Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security. 

UN Women's Strategic Plan 2026-2029 focuses on integrated approaches with three systemic outcomes (Norms, laws, and policies; Accountable institutions and Women’s agency and access to resources) to address the root causes of inequality and affect broader systems change, across four impact areas: Women’s leadership and decision-making; Women’s economic empowerment; Ending violence against women and girls; and Women, peace and security, and humanitarian action.

UN Women’s regional representation for West and Central Africa (WCA) is comprised of 10 Country Offices (COs), and a support to 14 UN Country Teams (UNCTs) where UN Women is a non-resident agency (NRA). All are coordinated and supported by the Regional Office (WCARO) in Senegal.

In the area of women's economic empowerment, UN Women  WCARO partners with a wide range of stakeholders, including governments, the United Nations system, civil society, women's and youth organizations and the private sector in promoting (a) women's access to jobs, entrepreneurship and finance in the green and blue economy; (b) transforming care systems, supporting women’s and girls’ access to care services and infrastructures and developing women-led care entrepreneurship and (c) formulating and implementing gender-responsive macroeconomic policies.

The Women’s Economic Empowerment Team of UN Women’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa is looking to recruit an intern to support the unit’s work.

The intern will be reporting to the Policy Advisor for Women’s Economic Empowerment and will support the day-to-day work of the team.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

The intern will report to UN Women’s Regional Policy Advisor for Women’s Economic Empowerment and is expected to work alongside and support the Women’s Economic Empowerment team with the following tasks: 

• Assist in conducting targeted research and data collection on subject matters, sectors, and countries relevant to WEE in the region 
• Assist in developing key knowledge and communication products (policy briefs/ advocacy briefs) on a range of topics (transforming care systems, gender and macroeconomic policy, women's opportunities in the green economy, etc.) as well as emerging areas such as innovative finance and care-climate nexus.
• Provide editorial and translation assistance and draft project documents, meeting minutes, reports, proposals, PowerPoint presentations, etc. 
• Provide coordination and logistical support in the organization of webinars and workshops for capacity building or project implementation purposes. 
• Participate in Women Economic Empowerment activities and events

 Learning goals include:

• Enhanced knowledge of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment;
• Enhanced knowledge of gender and economics in development in Africa;
• Enhance knowledge on the policy, programmatic, and operational aspects of working at UN Women.
• Develop skills in targeted written communication for different audiences

Work as a team member in a multicultural setting and develop professional relationships with UN Women colleagues and colleagues from other UN agencies

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

•     Demonstrable knowledge of feminist/gender economics;
•     Demonstrable Knowledge of development issues in Africa, preferably in West and Central Africa;
•     Excellent analytical skills on gender and development including the use of quantitative and qualitative research        methods;
•     Excellent drafting skills in English and French; 
•     Strong computer skills (i.e., MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Zoom);
•     Interest in the work of UN Women and in the ideals of the UN Charter;
•     Energetic self-starter with multi-tasking abilities and discipline with deadlines;
•     Ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which includes a           willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

University studies in one of the following disciplines: feminist/gender economics; gender and development, development economics, macroeconomics, or any other relevant development disciplines.

• Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); or Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program which is part of a degree programme and undertake the internship as part of the program requirements;
• Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme, or higher);
• Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within two years of graduation.

Experience:

• Having experience in women’s economic empowerment-related issues is a plus.
• Having experience and knowledge of development issues in Africa, preferably in West and Central Africa, is a plus.
• Knowledge of the SDGs, especially SDG 5, is a plus.

Languages:

• Excellent communication skill (written and oral) in both French and English is required.

Renumeration:

Interns who are not in receipt of financial support from other sources, such as universities or other institutions, will receive a stipend from UN Women to partially subsidize their basic living costs for the duration of the internship.

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.