Work Location

In-Person Full-time

Expected duration

6 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS) are multilateral environmental agreements, which share the common objective of protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes. The Basel Convention was created to protect people and the environment from the negative effects of the inappropriate management of hazardous wastes worldwide. It is the most comprehensive global treaty dealing with hazardous waste materials throughout their lifecycles, from production and transport to final use and disposal. The Rotterdam Convention provides Parties with a first line of defence against hazardous chemicals and pesticides. It promotes international efforts to protect human health and the environment as well as enabling countries to decide if they want to import hazardous chemicals and pesticides listed in the Convention. The Stockholm Convention is to protect human health and the environment from highly dangerous, long-lasting chemicals by restricting and ultimately eliminating their production, use, trade, release and storage. The intern will be reporting to the Head of the Programme Resources and Oversight unit, located in the Executive Office of the BRS Secretariat. The selected candidate will work in the Programme Resources and Oversight Unit (PROU), in the Executive Office, and will provide administrative support and perform the following tasks: • Provide administrative assistance to the unit, including supporting the Programme Oversight Group (POG) monthly meetings, writing the meeting minutes and, circulate the minutes to the group for review, consolidation of comments and final clearance. • Send reminders and ad-hoc communications to the POG and Programme Officers about reporting deadlines, and other inputs collections. Support in updating overview tables of funding needs, and others (e.g. the expenditure of funds) that rely on submissions from branches. • Update the BRS Dashboard to support the oversight function of the unit. Record and track new contributions in the SharePoint dashboard and ensure accuracy of data and documentation. • Provide ad hoc support on the redaction of drafts of financial and legal agreements (e.g. Donor Agreements, Exchange of Letters) in close co-operation with the Unit Head and the Programme Officer. • Provide support to the PROU team in preparation for and during the Fifteenth meeting of the Basel Convention Open-ended Working Group, to be held in Geneva 23-26 June 2026. • Assist in the development of project proposals, grant applications, and funding requests to donors. This may involve gathering and organizing data, drafting sections of the proposals, and ensuring compliance with donor requirements. • Contribute to coordination tasks with other branches of the Secretariat, including collecting inputs, maintaining document repositories, and supporting internal communication workflows. • Assist in preparing briefing notes, background materials, and simple data summaries as needed to support oversight and resource mobilization activities. • Perform any other duties as assigned by the Head of Unit.

Qualifications/special skills

Applicants must be enrolled in or have recently completed (within one year) a graduate or final year of an undergraduate programme in Public Administration, Political Science, International Relations, Business Administration, Data science or a related field. 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. Previous internship or administrative experience in an international organization, government, or academic setting is desirable. Applicants should demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to draft clear meeting minutes and official documents; strong organizational and time-management abilities to coordinate meetings and manage multiple deadlines; high attention to detail and accuracy in updating dashboards, financial tables, and donor agreements.

Languages

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an asset. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the official languages of the United Nations Secretariat.

Additional Information

Not available.

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.