Background
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) serves as the central focus of the political process dedicated to addressing Climate Change.
The Convention secretariat provides support to the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement through a variety of activities, encompassing substantive and organizational support for meetings of the Parties and the implementation of commitments.
This specific internship opportunity is situated within the NDC, LT-LEDS and technical support unit of the Mitigation Division of the UN Climate Change in Bonn, Germany.
This unit is tasked with supporting Parties in facilitating, catalyzing, and cooperating in the implementation of ambitious climate action, aligning with global efforts to limit temperature increase.
Internship Assignment
- Division: Mitigation Division
- Unit: NDC, LT-LEDS, Technical Support Unit
- Announcement Number: 25/Intern13/M-TSU
- Duration of Assignment: 6 months
Objectives of the Internship Assignment
The intern will operate under the guidance of the Team Lead of the NDC and LT-LEDS Technical Support Unit (TSU) and will contribute to the implementation of the TSU’s workplan.
This involves supporting activities related to NDC development and implementation, the UNFCCC – NDC Partnership’s Holistic Approach joint Project (HAP), selected activities with UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centres (RCCs), as well as undertaking techno-economic policy research and analysis on energy transition and industrial decarbonization.
The intern will be afforded the opportunity to acquire experience in supporting the Unit with a diverse range of substantive and operational tasks.
These tasks extend from collaborating on analyzing, researching, and producing technical documents and reports to assisting in coordinating and organizing relevant events, managing data and information, and engaging in engagement activities.
Under the supervision of the project coordination team, the intern will gain experience supporting the HAP project with various operational and project management tasks.
This includes actively collaborating on specific pilot country work, ranging from research and analysis of country data to the verification of country documents, administrative support, and the coordination of meetings and travel arrangements.
Key Responsibilities
The intern will be responsible for carrying out a range of related activities, including, but not limited to:
Providing support in the preparation of briefing notes, analyses, documentation, communications, and reports relevant to work on NDCs and LT-LEDS, and broader mitigation policy research, including with a view to supporting joint collaboration between the UNFCCC Secretariat and the NDC Partnership Support Unit.
Assisting in the planning of workshops and consultations with pilot country members of the HAP Joint Project.
Supporting the development and preparations for inter-sessional and in-session events on mitigation topics such as NDCs, LT-LEDS, HAP, energy transition, and industrial decarbonization. This includes conducting literature reviews, preparing agendas, providing support for logistical coordination, note-taking, and post-event reporting.
Providing support in areas of work related to knowledge management, including maintaining excel databases, keeping substantive and logistics documents up to date, as well as preparing reports ensuring linkages with the NDC Partnership Support Unit.
Participating in regular meetings of the NDC Partnership Support Unit, interacting with international organizations that are members of the Partnership and countries engaged in the initiative.
Supporting the technical work of the unit on linkages of NDCs/LT-LEDS with specific topical areas such as energy transition, industry and transport decarbonization, and climate finance.
Assisting in the compilation, evaluation, formatting, and presentation of information and data on mitigation policies.
Assisting with any tasks relating to media and communication, both within the secretariat and to external stakeholders, including by preparing input for articles on the outcomes of meetings and events and preparing and updating relevant web pages.
Assisting in other activities as requested.
Timeframe
The internship is for a duration of six months within the period between July 2025 to the end of February 2026.
The precise period will be determined based on the availability of the intern and the needs of the division.
The maximum duration of the internship is six months, contingent upon the intern’s continued university enrolment and performance.
Minimum Requirements
Candidates must be enrolled in the last year of an undergraduate or in a Master’s programme at a recognized university at the time of application and for the duration of the internship.
Studies in the fields of political science, development studies, environmental sciences, international relations, economics, energy policy/economics or other related fields, with a good understanding of climate change and the energy transition, are preferred.
Candidates must be fluent in English (both oral and written). Knowledge of additional UN languages is considered an asset.
Demonstrated excellent written and communication skills are required. Candidates must possess good knowledge of research and data collection. Experience in coordination and events is considered an asset.
Candidates must be capable of working effectively in a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment.
Computer Requirements
For an in-person internship, candidates will require a laptop or desktop PC (with Windows 10 or newer) or Mac (with the latest MacOS update), as well as a reliable, high-speed internet connection.
An Office 365 license will be provided by the UNFCCC to enable the candidate to access official emails, SharePoint, OneDrive, and other office applications, such as Word and Excel.
Further computer requirements include:
- An antivirus application which receives regular updates.
- Browsers must be a newer version with regular updates enabled.
- Regular Windows 10 updates should be enabled with a Windows laptop or PC.
In addition, a mobile phone will be required to enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA) through SMS or the Authenticator App.
Internship Conditions
UNFCCC secretariat internships are not remunerated, and the selected intern will be responsible for all costs incurred before, during, and after the internship assignment.
Interns of the UNFCCC secretariat are not considered to be staff members. The selected intern will preferably work in-person at the UNFCCC premises in Bonn, Germany on a full-time basis (40 hours per week).
For more detailed information about the UNFCCC Internship programme, interested parties are encouraged to visit the internships section on the UNFCCC recruitment webpage.
Application Procedure
Candidates who are interested in this assignment and meet the minimum requirements are required to use the on-line application system and include a cover letter.
Due to the high volume of applications received, only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted for an online interview.
Application Deadline
The deadline for applications is 21 May 2025.
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