Portfolio Support Intern (focus on communication)

UNOPS strategic focus places increased emphasis on national capacity development and sustainable approaches to project management, procurement and infrastructure services. A key objective is to be recognized as an organization that delivers world-class infrastructure and project management, which is both economically and socially sustainable, even in the most challenging environments. To achieve this goal, UNOPS has established the Infrastructure and Project Management Group (IPMG). 

Within UNOPS, it is IPMG’s objective to serve the organization’s personnel and partners by broadening their infrastructure and project management capabilities, while disseminating best practices in both of these areas. Through this work, the group helps facilitate the successful delivery of programs and projects around the world.

To achieve its objectives, IPMG has established three interrelated and interdependent technical streams, namely, Strategic Initiatives, Standards, and Engagement Assurance, that are supported by the Portfolio Support team. IPMG is managed overall by the Director of IPMG.

The Portfolio Support (PS) team aims to (a) support aspects of the organizational readiness of UNOPS, and (b) manage IPMG operations.

Organizational Readiness

Organizational readiness is focused primarily on UNOPS mandate in infrastructure, project management and procurement. It aims to cover the ad-hoc resource needs of the Regional Portfolios to implement the corporate strategy and address the needs of donors.

The PS team supports the UNOPS global portfolio by supplementing their existing resources on demand. This support includes administering the Corporate retainer pool and developing/co-managing other agreements and partnerships.

Support for IPMG operations

PS provides timely support to IPMG on operational aspects and takes a coordination function in the areas of human resources (HR), general administration, communication, finance and procurement by working in close relationship with other Headquarter (HQ) units, notably the Shared Services Center (SSC). PS also manages the Project of the Year Award (POTYA).

Background Information – Job Specific

Overall support to a variety of tasks and work packages in the area of support services, more specifically communications, in alignment with the IPMG annual work plan:

1. Communications support and content management

• Support IPMG compliance with the corporate communication strategy and branding by editing and designing specific documents to align them with UNOPS branding;

• Support the implementation of IPMG content and publication roll out strategies, specifically the communication and dissemination of products developed by IPMG;

• Provide support for content translation into French and Spanish, and other larger translation exercises, including review of translations and translation management as requested;

• Support knowledge sharing and the maintenance of IPMG-owned intranet pages (using our content management system);

• Support the identification of areas for the improvement and development of the IPMG workspace with new case studies and UNOPS best practices;

• Support the collection of information and drafting of articles, presentations, emails and other communications on infrastructure, project management and procurement practices and tools to share with the organization through available internal channels;

• Support the editing and publishing of IPMG content, including news articles, factsheets and other materials for primarily electronic publication;

• Support the setup of web conferencing and other online collaborative workspaces as requested.

• Support the organization of the Project of the Year Award, including but not limited to the nomination and evaluation process, template design and communication material development, including video development and editing;

• Provide support to UNOPS Town Halls and other corporate initiatives involving IPMG products and initiatives.

Education

• Completion of secondary school or equivalent is required.

• To be eligible for this particular internship with UNOPS, the candidate must be studying towards a university degree in communications, journalism or other relevant discipline, or have graduated with a relevant university degree in the past three years.

Experience

While no prior work experience is required, some experience in support services, communications, desktop publication, web content management or journalism, ideally within the development sector, is highly desirable.

Additional requirements

• Excellent communications skills, especially English writing skills and copy editing, is required;

• Strong technical skills and experience working with Google suite and desktop publishing software (e.g. Adobe Creative suite) is required;

• Experience with digital communications and social media is an asset;

• Experience working with content management systems and Google Analytics is an asset.

Language

Fluency and proficiency in English is required. Proficiency in French or Spanish is strongly desirable.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.