UN Women Research and Data Support Intern, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Background:

UN Women

UN Women exists to advance women’s rights, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the lead UN entity on gender equality and secretariat of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, we shift laws, institutions, social behaviours and services to close the gender gap and build an equal world for all women and girls. Our partnerships with governments, women’s movements and the private sector coupled with our coordination of the broader United Nations translate progress into lasting changes. We make strides forward for women and girls in four areas: leadership, economic empowerment, freedom from violence, and women, peace and security as well as humanitarian action. UN Women keeps the rights of women and girls at the centre of global progress – always, everywhere. Because gender equality is not just what we do. It is who we are.

UN Women Knowledge and Partnerships Centre in ROK

Established in Seoul in 2022 with support from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of the Republic of Korea, the UN Women Knowledge and Partnerships Centre seeks to function as a ‘knowledge hub’ to facilitate research, education & training, sharing of innovations and lessons learned, networking, and development of multi-stakeholder partnerships for the achievement of gender equality in the Asia-Pacific region. The Centre aims to contribute to operationalizing normative frameworks on gender equality and the empowerment of women, informing innovative approaches to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”), transforming harmful social norms in the fast-changing and unique social landscape of Asia and the Pacific, and forging partnerships across sectors. In 2025, the centre will implement a full-scale programme with various partnerships building activities, as well as research, policy dialogue, and gender training activities.

The Centre offers a small group of outstanding final year undergraduate and graduate students, the opportunity to acquire direct exposure to UN WOMEN’s work and gain technical knowledge and experience in international development and multilateral cooperation. The Centre’s working language is English; and it offers an international working environment. 

The internship will offer multi-faceted experience of deepening one’s knowledge on various gender issues and building the professional experience with practical skills with related communications, partnership development, and events organization for UN WOMEN, along with exposure to an international and regional network of UN WOMEN’s work. It will also provide exciting communication and collaboration opportunities with Korean government and non-government institutions, as well as with overseas UN WOMEN offices and their national partners in various countries in the Asia-Pacific Region.  The internship will help refine the communications and writing skills in the field of international development with women’s empowerment and gender equality at heart. This internship experience will strengthen the candidate’s core skills for any career in the future. 

Learning Elements

After completing this internship, the Intern will have:

• Increased understanding of UN Women’s work and the UN system;
• Increased substantive knowledge of gender equality work in the Republic of Korea and in the Asia Pacific Region;
• Increased knowledge related to programme implementation, documentation and management;
• Increased work experience in communications and public information for the international development sector, under the leadership of senior professionals offering mentorship in this area;
• Increased pool of professional contacts through networking with UN Women colleagues and other UN colleagues throughout the UN System;
• Experience of working as a team member in a multicultural setting.

Description of Responsibilities

1. Assist Research and Data activities  (focusing on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls)

• Conducting preliminary research and drafting various documents (i.e. reports & PPTs) on the key topics of the Centre’s Research and Data work in the areas of gender data and policy analysis
• General project and management support, including scheduling meetings, note-taking, coordinating across authors, fact-checking, and documentation
• Preparation of figures and tables using MS EXCEL and other visualisation tools
• Provide support in implementing training on gender data and statistics within the Centre
• Leveraging a wide range of apps and online tools to streamline and enhance task management efficiency

2. Research and Knowledge Management

• Providing support to development of gender data stories, factsheets and articles
• Preparing informational briefs and notes

3. Event organization

• Support organization of workshops, regional events, meetings and learning activities
• Provide support for logistical and administrative arrangements

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Research, writing, and organizational skills;
• Attention to detail;
• Ability to produce high-quality deliverables in a timely manner;
• Capacity to manage and synthesize big amounts of information;
• Creativity and technological awareness;
• Ability to work in teams for data collection and project development;

Qualifications

Education

• The intern must have studies in international development, gender studies, social sciences, or other subject relevant to this position, at the university level. 
• Meet one of the following:

    a) Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme, or higher);

    b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent);

    c) Be enrolled in a mandatory national service programme of which the internship may form a part;

    d) Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within two-years of graduation.

Language

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in Korean and English are required;

Required Skills

• Strong research skills, with the ability to synthesize information and present key insights clearly and effectively.
• Good understanding of data (including big data), statistics, and AI tools is a strong asset.
• Ability to effectively leverage a range of tools to improve efficiency, including data visualization tools (e.g., Canva) and AI tools, is highly desirable.

Renumeration 

Interns who are not in receipt of financial support from other sources such as universities or other institutions will receive a stipend from UN Women to partially subsidize their basic living costs for the duration of the internship.

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

 

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.