Background

Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) were first introduced by UN Member States in the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda as a country-led approach to strengthen public and private financing for sustainable development. Today, more than 80 countries are using the INFF approach to integrate financing and national planning, bringing the right people together to make decisions and coordinate action to strengthen SDG financing. Together, these stakeholders assess what investment is needed, considering the full range of financing sources - from public and private sources of domestic and international finance. They develop a financing strategy and reforms to increase investment, boost impact, manage risk, overcome short-termism and align finance with the development that is equitable, inclusive and sustainable. 

Countries using the INFF approach will develop and operate their financing strategies to achieve their national development priority and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To meet the growing demand for support to deliver the reforms articulated in the country-owned financing strategies, UNDP, UN DESA, the OECD, the European Union, and the Governments of Italy and Sweden jointly established the INFF Facility in April 2022.  

The Facility creates spaces where countries can share, connect and learn from one another and facilitates collaboration, exchange and access to innovative tools, knowledge and guidance. Maintaining and growing the INFF Knowledge Platform is a critical aspect of this work. The platform is a digital space for capturing lessons and knowledge from country experiences, documenting country progress and sharing helpful materials.  

Furthermore, the Facility created the Programme Document, including the theory of changes, results framework and key performance indicators (KPIs), in order to measure and track the INFF impact and lessons learned. The project data, progress and performance are reviewed and maintained regularly and documented in the annual report.    

This Knowledge Management and Communications Intern role will focus on: 

(a) Supporting knowledge product management; 

(b) Supporting knowledge sharing and training events; 

(c) Supporting the communication activities around knowledge products and activities; 

(d) Supporting the results framework/KPIs tracking and reporting. 

To help meet this demand, the Sustainable Finance Hub is looking for a Knowledge Management and Communications Intern to work closely with the INFF Communications Lead.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Supporting knowledge product management;

• Supporting the development of accessible content for digital or print mediums (news stories, videos, blogs, case studies, resource pages, event pages, country progress overviews, etc) tailored to audience information needs, using engaging and clear language, showcasing the role of partnerships in INFF development and grounded in country experiences and government leadership. Working with team members to develop a pipeline of knowledge products (e.g., case studies, news stories, videos, blogs, briefs) in collaboration with key stakeholders at the regional and country levels.

• Helping UNDP Regional Bureaus and Country Offices better capture and share INFF-related knowledge.  

2. Supporting knowledge sharing and training events; 

• Supporting the delivery of training and knowledge sharing events including INFF Exchanges, global and regional INFF conferences, partner and expert training, country training and SDG Financing Academy events.  

• Supporting the production and management of training and knowledge sharing events: planning, preparation, promotion, production, post-event follow-up and monitoring of results; and facilitating coordination of implementing partners.  

• Creating event material kits (including slide decks, promotional materials, follow up materials) for recurring training events.

• Developing and maintaining a monitoring framework for training events.   

3. Supporting the communication activities around knowledge products and activities;

• Working with the team members to manage communications planning to promote the above knowledge products and activities across social media (@INFFPlatform, LinkedIn), email (regular and ad-hoc newsletters) and events.

• Assisting the creation of communications products such as social media posts, videos, blog posts, flyers etc.   

4. Supporting the results framework/KPIs tracking and reporting.

• Supporting the tracking and reporting on performance against the results framework and KPIs regularly and when the project ends.

• Supporting the collection of knowledge and insights from activities at the country level.

Competencies

Functional 

• Self-starter, proven ability to work independently and in an entrepreneurial setting.

• Strong motivation and ability to work and deliver under pressure and short deadlines.

• Good interpersonal skills, innovative, creative and ability to coordinate well with UNDP partner agencies.

• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications, especially power point.

• Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in and outside UNDP.

• Respectful of the mandates and roles of different partners, particularly government supported institutions and can build and sustain productive and mutually beneficial partnerships.

Core 

• Demonstrates and promotes the highest standard of integrity, impartiality, fairness and incorruptibility in all matters affecting his/her work and status.

• Shows interpersonal skills and works collaboratively in small and large multi-cultural teams with colleagues inside UN/UNDP as well as its partners and other stakeholders to pursue common goals.

• Delivers verbal/written information in a timely, clear, organized and easily understood manner.

• Remains calm, composed and patient, regardless of his/her own state of mind in the face of conflict.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications 

A university degree related to communications, public relations, media, knowledge management, project management, or sustainable finance is required.

Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master's programme, or higher);

• Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor's degree or equivalent); or

• Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

Skills & Experiences

• Demonstrated interest in SDG financing, financing for development, SDG-aligned investing, or sustainable development required.

