Vacancy: Intern (PhD) at UNEP, Nairobi

Location :                 Nairobi, Kenya

Languages Required :         English

Starting Date :                 February 2013

Expected Duration of Internship : 6 months


Backgound:
UNEP's Mission it to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. The work of UNEP is underpinned by the fundamental values identified in the Millennium Declaration of freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and shared responsibility and recognizing, among other things, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities as contained in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The work of UNEP continues to focus on contributing to the achievement of the relevant Millennium Development Goals, enhancing the understanding of agreed international environmental goals and targets, and implementation of the Rio+20 outcome document "The Future We Want".

The Division of Environmental Policy Implementation (DEPI) is one of the six Divisions of UNEP. The Division’s main areas of work focus on: Ecosystem management for human well being; Addressing environmental consequences of disasters and conflicts; and Facilitating countries’ adaptation to climate change. DEPI is also managing UNEP’s engagement in the UN collaborative programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Destruction (UN-REDD programme), the Inter-Governmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the joint UNDP-UNEP Poverty and Environment Initiative (PEI), the Global Programme of Action for the protection of marine environment from land based activities (GPA), and the UNEP International Ecosystem Management Partnership (IEMP).

The Office of the Director, DEPI seeks to recruit an intern to be based in Nairobi to assist with analysis of programmatic and policy issues.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Undertake focused on research on areas pertaining to ecosystems management, climate change adaptation and disasters/conflicts;
• Review implementation of DEPI-led projects;
• Design and propose an internal peer review process;  
• Support analysis of the Division's Programme of Work, and provide recommendations on possible areas for intervention;
• Undertake an analysis of the impact of the work of the Division, based on interaction with Branches/Units and relevant partners/clients;
• Any other duties that may be assigned by the supervisor.

Functional Competencies:

• Strong organizational and research skills;
• Excellent analytical, communication, and writing skills;
• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• Experience working collaboratively in a team structure in a multicultural environment;
• Respect for diversity: understanding of the United Nations system, operations and structures;
• Work under minimum supervision and tight deadlines.

Eligibility:

• Enrolment in a PhD degree programme in environment or development related fields, such as environmental management, conservation studies, social sciences, international relations, communications, public or business administration, or any related field;
• Experience in work environments of international institutions is desirable, especially in areas of environmental management, conservation, public administration, public finance or development cooperation. Similarly, experience in the context of developing countries (including studies abroad) will be an asset.
• Good computer skills, specifically Word and Excel;
• Fluency in spoken and written English.

Interested applicants are required to respond to env.edu@unep.org or Pamela.Mubuta@unep.org  as well as complete the online internship procedures at http://www.unon.org/content/internship-programme