Intern - Climate Change and Country engagement work

Water and Energy Cluster (WEC)

​UNOPS Water and Energy Cluster (WEC) supports the design and management of multi-stakeholder initiatives by providing services in financial and grant management, procurement, human resources, and project management.

The cluster has supported projects in the areas of water resource management, climate change adaptation, mitigation and transparency, energy access and distribution and environmental conservation under the Paris Agreement. The WEC has also supported operations and financial management services, in Vienna, the rest of the ECR region and beyond.

The main partners include UN agencies, bilateral agreements (with the Nordics, Germany, and Italy), the Green Climate Fund and several NGOs (such as CIFF and CWF).

Initiative for Climate Action Transparency

The Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) helps countries better assess the impacts of their climate policies and actions, and fulfill their transparency commitments under the Paris Agreement. It does this by increasing the overall transparency capacities of countries, including the capacity to assess the contribution of climate policies and actions on countries’ development objectives, and providing appropriate methodological information and tools to support evidence-based policy-making. ICAT’s innovative approach is to integrate these two aspects.

ICAT currently works with over 40 developing countries worldwide to support their work on NDCs, including tracking of implementation, further policy development and related Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV).  Work covers sectoral policies (renewables, energy efficiency, transport, etc.) and cross-cutting aspects such as the link to sustainable development benefits, transformational change, and integration of subnational and non-state actors.

ICAT is funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition (IMET) and the ClimateWorks Foundation.

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Management Officer and overall guidance of the Senior Programme Manager, the incumbent will be responsible for supporting the work of the Country Team of the ICAT Secretariat.

The Intern will mainly take responsibility for tasks that include the background research related to different aspects of ICAT’s work and activities, in relation to the work progress in developing climate action transparency frameworks implemented by partner countries. The research findings will be used as input for project work plan development, impact assessment and other planning activities.

1. Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct background research on country-specific information such as climate policies and actions, NDCs and other climate change related reports and information, including  those submitted to the UNFCCC, and GHG emission data;

• Assist analysis and assessment of the various initiatives and partnerships  and their contribution to the implementation of national transparency frameworks;

• Prepare background notes and talking points prior to meeting with countries and other stakeholders;

• Support note-taking at country meetings, events, and workshops in English and French and possibly Spanish;

• Support the selection process for new ICAT partner countries;

• Assist in the preparation of presentations, tables and reports, extracting data from various sources;

• Perform any other duties as required based on ICAT Secretariat’s needs.

2. Training components and learning elements

The incumbent will have full access, for his/her thesis research, to ICAT’s project files, in particular to files and products developed in the context of the implemented activities at the country level. 

The incumbent will have the opportunity to join the Secretariat meetings, including any relevant high-level meetings, and get exposure to key stakeholders involved with climate action and transparency, such as other UN agencies (UNFCCC, UNEP, UNDP, UNU), several country and multi-partner donors, international non-governmental organizations and representatives from country beneficiary. 

The incumbent will also have full access to UNOPS intranet, the Project ERP system and the Communities of Practice (COPs) in Project Management, Gender Mainstreaming, Innovation and Research, Sustainable Infrastructure, etc.   

3. Participation in training courses

The incumbent will have access to the UNOPS Learning Zone and can access training in Programme Management, Gender Mainstreaming, Coaching, and mandatory training as per UNOPS policy. 

1. Academic qualifications 

The applicant should have completed a Bachelor degree, or be enrolled in a postgraduate program or have graduated from such studies within three (3) years prior to the start date of the intern assignment.

Area of study should preferably relate to climate change, developmental studies, and/or environmental management.

2. Language Skills

Proven fluency of English – oral and written required.

Good knowledge of French – oral and written is required. 

Any other UN language would be an asset, especially Spanish.

3. Computer Literacy

Proficiency in Microsoft Office/Google Suite is essential, in particular for the preparation of PowerPoint/Google Slides presentations and performing basic functions on Excel/Google Sheets. 

4. Internship-related experiences

Applicants are not required to have professional work experience but experience working or volunteering in any of the following areas is highly desirable:

• Climate change

• Climate action transparency

• Developing country engagement work

5. Additional requirements

• Ability to maintain regular updates of activities and achievements. 

• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. 

• Responsible for arranging their own travel and securing any necessary visas. Should provide confirmation that they are fit specifically for the duty station conditions, as certified by a medical practitioner. Interns are responsible for receiving clearance from a medical doctor.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.