Location:

Geneva, Switzerland
Salary:

$9,600 - $18,000 / YEAR
Job type:

INTERN
Posted:

3 weeks ago
Category:
Deadline:

17/11/2025

JOB DESCRIPTION

Deadline for Applications

November 16, 2025

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

H (no hardship)

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Family

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

Internship

Target Start Date

2026-01-05

Terms of Reference

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a full-time internship with the Asylum Systems and Determination Section of the Policy and Law Service under the Division of International Protection and Solutions at UNHCR’s Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Established in December 1950, UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for asylum seekers, refugees, returnees, internally displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. UNHCR currently operates in over 130 countries, using its long expertise to protect and care for millions.

The internship will be based with UNHCR’s ASD Section, within the Division of International Protection (DIP). The ASD Section is responsible for overseeing and providing strategic support to UNHCR’s RSD mandate operations worldwide, and as well as governments in the strengthening and development of national asylum systems. It is also responsible for drafting UNHCR’s country-specific policy guidance documents (eligibility guidelines, protection consideration, return advisories, etc.), which are used by States and by UNHCR staff to guide decisions on claims for refugee status. The Section also maintains Refworld (www.refworld.org), which contains legal and policy information; the RSD Practitioners Platform (RSD PP), an internal UNHCR Community of Practice for RSD staff; and the website of the Asylum Capacity Support Group (https://acsg-portal.org/).

The position

The incumbent will assist with administrative tasks and technical support of the RSD Practitioners Platform (SharePoint 365 site) and assist in the development, design and improvement of features of different sub-pages on the RSD PP, as well as ongoing site maintenance.

In addition, the incumbent will be asked to provide technical support relating to various dashboards used by the ASD Section, such as the RSD Statistical Dashboard and different PowerBI dashboards drawing information from data collected using Kobo toolbox. The incumbent may also be asked to support in the design or implementation of surveys or data collection exercises through Kobo toolbox and other tools or provide suggestions on technological solutions for other ASD Section initiatives. They may also be asked to draft analyses/ reports. The incumbent will further be asked to support various ASD Section activities and events, including by acting as rapporteur or managing invite lists.
The Intern is supervised by the Refugee Status Determination Officer but may report to different members of the Section in relation to specific tasks, as required.

Duties and responsibilities

1. Information Management/ RSD Practitioner Platform
• Contribute to the management and strategic expansion of knowledge-sharing of the RSD PP
• Improve technical features on the RSD PP for the purpose of making it more user-friendly
• Curation of RSD-specific pages on the RSD PP, including technical adjustments, uploading resources, modifying existing resource metadata, and the provision of administrative support to RSD personnel with regards to the RSD PP

2. Data Collection Exercises, Dashboards and Analysis
• Assessing statistical data for errors, user management and other support to users of the RSD Statistical Dashboard
• Develop and maintain technical features and trouble-shoot problems in PowerBI Dashboards, which draw on information from Kobo data collections exercises (including the RSD Procedural Standards Checklist, the RSD Staffing Survey etc.)
• Support on the technical maintenance and updating of the Asylum Capacity Self-Assessment Questionnaire and related Dashboard using Kobo and PowerBI
• Design, develop and/or amend surveys using Kobo, Microsoft forms and other similar tools
• Support the analysis and visualization of information coming out of the different data collection exercises.

3. Support to other ASD Section Initiatives
• Make suggestions as to technological solutions for various ASD Section initiatives and products
• Act as rapporteur for various ASD Section events (e.g. global RSD retreat, regional meetings or workshops)
• Manage invite lists and invitations for ASD Section events
• Provide technical support in the design and editing of ASD Section products (e.g. reports or guidance notes)
• Draft periodic analysis/ reports based on information from the PowerBI Dashboards (e.g. the RSD Procedural Standards Checklist)
• Format reports or other documents.

4. Any other tasks, upon request

Minimum qualifications required

In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:
• Be either a recent graduate (having completed their studies within two years of applying) or a current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by IAU/UNESCO ; and
• Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of UNHCR .
• Candidates with previous UNHCR Internship experience must not have exceeded the maximum total cumulative full-time internship duration of eight (8) months.

NOTE: An individual who bears the relationship of parent, child or sibling or step-parent, step-child or step-sibling to a current UNHCR staff member or affiliate is not eligible for an internship.

Desirable qualifications and skills

The candidate should have:
• Excellent English written and verbal communication skills
• Strong computer skills, including but not limited to: using the Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint) at a high level; and using SharePoint 365, a Microsoft-branded platform, or SharePoint Online and good knowledge of the Microsoft 365 ‘ecosystem’ of programs; working with KOBO Toolbox or other similar data collection tools; and using Power BI or other similar data visualization tools.
• Good experience with and knowledge of content management systems and data collection methodologies and/or statistical principles.
In addition, the candidate should be highly organised and have good attention to detail as well as an ability to multi-task and prioritize workload. The candidate should be a strong team player with an ability to work independently.
Knowledge of refugee status determination and/or international refugee/human rights law is desirable but not a requirement. Furthermore, secondary language skills (French, Spanish and Arabic in particular) are desirable but not a requirement for internships with the ASD Section.

Conditions

It is a full time role with 40 working hours Monday to Friday (40 hours per week). The successful candidate will be assigned to support the team in Geneva.

Internships normally last two to six months with the possibility of extension up to eight months for full-time internships and twelve months for part-time internships.

Obligations

Acquiring and renewing current visas, residence permits including all associated costs, obtaining medical certification and compliance with taxation requirements (if applicable), are the responsibility of the intern.

The selected candidate will need to provide UNHCR with a proof of funding from the sponsoring institution (if applicable), health insurance coverage applicable to the assigned internship location and a certificate of good health from a qualified medical practitioner certifying their fitness for work, as well as travel. In the event the candidate is not able to produce the required certificate, they will not be admitted to the Internship Programme.

Allowance and Travel: The Sponsoring Institution shall provide non-reimbursable financial support in the form of a stipend/scholarship/allowance/etc. for the period of internship with UNHCR. Travel expenses to and from the internship location shall be the responsibility of the respective sponsoring institution. UNHCR is not responsible for any renumeration for the intern during the internship period.

If you are a person with a disability and you expect you may face challenges during the recruitment process, you can indicate it in your application form.
There are options to select any health conditions you may have and outline any necessary adjustments related to disabilities during the recruitment phases. Providing this information is optional. It will be treated as strictly confidential and used only for the purpose of finding out how to better assist you during the recruitment process.

Adjustments for candidates with disabilities will be provided as best as possible and as needed upon request.

All candidates will be assessed based on meeting the requirements for each vacancy in relation to experience, skills, and education.
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UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, or training).
We welcome applications from candidates with a refugee or stateless background.

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.