Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

H (no hardship)

Family

Internship

2025-04-01

January 20, 2025

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a full-time internship with the Statistics, Data Science, and Survey Section of the Global Data Service at UNHCR Geneva.
Established in December 1950, UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights, and building a better future for asylum seekers, refugees, returnees, internally displaced persons and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. UNHCR operates in over 130 countries, using its long expertise to protect and care for millions.

Title: Statistics Intern
Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland
Duration: 8 months
Contract Type: Internship
Start Date: April 2025

Organizational context
Access to reliable, timely and accurate data is essential to achieving the Data Transformation Strategy 2020-2025, which aims to position UNHCR as a trusted leader in data and information related to displaced and stateless persons. The Statistics, Data Science, and Survey Section (SDSS) in UNHCR’s Global Data Service (GDS) oversees the production of global statistics on refugees and other populations affected by forced displacement and statelessness.
Within SDSS, a team in Geneva, Switzerland, is leading the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) Indicator Framework and the development of the GCR Indicator Reports, part of the follow-up and review process outlined in the Compact. The GCR Indicator Report, published every two years, continues to be a vehicle for data-driven and evidence-based reporting, demonstrating how the international community progressed in implementing the Compact to improve the situations of refugees and host communities. It also informs the key benchmarks identified in the Compact:
• the Global Refugee Forum (GRF), convened every four years for States and other stakeholders “to announce concrete pledges and contributions towards the objectives of the GCR and to consider opportunities, challenges, and ways in which burden- and responsibility-sharing can be enhanced;” and
• a High-Level Officials Meeting (HLOM) held at mid-point between Forums to take stock of progress and chart directions for the next GRF.
UNHCR will launch the third GCR Indicator Report in October/November 2025 ahead of the HLOM in December 2025.
The team in Geneva is also leading the redevelopment of UNHCR’s data finder. It will integrate thematic data on forcibly displaced and stateless people, including the GCR and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators data, with the existing population and demographic data. The result will be a new and expanded open data finder that serves a broad range of robust data on forcibly displaced and stateless people in a standardized and interoperable format.
The position
The internship will provide practical experience incorporating statistical methods and analytical tools in one of UNHCR’s important data reports and processing statistical information into indicators in a public-facing data platform. The Statistics intern will work under the direct supervision of the Senior Statistics and Data Analysis Officer based in Geneva. The Officer is responsible for the technical integrity, policy relevance, and accessibility of the third GCR Indicator Report and coordinates the redevelopment of UNHCR’s data finder. The Statistics intern will collaborate closely with other divisions, regional bureaux, and units within SDSS.
Duties and responsibilities
• Provide technical support to indicator custodians in aggregating, validating, and analyzing GCR indicators, following GCR and international statistical standards and practices.
• Compile, process, and catalogue the GCR indicators data and metadata using the standard documentation, methods, code lists and data model, and submit them to UNHCR’s statistics database.
• Support the development of data files that follow the standard data model, as well as analytical and reporting materials (e.g., reports, maps, indices, charts, infographics) for GCR, SDGs and complementary indicators, applying UNHCR and other relevant country classifications, definitions, coding, and practices.
• Support the work on statistical inclusion, including developing a measurement framework.
• Support the organization of relevant meetings, consultations, and related logistics, including a data panel to launch the third GCR Indicator Report.
• Any other tasks, as needed.
Minimum qualifications required
To be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:
• Be either a recent graduate (having completed their studies within two years of applying) or a current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by IAU/UNESCO.
• Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of UNHCR.

Desirable qualifications and skills
• Fluency in English (knowledge of another UN language is an asset).
• A Master’s degree (MA, MSc) in Statistics, Demography, Empirical Sociology, Economics, Social Science, Public Policy or any other related field;
• Demonstrated ability in applied statistics, particularly in descriptive and inferential statistics.
• Demonstrated ability to develop written material (reports, notes from meetings and advocacy material), particularly research papers based on statistical analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with different audiences, both technical and non-technical.
• Knowledge and experience using at least one statistical and data software such as STATA, R or SPSS. Advanced knowledge of MS Office suite, especially Excel.
• Demonstrated exposure to data management/database tools and strong organizational skills.
• Interest in and understanding of official statistics and operational data, including different data sources (surveys, administrative data, and census) would be an advantage.
• Interest in pursuing a career in humanitarian/development action, forced displacement, migration, or related fields.
• Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members from different national and cultural backgrounds.

Conditions
It is a full-time role with working hours from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (40 hours per week). The successful candidate will be assigned to support SDSS at the UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and must be available to work full-time for the duration of the internship.
Allowance: Interns who do not receive financial support from an outside party will receive an allowance to partially help to cover the cost of food, local transportation and living expenses.
Travel: Unless provided or paid by external sponsoring entities, UNHCR reimburse interns engaged from a location outside of the country of the duty station for the ticket costs of their outward and return travel to/from the duty station by the most economical route available on economy class, irrespective of the duration of the journey. Reimbursement shall be limited to the authorized outward and return travel between the intern’s country of residence and the intern’s duty station, or actual route of travel, whichever is lower.
Before travel is undertaken, the selected intern must obtain authorization in writing from the hiring office. Such authorization must include the approved cost of the ticket.

Obligations
Acquiring and renewing current visas, residence permits including all associated costs, obtaining medical certification and compliance with taxation requirements (if applicable), are the responsibility of the intern.
The selected candidate will need to provide UNHCR with a proof of health insurance coverage applicable to the assigned internship location and a certificate of good health from a qualified medical practitioner certifying their fitness for work and travel. In the event the selected candidate is not able to produce the required certificates, they will not be admitted to the Internship Programme.

If you are a person with a disability and you expect you may face challenges during the recruitment process, you can indicate it in your application form.
There are options to select any health conditions you may have and outline any necessary adjustments related to disabilities during the recruitment phases. Providing this information is optional. It will be treated as strictly confidential and used only for the purpose of finding out how to better assist you during the recruitment process.
Adjustments for candidates with disabilities will be provided as best as possible and as needed upon request.
All candidates will be assessed based on meeting the requirements for each vacancy in relation to experience, skills, and education.
The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, training, or any other fees).
We welcome applications from candidates with a refugee or stateless background.

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

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Desired Languages

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Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Other information

The written test might be included in the selection process.This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

Home-Based

No

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements