Internship Opportunities with the Global Compact

The Global Compact offers internship opportunities in its New York office. The Global Compact Office is the UN entity responsible for the overall management and coordination of the Global Compact initiative, including the management of the Global Compact’s name and logo, and the Global Compact Integrity Measures. It pursues two complementary objectives: (1) making the Global Compact and its principles part of business strategy and operations everywhere; and (2) facilitating cooperation among key stakeholders by promoting partnerships and other collective action in support of UN goals. To promote its 10 principles, the Global Compact also undertakes work on a range of corporate citizenship issues, including business and human rights, anti-corruption, partnerships for development etc.

Duties

Depending on their level of experience and training, interns in the Global Compact Office will:

research and analyze relating to the topic of corporate citizenship, especially on human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption;
draft and edit publications, papers and other documents;
liaise with GC stakeholders on key corporate citizenship topics;
support the organization of meetings and events;
assist with outreach activities;
assist in the coordination of the Communication on Progress process;
handle email and other inquiries;
assist in the implementation of the Global Compact’s integrity measures;
perform administrative tasks as assigned.

Duration and period

Internships in the Global Compact office are available for a duration of two to six months. The timing of internships is flexible, but may not always correspond to the internship cycles of the internship program of the United Nations Headquarters Secretariat Internship Programme. We encourage candidates to apply for the following sessions:

Mid-January to late March
Early April to late June
Early July to late August
Early September to mid-December

Please note that internships at UN Headquarters are unpaid. Interns must therefore be able to cover their costs of travel, accommodation, as well as living expenses during the internship period. The UN internship office has compiled a list of some possible sources of funding at: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/sds/internsh/htm/funding.htm

Eligibility

Applicants must be enrolled in a degree programme in a graduate school (second university degree or higher) at the time of application and during the internship; or
Applicants pursuing their studies in countries where higher education is not divided into undergraduate and graduate stages must have completed at least four years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution towards the completion of a degree.

For more information about the eligibility criteria for internships with UN headquarters, please see: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/sds/internsh/htm/eligibility.htm

Competencies

Candidates must have excellent oral and written communication skills in English. Familiarity with corporate citizenship/corporate social responsibility and with the activities of the Global Compact is a plus.

How to apply

Those interested in pursuing an internship with the UN Global Compact must submit an online application to the UN Internship office using the following link. ( http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/sds/internsh/htm/application.htm). Be sure to state in your cover letter that you are interested in working at the Global Compact, and direct your application to the department of Economic Affairs. After you have completed this application, please notify the Global Compact Office ( globalcompact@un.org ) to ensure that your name is placed on the list of potential candidates.

Application Deadline:

The application deadlines for upcoming sessions are as below:

Spring 2009 (Early April to late June): 18 January 2009
Summer 2009 (Early July to Early September): 18 January 2009
Fall 2009 (Mid September to late December) : 19 May 2009

Due to the large number of applications received, only accepted interns will be notified a few months before the beginning of the session or within 4 weeks after each session's application deadline.