JOB DESCRIPTION

Work Location
Geneva, Switzerland, in person, full time

Expected duration
6 months

Duties and Responsibilities
These internships are located in the Housing and Land Management Unit of the Forests, Land and Housing Division at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Geneva, Switzerland. The internships are scheduled to run from 1 May 2025 to 31 October 2025. The UNECE Housing and Land Management Unit focuses on promoting compact, inclusive, resilient, smart, and sustainable cities; ensuring energy-efficient and affordable adequate housing—particularly for vulnerable populations and those with special needs; and fostering transparent and efficient land use and property registration systems. The Unit serves as a secretariat to two UN intergovernmental bodies: the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management and its Working Party on Land Administration; and two teams of specialists – the Forum of Mayors and the Real Estate Market Advisory Board (REM). Within the unit, the UN4UkrainianCities project is dedicated to supporting Ukrainian cities on their path toward sustainable, resilient, and inclusive urban development. By collaborating with national, regional, and local authorities—as well as engaging civil society and local experts—the project aims to help the cities of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv rebuild and thrive despite challenges. The interns will work under the direct supervision of the Programme Management Officer of the UN4UkrainianCities project, the Secretary of the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management and Secretary to the Forum of Mayors. The internships will primarily focus on assisting the organization and follow up of the UNECE Ministerial meeting on housing affordability and sustainability and the 86th session of the Committee on Housing, Urban Development and Land Management, the Fifth Forum of Mayors’ meeting and the UN4UkrainianCities project and contributing to other initiatives, including: Empowering Bishkek Stakeholders for Sustainable Development (part of the UNECE component of the Joint SDG Fund’s SDG Localization window project); The UNDA 16th Tranche Project: Urban Economic Resilience for Inclusive Response and Recovery from Crises. The interns will assist the secretariat by: • Supporting the planning, organization, and delivery of meetings and workshops, including compiling background information, preparing papers, and developing presentations. • Drafting communication materials such as press releases, informational newsletters, and social media posts targeted at participants, including local authorities and member States. • Managing correspondence and tracking responses. • Assisting with organizational and logistical arrangements for meetings and workshops. • Performing other day-to-day tasks as required by the secretariat. • Drafting, reviewing, and editing meeting documents, reports, website content, and conducting related research. • Maintaining and updating content on online UNECE platforms and the websites related to the assigned projects.

Qualifications/special skills
Applicants must meet one of the following requirements: (a) be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); (b) be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent). Please note that you may have to provide an official certificate at a later stage. 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 have good knowledge of standard software applications, especially MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel and MS Teams. Knowledge of Adobe package including InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop is desirable. Ability to draft news articles and/or social media posts, including knowledge of Canva is desirable.

Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written English is required for the internship. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an advantage. For the internship with the UN4UkrainianCities Project, knowledge of Ukrainian is desirable.

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.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements