UN Internships: 2022

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization established in the aftermath of the Second World War, with the central purpose of maintaining international peace and security. The UN does this by working to prevent conflict; helping parties in conflict make peace; peacekeeping; and creating the conditions to allow peace to hold and flourish. Founded in 1945, the Organization is currently made up of 193 Member States and headquartered in New York City.

The United Nations was created with a considerable structure. In addition to revisiting ideas and organisms from the League of Nations, and incorporating existing organizations – such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) –, in its Charter, the UN established the creation of specialized agencies and programs that would constitute an integrated labour structure, to maximize the reach of the organization`s purposes.

In reality, the United Nations operates as an articulated and complex system. In fact, all the organizations that make up the large family that is the UN System are referenced as United Nations Common System Organizations, and are specialized agencies or related organizations. Both categories are separate, autonomous organizations, with their own budgets and international staff members.

UN’s main focus: to maintain global peace, security and promoting international development.

Themes addressed by the UN System:

• Human rights and humanitarian aid
• Global security
• Human development (Health, Education, Labor, etc.).
• Sustainable Development (Environment and climate change).
• International cooperation and integration;
• Finance sector development;
• Children protection
• International law

Among the main UN internship programs, approximately 19 offer payment or assistance to their interns. Some agencies, such as UNICEF, may offer both paid and unpaid vacancies. The average sum offered for paid internships is between USD 1,000 and USD 1,300 per month.

The World Bank and IMF Internships are among the programs with the best payments. The World Bank Group pays between USD 20 and USD 30 per hour. Considering that the interns at this organization work on a full-time basis (up to 40 hours per week), the monthly payment varies between USD 3,200 and USD 4,800. In turn, the IMF offers their interns up to USD 5,000 per month, and may pay for the travel costs (return) from the applicant`s home country to the Fund`s headquarters in Washington D.C. However, these sums may be adjusted according to various factors, such as the candidate`s educational background, work experience, and differences in working hours.

Discover our products & services related to the WB and IMF internship:

WB Internship: Products & Services

IMF Internship: Products & Services

The payment offered by the varying programs can also be divided into categories. This is the case of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which offers €500 for housing expenses and an additional €500 for general living expenses. Other agencies offer assistance that only covers basic living costs. This is the case of Gavi Alliance, a UN partnership, which focuses on vaccinating vulnerable groups in underprivileged nations that offers between USD 11 and USD 12 per hour to assist with travel and food expenses.

Most UN organizations pay in US dollars or euros, but this may vary according to the location of the internship. For example, the International Labour Organization (Geneva) offers approximately 2,245 CHF (Swiss francs) to selected interns.

It should be emphasized that many organizations only award payment/assistance to interns who prove that they do not receive any type of assistance from private entities, public institutions or the governments of their respective countries.

Would you like to know the estimated salary of the paid UN Internships? Access:

19 United Nations Paid Internships!

When applying for a UN Internship? 

Firstly, it should be borne in mind that the intern recruitment and selection process is highly decentralized among the numerous organizations that make up the UN System.

Therefore, the application period, and other details related to a specific vacancy, or internship program, may vary. Generally speaking, there are four most common types of application period for the internship programs: a) applications always open; b) applications open on demand; c) applications by season and d) mixed applications. Further details about each of these will be provided below.

a) Applications always open (rosters)

When UN organizations keep their internship applications permanently open, what they are looking for is establishing a type of applicant database, called an internship roster, where potential applicants are filtered throughout the year.  Those who have the profile most in line with the agency’s needs are selected. Rosters are reserve lists composed of pre-assessed and eligible candidates who no longer need to be interviewed to take on a position.

The vacancies offered in this way usually have more generic requirements, which may attract a large number of professionals. Many of these programs establish a validity period of between six months and one year for applications. If applicants are not called within the stipulated timeframe, this means that your applications were not successful.

b) Applications open on demand

There are also UN organizations that open up selection processes for interns only when they identify a need for this. Generally speaking, these vacancies have more specific demands, with regards to requirements and the application process. Therefore, participants should check the opportunities on the respective agency recruitment sites, and search for the vacancies that best fit their profile.

c) Applications open by seasons

There are also UN System internship programs that open their selections at specific times of the year, giving applicants a specific period to apply. This is the case of the World Bank, which offers summer and winter internships. The former is open between December 01 and January 30, while the application period for the winter internship is between October 01 and 31.

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d) Mixed applications

 We should also mention that specific UN System organizations may offer internship opportunities that fit into more than one of these categories. This is the case of the IOM, UNESCO and WTO, which offer vacancies according to demand by their sectors, and they also have an internship program that is open throughout the year. Therefore, you should know the maximum possible about each agency’s specific characteristics, so that you do not miss out on the different opportunities offered.

How to apply for the UN Internships?

