Internship with the UNDP/ BCPR Geneva liaison office - CADRI

Background
Disasters and violent conflicts are among the two greatest threats to progress in human development in the 21st century. This is why crisis prevention and recovery is a cornerstone of the work of UNDP. UNDP supports countries to manage conflict and disaster risks, and to rebuild for resilience once crisis has passed.

In 1998 the UN General Assembly mandated UNDP to assume operational responsibility for natural disaster mitigation, prevention and preparedness. UNDP works to make sure that by preventing disasters and reducing recurrent losses, countries protect their own development investments and are able to advance the Millennium Development Goals.

The Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI) is an inter-agency initiative of the United Nations Development Programme/ Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (UNDP/BCPR), the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Secretariat of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

CADRI was formally launched in June 2007 at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva. CADRI’s mandate covers the full spectrum of disaster risk management – preparedness, response, recovery and reduction – and is guided by the five priorities identified in the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015, the internationally endorsed strategic and operational framework for reducing disaster risk. CADRI’s objective is to advance knowledge and practice for the development of capacities for disaster risk reduction.

CADRI’s portfolio comprises strategic guidance and technical support on capacity development for DRR at the national level; training and advisory services, products, tools, methodologies services; workshop design and facilitation; knowledge exchange, dissemination and networking – at global, regional and national levels. CADRI provides these services to national and local authorities, UN Resident Coordinators/ Humanitarian Coordinators and UN Country Teams, Heads of UN Agencies and UN agency staff at regional and global levels, regional cooperation institutions, non-governmental organisations and other members of the ISDR system.

Duties and Responsibilities
The objective of this internship is to support knowledge and information services for capacity development in disaster risk reduction.

The intern will perform the following tasks:

• Provides support to CADRI team with the development and update of training packages by undertaking research of various thematic areas related to disaster risk reduction, overview of latest training and learning initiatives, methodologies and best practices, etc.;
• Assists CADRI team in developing knowledge products by undertaking research of methodologies and approaches in capacity development;
• Produces country briefs/ profiles in preparation of CADRI inter-agency country support missions;
• Supports CADRI team with developing communication materials (website content, brochures, etc.);
• Supports the organization of events, for instance events taking place at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (May 2013, Geneva);
• Assists the organization and update of CADRI training repository;
• Provides support to other related tasks assigned by CADRI.

Competencies

• Excellent analytical and writing skills;
• Effective communication skills, written and spoken, with staff at all levels of the organization;
• Initiative taking abilities;
• Demonstration of cultural sensitivity and appreciation for different cultures and practices;
• Ability to pay great attention to detail;
• Ability to work well in a team;
• Self-motivation and ability to recommend options for resolution of issues.

Required Skills and Experience

• Enrolled graduate student in international relations, environmental or development studies, political science, international law or related programme;
• Any relevant experience in the field of adult learning and international development would be an advantage;
• Familiarity with topics related to international development and adult learning;
• Fluency in written and spoken English is essential; fluency in one or more official UN languages is desirable, particularly in French or Spanish.

Important guidelines

• Interns are not considered staff members of UNDP and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity.
• Interns are not entitled to financial support (salary or any other compensation) from UNDP.
• Interns are not covered by UNDP for medical, health or life insurance and have to have their own international medical and life insurance.
• The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNDP but to complement an intern’s studies. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship. Candidates are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed, to any post for a period of three months following the end of the internship.
• The intern needs to be enrolled as a Masters degree student throughout the duration of the internship.
• The intern will be evaluated at the end of the contract and due recognition of work will be issued in writing.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.