Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

03 to 06 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Background note and duties: Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention seeks to support countries to address Desertification, Land Degradation, and Drought (DLDD). (www.unccd.int) The G20 (or Group of Twenty) is the annual international forum for the governments from 19 industrialized countries and the European Union (EU). Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 90 percent of the gross world product (GWP), 75 percent of world trade, two-thirds of the world population, and approximately half of the world's land area. In 2020, Saudi Araba held the rotating Presidency of the G20. The G20 Leaders' Declaration, issued on Sunday, 22 November 2020, launched a "Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats". Building on existing initiatives and on a voluntary basis, the G20 countries share the ambition to achieve a 50 percent reduction in the amount of degraded land by 2040. The Global Initiative (GI) with oversight from UNCCD, will focus on capacity building, engaging the private sector and civil society and showcasing success. The Director, under the oversight of the Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, manages the Initiative Coordination Office (ICO). The G20 Global Initiative is seeking interns, for remote working, to support the implementation of the initiative activities. Duties and Responsibilities: Under the direct supervision of the Director of the initiative or any other staff member assigned by the director, the interns will assist in the performance of the following duties: - Assist in the preparation of background notes, briefs, and summary documents to support activities under the Global Initiative; - Support key activities and initiatives in the run up to the 17th Conference of Parties of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in August 2026. - Support the team members with compilation of best practices on land restoration in key sectors which can be documented; - Promote the work of the Global Land Initiative with reference to sustainable land management among young people in particular through Model United Nations System; - Assist with the organization of virtual meetings, workshops, or consultations related to the implementation and outreach of the Global Initiative. - Perform other duties as determined by the supervising officer that relate to the internship.

Qualifications/special skills

- Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree (science, arts, engineering, forestry, agriculture or related topics) programme (minimum Bachelor's level or equivalent); - Have graduated with a university degree and, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation. - Applicants to the UNCCD 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 are required to have good knowledge of standard software applications, especially MS Word, MS PowerPoint and MS Teams. - Research skills: ability to perform effective and efficient internet searches, and desk research; - Writing skills: ability to draft and edit content for publication in the language he/she shall be working in, i.e. English, Arabic, French or Spanish; - Planning and organizing: ability to work in an organized and structured way; - Computer literate, with sound knowledge of and ability to use Microsoft Office Suite.

Languages

- Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an advantage.

Additional Information

For remote internships, the selected candidate will be required to have a laptop or desktop PC (with Windows 11 or newer) or Mac (with the latest MacOS update), as well as a reliable, high-speed internet connection. An Office 365 license will be provided by the UNCCD to enable the candidate to access official emails, SharePoint, OneDrive and other office applications, such as Word and Excel. Further computer requirements: An antivirus application which receives regular updates; Browsers must be a newer version with regular updates enabled; Regular Windows 11 updates should be enabled with Windows laptop or PC. In addition, a mobile phone will be required to enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA) through SMS or the Authenticator App.

Intern Specific text

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.

No Fee

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.