Environmental Affairs Intern

Work Location

Nairobi

Expected duration

3 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985) and its Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987), the ozone treaties, designated UNEP as the Secretariat for these two international agreements in 1989. This internship based in the Secretariat for the Vienna Convention and its Montreal Protocol (the Ozone Secretariat) at the Nairobi duty station. Under the direct supervision of the Executive Secretary, the intern will work with and learn from a team of experienced professionals and will be offered the opportunity to deepen his/her understanding of sustainable cooling and energy efficiency in the context of the Montreal Protocol; develop skills relating to the preparation of background documents for intergovernmental meetings and gain experience in the development policy-relevant materials, including through contributions to an online toolkit for energy efficiency policy options and an atlas on sustainable cold chain. The intern will support the team in the furtherance of its work on energy efficiency and sustainable cooling. Tasks to be undertaken under the supervision of substantive experts will include: 1. Analysing submissions from parties and conducting related research on energy efficiency and sustainable cooling; 2. Developing sections of background documents for key meetings, fact sheets and policy briefs and online resources and conducting the associated research; 3. Supporting meetings taking place during the internship period.

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) in engineering, environmental policy or a related field; (b) be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme in engineering, environmental policy or a related field (minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent). 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 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. Applicants should have good knowledge of standard software applications, especially MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and MS Teams.

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. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the official languages of the United Nations Secretariat.

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.