United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction is looking for a Programme Management Intern

Work Location:
Geneva, Switzerland

Expected duration:
01 Jan - 30 Jun 2025

About UNDRR

Created in December 1999, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is the designated focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of efforts to reduce disasters and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations and regional organizations and activities in both developed and less developed countries. Led by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG), UNDRR has over 150 staff located in its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and in regional offices. Specifically, UNDRR guides, monitors, analyses and reports on progress in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, supports regional and national implementation of the Framework and catalyses action and increases global awareness to reduce disaster risk working with U.N. Member States and a broad range of partners and stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, parliamentarians and the science and technology community.

Internship Details

The internship is for a period of six months, 1 January 2026 – 30 June 2026. The internship is UNPAID and full-time. Interns work five days per week. The intern will report to the Programme Management Officer in the UNDRR Interagency Cooperation Unit, under the overall supervision of the Head of Unit. The internship is in-person at duty station Geneva.

Responsibilities

• Assist in drafting and preparing background documents, reports, issue briefs, talking points, articles, presentations, meeting minutes, etc.
• Support organization of meetings and workshops, side events, and assist in strengthening strategic engagement with UN system partners and interagency partnerships.
• Provide logistical and administrative support during meetings and conferences in virtual and hybrid modalities.
• Assist in collecting and systematizing information on disaster risk reduction practices and sustainable development issues, and in preparing briefing notes based on data analysis, including with support of AI.
• Support outreach and research activities related to disaster risk reduction related topics including linkages with Sustainable Development Goals, and risk-informing UN planning at the country level.
• Provide support to policy development and preparing written outputs, e.g. draft background papers, analytical notes, sections of reports, talking points and speeches.
• Assist in maintaining databases, content of UNDRR partner workspaces, websites and mailing lists.
• Assist in strengthening knowledge management, developing communications products and maintenance of the UN Plan of Action on DRR for Resilience Multimedia Page.

Qualifications / Special Skills

• To qualify for an internship with the United Nations, applicants must meet one of the following requirements:
  • Be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher), or
  • Be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s level or equivalent).
• Interested candidates must be pursuing or pursued their degree in areas related to this Job Opening.
• Be computer literate in standard software applications including MS Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point).
• Have a demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter.
• Have a demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which includes willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.
• No working experience is required to apply for the United Nations Internship Programme. Your training, education, advance course work or skills should benefit the United Nations during your internship.
• 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.
• Good knowledge of standard software applications, specifically MS Excel and PowerPoint is desirable.
• Skills in design software such as Canva and Adobe InDesign is desirable.

Languages

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

Additional Information

Due to the high volume of applications received, only successful candidates will be contacted.

Intern Specific Information

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.

While we do our best in sharing high quality job postings, Jobs in Geneva can't guarantee or be made responsible for the content in the postings (e.g. specified deadlines or links).