UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, EDUCATION

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children and youth entitled to an education in emergencies, we would like to hear from you.

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the first global multilateral fund dedicated to supporting education for children and youth in countries affected by wars, disasters and crises. It was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 by a broad coalition of international aid agencies and public and private donors to usher in faster and more sustainable education responses in crises settings. ECW inspires political commitment to financing education in humanitarian contexts, catalyzes financial resources, facilitates joint programming between humanitarian and development actors, empowers local partners and seeks to strengthen quality and accountability.

ECW is hosted by UNICEF. The Fund is administered under UNICEF’s financial, human resources and administrative rules and regulations, while operations are run by the Fund’s own independent governance structure that provides strategic guidance and oversight to its investments. ECW’s day-to-day activities are carried out by a Secretariat under the direction of the ECW Director.

ECW Internship Programme offers qualified and eligible students/graduates the opportunity to acquire direct practical experience in international development work in education under the direct supervision of the GM team under the Finance and Operations section at the ECW Secretariat.

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of the internship:

Under the guidance of the Chief of Finance and Operations and the direct supervision of the Programme Funding Manager, The GM team is seeking the two intern(s) who will provide technical and operational assistance to various processes in grant-making including administration of grants-related data, tracking of reports and requests, coordination with ECW grantees and partners, analysis of assurance activities, and facilitation of ECW’s knowledge management.

Main duties:

• Administering grants-related data: Entering and organizing grants-related data in the ECW Grants Database (DB) under the guidance of Information Systems Manager and provide a set of data or analysis thereof to ECW Secretariat staff and grantees upon request.
• Organizing grants-related files: Filing and organizing grants-related documents such as reports and contracts in the repository of the Grants DB.
• Tracking reports and requests: Registering and tracking reports and requests from grantees and ensuring they are correctly filled out and cleared by relevant colleagues of ECW Secretariat.
• Coordinating with ECW Secretariat staff and grantees: Responding to a variety of grants-related inquiries from ECW Secretariat staff and grantees while also collecting essential information from them to facilitate the grant-making processes.
• Analyzing reports on assurance activities: Analyzing reports related to assurance activities such as spot check, audit, and micro-assessment, and preparing a brief summary of the findings with suggested actions.
• Facilitating knowledge management: Managing and improving ECW knowledge management site for internal learning purposes by collecting information from relevant ECW Secretariat staff.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Be at least 18 years old at the time of application.
• Be enrolled in a degree programme in an undergraduate or graduate school or have graduated within the past two years.
• Have an academic background in any of the following:
  • Business administration and international (humanitarian) development.
  • Accounting and financial management, with emphasis on not-for-profit business.
  • Other social science specializations that require quantitative methodology.
• Be proficient in English (speaking, writing & reading) up to the highest standard. Fluency in French is also required (DELF B2 level or above).
• Have excellent academic performance as demonstrated by university records.
• Have no immediate relatives (e.g., father, mother, brother, sister) working in any UNICEF office or in the ECW Secretariat.
• Are not disqualified under the UNICEF Child Safeguarding Personnel Standards (DHR/STANDARDS/2019/001), or as amended.

ECW is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified candidates from all national, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization.

We expect remote online work to be the standard but successful candidates must be able to commit to being online during Geneva working hours. Office space is available in New York and Geneva based on discussion. Applicants who are in the USA or Switzerland at the time of application (for the US with a valid OPT/CPT if international student) are personally responsible for arranging any visa or immigration requirements, covering the entire period of their internship.

The internship is full-time (35 hrs) and working hours are flexible and set-up in mutual discussion with the supervisor considering existing study commitments. Interns will be associated with the ECW Secretariat Finance and Operations section under which Grants Management team sits. Interns may take up to 2.5 days per month off work for any reason, including for medical reasons. The stipend will be reduced for any absence beyond this quota.

Deadline for applications: December 26th, 2024, at midnight NY eastern standard time (EST)

ECW is looking for two interns in total. Expected starting date: between January and February 2025. Preferred duration: at least 6 months; 26 weeks. An internship may be terminated by either party, with a notice period of at least two weeks.

Interns will receive a stipend based on their location. USD 1,700 per month in the following offices: New York, Geneva, and Copenhagen; or 70% of the monthly salary of the GS level 3 step 1 in all other the duty stations.

ECW follows UNICEF’s rules and regulations in human resources management. Applicants are encouraged to read the FAQs on the UNICEF Internship program – which apply also to ECW – available at these links:

INTERNSHIPS-Start your career with UNICEF

https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_faq.html or

https://unicef.sharepoint.com/sites/DHR/SitePages/Internship-Programme.aspx

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

1. Builds and maintains partnerships
2. Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
3. Drive to achieve results for impact
4. Innovates and embraces change
5. Manages ambiguity and complexity
6. Thinks and acts strategically
7. Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks: 

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements