Apply for a WILPF Women, Peace and Security Fellowship
Description
The Women, Peace and Security Programme of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) offers fellowships for the period of 4-6 months through our New York City UN office.
The fellow will work closely with WILPF staff on monitoring, research and outreach support on Women, Peace and Security issues at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The fellow will monitor Security Council debates and UN events, research and draft policy analysis and update monitoring analysis and other content to the website. The fellow will contribute to social media outreach, website maintenance, and publication of WILPF's Women, Peace and Security Monitor newsletter.
This competitive fellowship is aimed primarily at young people interested in women, peace and security issues related to disarmament and women’s human rights. The experience offers an opportunity to research and write about women, peace and conflict issues and gain experience with grassroots communications and non-governmental organisation management in the context of the United Nations work.
The incoming fellow should be:
highly self-motivated and well-organised;
work well both independently and as part of a team;
open-minded, flexible and not afraid to take initiative; and
able to prioritise and complete multiple tasks on tight deadlines.
The fellowship requires initiative, creativity, flexibility, and commitment to WILPF’s mission, while maintaining WILPF’s high professional standards. This is a paid opportunity.
Opportunities
WILPF generally hires interns/fellows to join the NY WPS team during three different periods annually: January-May, May-August, and September-December. We accept rolling applications for all of these internship periods.
**We will next be hiring for an intern/fellow to start in January/February 2021 with the possibility of remote work depending on developments with the COVID-19 pandemic**
Qualifications
Strong interest in working for a feminist, anti-militarist organisation and dedication to feminist values;
Background or strong interest in issues related to women, peace and security, including but not limited to gender and militarism, sexual violence in conflict, women's roles in decision-making, women’s participation in conflict prevention, peace processes and post-conflict peacebuilding;
Currently be enrolled in a graduate programme (e.g., MA, MS, JD, LLM, PhD) or recently graduated with studies in fields such as international relations/affairs, international law, political science, public policy and administration, human rights, international development, international security, and gender studies;
Exceptional oral and written communication skills and attention to detail;
Strong communications background preferred with working knowledge of traditional media (press releases, events) and social media (Facebook, Twitter);
Ability to commit to at least 4 full days per week;
Ability to speak additional languages (especially French, Spanish or Arabic) strongly preferred, but not required.
As a feminist, anti-militarist membership organisation, WILPF is dedicated to building a global movement in the pursuit of peace and the fulfilment of human rights. We welcome applications from people of colour, feminists from the Global South, LGBTQ people, individuals from conflict-affected and diaspora communities, and people with disabilities. We believe that experience comes in many different forms, and also encourage individuals who may not meet all of the listed qualifications to apply if they feel that they would be a good fit for the fellowship.
Expectations
The fellow will work four days per week in the WILPF UN office (or remotely dependent on the COVID-19 guidelines) and will have a key role in programmatic work. The fellow’s work will be guided by the Programme Manager.
We expect a fellow to contribute as part of a team to other WILPF projects.
All interns/fellows are also responsible for a certain amount of general office work which they will be trained on, including updating the WILPF/PeaceWomen website, attending meetings, taking notes and performing general support and administrative tasks.
How to Apply
To be considered for the internship/fellowship, applicants should submit the following in ONE SINGLE document:
CV or Resume, indicating education, relevant past activities and experience;
Cover Letter (1 page, single-spaced), including start/end dates & days/week available;
2 References, including names and contact information and/or a letter of recommendation from an academic or field professional;
Writing Sample (no more than 5 pages), preferably addressing an issue related to women, peace and security, that demonstrates ability to write in short, clear and concrete language (may be an excerpt of longer work);
The subject of the email should be: “[Last Name, First Name] WILPF WPS Fellowship Application”, and all documents should be combined into ONE (1) SINGLE document ( PDF or DOCX file). Please send your application to peacewomen@wilpf.org.
No phone calls please.