Intern- Urban Research & Innovation

Daily responsibilities will depend on the individual's background, the interns' assigned office as well as the internship period.

• Under the direct supervision of the Chief, Knowledge and Innovation Branch the intern will:
• Support urban research and policy analysis on priority themes for sustainable urbanization globally.
• Support data compilation, analysis and interpretation on urban development issues globally.
• Support drafting of periodic research outputs including papers, concept notes, background papers, and technical papers on selected urban development topics.
• Support collaboration and engagements with Universities and think tanks that partner with UN-Habitat on urban policy research and innovation.
• Support the execution of research on innovation, smart cities and digital transformation for sustainable urban futures.
• Support UN-Habitat’s provision of technical assistance to member States on innovation, smart cities and digital urban transformation.
• Support efforts to scale up UN-Habitat’s work on innovation and urban digital transformation including through new funding opportunities, partnerships and methodologies.
• Support the capacity building of local and national governments to effectively procure, test and implement frontier technologies.
• Support the development of new innovation projects, partnerships and initiatives building on methodologies such as open and challenge-driven innovation, design thinking and innovation mapping.
• Assist in planning and organization of meetings and substantive presentations.
• Perform any other related tasks as may be assigned by the team.

Competencies

• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively. Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately. Asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication. Tailors' language, tone, style and format to match the audience. Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others. Places team agenda before personal agenda. Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position. Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• Client orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect. Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems. Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects. Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

Applicants must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
• Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree program (minimum Bachelor's level or equivalent);
• Have graduated with Bachelor's degree, Masters, PhD or equivalent
• Be computer literate in standard software applications (Microsoft Office).
• Have demonstrated a keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter.
• Have a demonstrated 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.

Preferred areas of studies:

• urban planning, architecture, smart cities, data science, digital policy and governance, international relations, political science or related areas.

Work Experience

• No working experience is required to apply for the United Nations Internship Programme. Your training, education, advance course work or skills should benefit the United Nations during your internship.
• Experience in research on urban issues or urban policy analysis is required.
• Experience in data compilation, data analysis or data interpretation is desirable.
• Experience in drafting documents is desirable.