WRITTEN PROOF FROM THE UNIVERSITY SUPPORTING ONE OF THE ABOVE POSSIBILITIES MUST BE ATTACHED TO THE INSPIRA APPLICATION); Applicants must be a student in the final year of the first university degree (bachelor or equivalent), Master’s or Ph.D. Programme or equivalent, or have completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PH.D. Programme. Be computer literate in standard software applications; Have a demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter; and have a demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views. No professional work experience required. Nonetheless relevant experience related to West and Central Africa, to responding to matters affecting the security sector and criminal justice challenges, including in areas related to counter terrorism, or in a national or international diplomatic service, is desirable. Applicants to the UN Internship Programme are not required to have professional work. experience. However, a field of study that is closely related to the type of internship that you are applying for is required. Applicants must be a student in the final year of the first university degree (bachelor or equivalent), Master’s or Ph.D. Programme or equivalent, or have completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PH.D. Programme. Do you meet any of the above criteria? If yes, please indicate which one and attach proof to the application. Please note that you will have to provide an official certificate at a later stage. Relevant experience related to West and Central Africa, to responding to matters affecting the security sector and criminal justice challenges, including in areas related to counter terrorism, or in a national or international diplomatic service, is desirable. Ability to draft project related documents such as letters, concept notes, news articles and/or social media posts in desirable. Good knowledge of standard software applications, especially MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and MS Teams is desirable.

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this post, fluency in oral and written French and English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Not available.

Interns are not financially remunerated by the United Nations. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of interns or their sponsoring institutions. Interns who are not citizens or permanent residents of the country where the internship is undertaken, may be required to obtain the appropriate visa and work/employment authorization. Successful candidates should discuss their specific visa requirements before accepting the internship offer.

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.