Generally speaking, there are three types of application for UN System internships, namely: a) application through internship rosters; b) application for specific vacancies; and c) email application. These application processes have similarities and differences between them, which will be explained below. A common point is that they all require the online submission of the applicant’s supporting documents.

a) Application through internship rosters

As mentioned above, the internship roster is a type of applicant database that remains open to new submissions throughout the year. Usually, the applicants’ documents are available for the recruiters to analyze for up to six months. This type of application is made up of three steps:

• Initial registration on the system: requests basic information to access the site, such as: your name and surname, email address, password, and other general data for identification and contact purposes;
• Completing the personal/professional profile: this stage requires more specific information on your educational background, previous professional experience, language fluency, and other skills acquired;
• Document submission and sending the application: following the previous stage, you may need to send your CV/resume and a cover letter. Some agencies also ask for references/recommendation letters from former employers or professors who have worked with the applicant, and can confirm their competency for the position. Lastly, just submit the application on the system, which will be valid for between six months and one year, in the majority of cases.

b) Applying for specific vacancies

In relation to specific vacancies, the application process differs a little from the previous one. The following steps are required to apply for them:

• Initial registration on the system: usually a basic registration is also required to access the agency’s site, through general contact information and user identification.
• Research specific internship vacancies: you should research and use the agency recruitment site’s filters to find internship vacancies that match your profile.
• Complete the personal/professional profile: after you have found a vacancy that you are interested in, the applicant should complete the personal/professional profile specifically for that vacancy. We emphasize that, in some cases, completing the professional profile is independent of the vacancy; in other words, it may be carried out in advance, and be saved in the user’s account.
• Submit your documents and send the application: as when applying for the internship roster, specific vacancies may require the submission of documents (CV/resume, cover and recommendation letters, among others). After sending them, the applicant will be contacted, if they are selected for interview.

c) Email applications

Lastly, are the email application processes, which are much easier, compared with the previous ones. This is the case of UNRWA – an agency that focuses on the protection of Palestine refugees – in which the interested party should look for the email address of the desired unit (headquarters, field/country or representative offices) and send their CV/resume, a cover letter and, in some cases, a statement that justifies the selection of the agency and indicates which areas of activity they are interested in.

What are the UN Internship Recruitment Platforms?

Many people think that all the UN System internships are advertised on the UN Secretariat careers site, believing that this is the only place that advertises vacancies.

In fact, UN Careers is one of the main sites to advertise internship and job opportunities within the UN System, including various vacancies, not only at the UN Secretariat, but at other agencies (UNEP, UN-Habitat, UNCTAD and UNODC, among others). However, there are various other sites that applicants should also be aware of.

There is the World Bank Group site, and although many people do not know this, this organization also belongs to the United Nations System. The World Bank internship program is valid for three of the Group’s main agencies, namely, IBRD, IDA and MIGA. The other two WBG agencies, IFC and ICSID, have their own intern recruitment site

Another major site is the one of UNDP. It is a transversal site that includes internship and job opportunities in various UN System categories, and sectors of activity. The majority of the internship vacancies available are distributed throughout the UNDP’s different regional and local units of activity. However, the site is also shared between other agencies, funds and departments to advertise internships, such as UN Women, UNCDF and UNOSSC, among others.

What are the documents to submit for the UN Internship Programs?

The application process requires you to submit:

• Curriculum Vitae (CV)/Resume;
• Cover Letter/Statement of Interest
• Proof of enrollment 
• Academic transcripts 

What is the evaluation criteria for the UN Internship Programs?

Recruiters will seek to identify whether applicants’ academic and professional experience is relevant to the organization’s activities, as well as evaluate their job expectations and level of knowledge about the institution’s work.

With the aim of highly increasing your chances of success in this stage of the UN Internships selection process, OpenIGO Network has put together a thorough Application Review service for candidates, to help you prepare your documents with extreme care and enhance the quality of your application.

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UN Internships – Application Review

Firstly, it is important to emphasize that the UN does not charge its candidates at any stage of the selection processes. Even in the interviews, there is the possibility that they are held via video-conference or telephone, thereby reducing any travel costs. The UN recommends that candidates are mindful of fake emails that request any type of payment.

The most frequent expenditure that a UN System intern may have is with a visa, insurance cover, accommodation and travel. It should be emphasized that these expenses may be minimized if you receive sponsorship from your government or another institution, such as your university. Some of the expenses involved are explained below:

Visa:

The payment of certain fees and the presentation of various personal documents are required to attain a visa, which may vary in accordance with the country and type of visa. For internships taken in the United States, such as the IMF and ICSID, an intern is usually requested to obtain a G4 (for employees of International Organizations) or F1 (for international students) visa. Intergovernmental organizations usually provide supplementary documents to facilitate obtaining your visa.

Insurance:

In the majority of programs, the candidate is responsible for taking out insurance. UN System interns are usually required to obtain the following types of insurance.

• Medical insurance valid for the organization`s region. Medical or health insurance covers expenses with medication, hospital admissions and illnesses during the internship period. In some cases, travel insurance is accepted for this purpose.
• Life/Accident insurance valid for the organization`s region. Although many people confuse this with medical insurance, this is for cases of permanent disability or death caused by a serious illnesses or accident. Travel insurance can also replace this type of insurance.

In addition to insurance requirements, many organizations require a valid and signed copy of a Medical Certificate of Good Health, which guarantees that the intern has the physical and mental conditions to perform activities at the organization. 

Accommodation:

UN System organizations are not usually responsible for the candidate’s accommodation during the internship period. Therefore, the candidate (or sponsoring institution) will be liable for any expenses related to the accommodation required. However, there are some exceptions. The IAEA and CTBTO agencies, for example, offer up to 500 euros in housing assistance for internships in their respective headquarters in Austria.

 Travel:

The intern (or sponsoring institution) will be responsible for costs related to travelling to the workplace you are allocated to. Some organizations may offer assistance that covers travel from a selected university to the respective agency unit. This is the case of the IMF, which may pay for a student`s return journey to Washington D.C.

Of course, these expenses do not compare with the advantages of taking a United Nations System internship. In addition, contrary to what you may imagine, there are many paid internship programs in the UN System that minimize this expenditure.

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UN INTERNSHIPS – PRODUCTS & SERVICES