Project Management Support Intern Vacancy at UNDP

Finance December 12, 2023

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Background

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels offers a spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in its Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in UNDP’s Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS staff provide technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represent UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private, government and civil society dialogues, and engage in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.

As the United Nations lead agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. Under UNDP’s Nature Hub, nature is put at the centre of the development agenda, enabling the leveraging of its convening power, thought leadership, multi-sectoral expertise, and the UN’s largest portfolio of on-the-ground sustainable development programming and policy solutions.

One of the programmes implemented under the UNDP Nature Hub is the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) which is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as a corporate programme. The SGP provides financial and technical support to local civil society and community-based organizations to develop and implement innovative local actions that address global environmental issues, while also improving livelihoods and reducing poverty. The programme supports issues related to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, prevention and management of land degradation, protection of international waters, and management of hazardous chemicals and waste.

The SGP has several global partnerships that complement the GEF funds, which are aimed to expand the depth and array of support to meet global goals. One of these partnerships is the Global Support Initiative for territories and areas conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities (ICCA-GSI). The ICCA-GSI is a multi-partnership initiative funded by the Government of Germany, through its Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUV) and implemented by UNDP through SGP delivery mechanism. Key partners include United Nations Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP WCMC), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Global Programme on Protected Areas (IUCN GPAP), the ICCA Consortium and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The Phase 1 of the ICCA-GSI was launched in 2014 and aims to expand the range and quality of diverse governance types of protected areas and enhance sustainable livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities through improved recognition, capacity building and empowerment, and on-the ground support to Indigenous Peoples and Community-Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs). For the period 2014-2021, these actions have contributed to achieving national and global level CBD Aichi 2020 Targets, particularly on Target 11 – increasing protected areas coverage, Target 14 – safeguarding essential ecosystem services, and Target-18 protection of traditional knowledge.

In 2020, the ICCA-GSI COVID-19 Response Initiative was launched in 45 countries to help indigenous peoples and local communities cope with and recover from the socio-economic impacts driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. These projects will also contribute to the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the Convention of Biological Diversity CBD).

Another key area of the SGP is private sector engagement. The SGP facilitates partnerships between civil society, community-based organizations, and the private sector to scale up and promote sustainability of community-led initiatives. With its unparalleled reach, the private sector has the capacity to be a key driver to achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. During the 7th Operational Phase, the SGP increased its focus on private sector engagement and developed the SGP Resource Mobilization and Partnership Strategy as well as the SGP Private Sector Engagement Guidance Note to Country Programmes. The SGP continues to seize opportunities in the upcoming 8th Operational Phase to form strategic partnerships with private sector entities and advocate for businesses to embrace sustainable development in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

UNDP is looking for talented, motivated, and enthusiastic intern to support information gathering, data quality assurance for key indicators and backstopping activities for the SGP secretariat pertaining to projects in the ICCA-GSI and SGP’s Private Sector Engagement. The selected candidate will be exposed towards diverse elements involved in the Small Grants Programme where s/he will have an opportunity to learn the various aspects of project management, capacity building/training of country staff, development/updating of SGP strategies and written material (e.g., concept and guidance notes) to align to updated/ emerging strategies of donors, UNDP, and other relevant partnerships.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

ICCA-GSI responsibilities

Support the information gathering of key indicator reports from country programmes (approximately 350 projects).
Support data cleaning, data organization, data quality assurance on key indicator reports from country programmes.
Enter quality assured-data to global master spreadsheet to be used for donor and other UNDP reports.

SGP Private Sector Engagement

Support in updating the SGP Private Sector Engagement Guidance Note to SGP country programmes in alignment to the new UNDP Private Sector strategy and the GEF, where relevant.
Support the series of webinars provided to the SGP country programmes aimed at capacity building.
Support the development of surveys to various audiences (e.g., country programmes, partners, etc.) and associated data organization and presentation.
Support and engage in meetings exploring opportunities to expand SGP’s private sector engagement.

Institutional Arrangements

The intern will report to the Project Manager of the ICCA-GSI
The internship will be at the UNDP New York Headquarters.

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) in fields such as business administration, public administration, environmental management, or other closely related field.
Have graduated with a university degree (as defined above), and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

Computer Literacy

Knowledge on basic computer skills on the following Microsoft Office packages (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) is required.
Knowledge on advanced computer skills on Microsoft Office Excel is required
Knowledge on statistical analysis programs (STATA) is an asset
Knowledge on handling virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams is required.

Experience

Experience in tracking key performance indicators
Experience with working with private sector is required. Experience with entrepreneurs and micro, small, and medium enterprises is an asset.
Experience with local communities and/or actors is an added advantage.
Knowledge of, and/or prior experience within, the UN system is considered an advantage.

Language requirements

Excellent oral and written communication skulls in English language is required.
Knowledge of another UN language (French or Spanish) is an asset.
Knowledge of German language is an asset.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY ONLINE: Project Management Support Intern Vacancy at UNDP