View Vacancy - Human Rights Intern (CHEG22.438)

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
UK Mission
Political, Policy

The United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations in Geneva represents the interests and policies of the UK at the UN and is recruiting a highly motivated and skilled Human Rights Intern.

The main purpose of this internship is to assist the Human Rights Team of the UK Mission in Geneva with attending and reporting from meetings of the UN Human Rights Council, the Universal Periodic Review and the human rights treaty bodies, and to provide administrative and policy support.

This internship offers a unique opportunity to participate in the UK Mission’s human rights work as an integral part of the UK delegation, under the guidance of senior staff. The internship will offer a chance to learn about the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and about working on human rights issues in an international context. The work will be focused on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the UN treaty bodies. The selected intern will mainly attend human rights meetings at the UN, draft reports from meetings, assist with research and summaries of reports, and participate in organising events. A supervisor will guide the intern and provide on-the-job training.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Attending and taking accurate and accessible records of official meetings of the Human Rights Council, the Universal Periodic Review, human rights treaty bodies, as well as other meetings at the UN, and drafting reports from such meetings. The precise format of this attendance will be affected by the Coivd-19 pandemic;
  • Administrative support, helping out with organising events and meetings;
  • Research and analytical work, preparing background information.

  • BA Degree; 
  • Fluent written and spoken English (C1 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages);
  • Strong interest in working in the human rights field and the UN;
  • Very good computer skills (Microsoft Office Word and Outlook)
  • The successful candidate needs to be highly motivated, flexible and a great team player;
  • Excellent skills in communication, drafting and organisation;
  • Willingness to undergo a mandatory security check.

  • A master’s degree in Human Rights, International Law, Diplomacy, International Relations, Political Science, or other relevant discipline would be an advantage;
  • Prior relevant internship or work experience from the UN, human rights, NGO or diplomacy is desirable;
  • Knowledge of French. 
Seeing the Big Picture, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace, Working Together
2 October 2022
Internship
Fixed Term, Full-time, Temporary
40
11 months
Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
Switzerland
UK Mission to the Office of the United Nations, Geneva
International Organisation Delegation
2
CHF
1450
1 December 2022

All applicants should have permission to live and work in Switzerland. Applicants must hold a full passport valid for at least 18  months for any EU / Schengen country.

The UK Mission will offer the intern a monthly training allowance of 1,450 CHF. Please note that interns will need to arrange and pay for their own travel and accommodation, as well as any other living costs and are subject to Swiss taxes. This internship will be for a period of 6 months.

Where applicable, we encourage successful applicants to obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) prior to entering Switzerland.

The Mission offers a contribution to the payment of travel insurance for the duration of internship, in place of Private Swiss Health Insurance that includes health & accident cover for all interns.

The final appointment and commencement of internship will be dependent upon successful security clearance.

Learning and development opportunities:

This is a great opportunity to ‘learn on the job’, quickly being given responsibility for significant areas of activity, and having close supervision and guidance as necessary. There are some ‘all staff’ learning and development opportunities, as well being able to take part of wider UK Mission corporate activities.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”. We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application, since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

The successful candidates will be invited to attend a Skype interview.

Please be advised that the UK Mission will not be able to support any cost during the Recruitment and Selection process, Security Check nor the costs connected with relocation if offered a job.

*Please note for more information on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment  levels  please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your language skill is going to be assessed.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.