Work Location

Beijing, In-Person, Full-time.

Expected duration

6 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The UN Resident Coordinator leads the UN Country Team in China, including all the UN entities present in China. The purpose of the Resident Coordinators System (RCS) is to bring together different UN agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operational activities at the country level, helping the UN to be a more relevant and reliable partner for governments, notably by establishing and strengthening these partnerships for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN Resident Coordinators Office (RCO) supports the roles and functions of the UN Resident Coordinator and UN Country Team. The RCO provides inter-agency coordination support to the UN Country Team (UNCT) and its various inter-agency working mechanisms, including theme groups. Key functions of the RCO include: strategic analysis, planning and positioning of the Country Team; preparation and monitoring of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF); support to joint UN programming and operations management; policy guidance; joint advocacy and communications to enhance UN coherence; improve overall programme impact of the UN System in China. The RCO is looking for a motivated Communications intern to join the Communications team and contribute to its crucial mandate of enhancing the coherence of the UN System in China. The internship is UNPAID and full-time. Interns work five days per week (40 hours).The internship is expected to start around August 2024 and last for 6 months. Under the overall guidance of the Head of Communications, the internship will provide the successful candidate with a unique opportunity to work closely with team members and learn about how the UN system operates at the country level. Among others, the intern will: actively engage in UN communication and advocacy initiatives; have hands-on experience of various UN communications products, videos, documents and articles; learn about the functions and roles of a wide range of UN agencies; gain insight into the country programming process of the UN; become familiar with how the UN interacts with counterparts. The Communications Intern will be responsible for providing support to RCO in its mandate to advance its objectives for communications and advocacy, which includes: • Support the development of weekly social media calendar and draft posts for UN China’s Chinese and international social media platforms. • Support and provide inputs to social media campaigns for key office events or international days. • Participate in updating and providing inputs to UN China website and other communications productions, including creating and recording videos, podcasts, articles, social media posts etc. • Support the development, translation and editing of communications materials, including op-eds, website content, press releases, social media posts, speeches, and other media/social media or related articles in English and Chinese. • Facilitate on-site communications activity set-up, including podcast recording, press conferences, video shooting etc. • Support team members in coordinating inter-agency and high-level meetings or events organized through the UN Communications Group. • Implement daily administrative and logistical tasks related to communications work. • Complete other ad hoc tasks requested by the office and/or supervisor.

Qualifications/special skills

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements: (a) be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); (b) be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent). Applicants must have good knowledge of standard software applications, especially MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and MS Teams. Ability to draft news articles and/or social media posts in desirable. Ability to design surveys and polls is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written English and Chinese is required for the internship. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an advantage. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the official languages of the United Nations Secretariat.

Additional Information

The internship is for a period of six months depending on the needs of the division or office. The internship is UNPAID and full-time. Interns work five days per week (40 hours) under the supervision of a staff member in the division or office to which they are assigned.

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.