• Knowledge in project management, knowledge management and communications, including tools and principles, required.

• Concise writing skills required.

• Strong computer application (Microsoft Office Suite) user skills required. 

• Strong attention to detail and a results-oriented mindset required

• Completion of the INFF e-learning course preferred.

• Knowledge of using Content Management Systems (CMS) preferred.

• Knowledge of using Adobe Creative Suite software (Illustrator, Premiere Pro, AfterEffect, InDesign) preferred. 

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English required. 

• Working knowledge of additional languages from countries using the INFF approach preferred.

Applicants are encouraged to include the following information, if available, with their CV to strengthen their application:

1. Writing samples: Any samples that showcase your writing abilities, such as articles, blogs, stories or social media posts.

2. Video work samples: If available, please share samples of any video work you've done, along with the applications you used to create them.

Background

A collision of crises is impacting the future of development. Crises are becoming increasingly protracted and cyclical, and despite the multidimensional requirements of the response, these crises are being primarily responded to via humanitarian action. There is widespread recognition though that ultimately development emergencies requiring integrated development solutions. In the face of this significant disruption humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) actors are striving to meet ever-growing need and vulnerability through a so-called nexus approach. 

The Crisis Bureau (CB) is galvanizing UNDP’s efforts to support countries to build resilience by strengthening capacities to anticipate, prevent, respond to, and recover from the impacts of crises and shocks on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These efforts are geared towards reducing countries’ reliance on external humanitarian relief and peace interventions, while risk-informing development planning and decision-making to minimize creation of new risks. UNDP seeks to ensure that development perspectives are introduced as early as possible in response and recovery cycles, including approaching recovery as an opportunity to reset development practices onto more resilient, green and equitable pathways. 

In mid-2021, UNDP was entrusted by the bilateral partners who have adhered to the OECD-DAC Recommendation on the HDP Nexus to create a training programme on the HDP Nexus approach. UNDP created the Nexus Academy as an “common good” to foster learning and collaboration among bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental HDP actors and to operationalize the nexus approach on the ground. While the Nexus Academy is primarily designed for a multi-stakeholder audience, the Nexus Academy has also developed an internal UNDP training course on the Nexus approach – fully incorporated into the UNDP Crisis Academy architecture - to build skills among UNDP personnel assigned or deployed to crisis contexts.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Nexus Academy Manager, and in support of the Nexus Academy team, the intern will have the following duties and responsibilities_

1. Assist in all activities related to the preparation, rollout and follow up of/from the Nexus Academy trainings  

• Provide technical support on the delivery of the modules including the use of online tools such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Zoom, Mural, Slido;  

2. Facilitate the engagement and mobilization of the Nexus and Crisis Academy community 

• Assist in identifying gaps in nexus-related reports, evaluations, studies, case studies, project documents, academic papers that need to be collected and put to the disposal of the Nexus Academy classroom. Ensure that these reports are also available through the Nexus Academy repository currently being developed; 

• Provide ad hoc support to UNDP’s Crisis Academy and its other learning programmes on Stabilization, Recovery and Prevention. This may include supporting their training cohorts, or background preparatory support as needed. 

Competencies

Technical / Functional Competencies

• Proficiency in data entry, organization, and management using tools like Excel, Google Sheets, or data management software. Basic knowledge in PowerBI is an asset. 

Personal Competencies

• Proactive attitude in seeking out new information, improving processes, and suggesting ways to enhance knowledge management and data collection activities

Required Skills and Experience

Education 

Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements: 

Field of study: All academic backgrounds welcome, but priority will be given to candidates with Social Sciences, International Relations, Development Economics, Political Science, Communications, or related field or equivalent. 

Work Experience & Desired Skillset 

• Experience using computer and MS Office skills, as well as skills in online communication tools (e.g. Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Zoom, Mural, Slido);  

• Demonstrated knowledge of and/or experience with basic concepts of international aid - in the fields of humanitarian, development and peacebuilding strategies, processes and structures; 

• Demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which includes willingness to try and understand and be tolerant to differing opinions and views.  

Language skills 

 INTERNSHIP CONDITIONS 

• Interns are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed to, any post in UNDP during the period of the internship; 

VII. Application procedure 
The application should contain: 

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. Candidates who are selected must submit the following documents prior to the interview: 

UNDP/UNCDF only accepts interns for a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 6 months. 
UNDP/UNCDF accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship. 
Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP/UNCDF in any official capacity. 

Subsequent Employment 

The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNCDF/UNDP but to complement an intern’s studies. Therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship. 

 More information is available at: http://www.undp.org/internships