PeaceWomen Fellowships/Internships - 2019

Apply for a PeaceWomen Fellowship/Internship

Description

The Women, Peace and Security Programme of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) offers short term (4 months) Women, Peace and Security internships and longer-term (6 months) Women, Peace and Security fellowship through our New York City UN office.

The intern/fellow will work closely with WILPF staff to provide monitoring, research and outreach support to WILPF's advocacy on Women, Peace and Security issues at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The intern will attend and monitor Security Council debates and UN events, write research papers and policy analysis, including the annual update of the Security Council WPS Scorecard, and post monitoring information on the website. The intern/fellow will also conduct social media outreach, contribute to website maintenance and redevelopment, and support publication of WILPF's monthly Women, Peace and Security Monitor electronic newsletter.

This competitive internship/fellowship is aimed at graduate students or young professionals 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.

A intern/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 internship/fellowship requires initiative, creativity, flexibility, and commitment to WILPF’s mission, while maintaining WILPF’s high professional standards.

 

Opportunities

WILPF generally hires interns/fellows to join the NY WPS team during three different periods annually: January-May/June, May/June-August, and September-December.

We accept rolling applications for all of these internship periods, until a month and a half before the internship start date.

Qualifications

• Currently be enrolled in a graduate programme (MA, MS, JD, LLM, PhD) or recently graduated with studies in international relations/affairs, international law, political science, public policy and administration, human rights, international development, international security, gender studies, or related field;

• 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;

• Background or strong interest in the United Nations system. Understanding of UN’s basic functions/structure preferred;

• Exceptional oral and written communication skills and attention to detail

• Strong interpersonal skills;

• Computer proficiency in Windows environment (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); editing and website development experience, including Content Management System (CMS), is a plus;

• Strong communications background with working knowledge of traditional media (press releases, events) and social media (Facebook, Twitter);

• Experience with blogging, multi-media platforms, and desktop publishing (InDesign, Photoshop, etc.) is a plus;

• Ability to commit to at least 4 full days per week;

• Ability to speak additional languages (especially French, Spanish or Arabic) preferred, but not required.

Please note that we are unable to sponsor US work visas for this position.
 

Expectations
The intern/fellow will work four days per week in the WILPF UN office and will have a key role in programmatic work. The intern/fellow’s work will be guided by Programme Director.

We expect an intern/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 to: peacewomen@wilpf.org

• 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 e-mail should be: “[First Name Last Name] WILPF WPS Internship/Fellowship Application”, and all documents should be combined into one PDF or DOCX file.

No phone calls please. Please e-mail peacewomen@wilpf.org with any questions.

Thank you!