2 Child Survival Advocacy Internship, New York Headquarters, GCA, 6 months (Remote/work from home)
UNICEF · Remote · Internship
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives,
defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood
through adolescence.
At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as
we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a
calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse
opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them
reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the
world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and
passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits
package.
Visit our website [https://www.unicef.org/] to learn more about what we do at
UNICEF.
For every child, an advocate
UNICEF’s Child Survival Advocacy Team is hiring two advocacy interns to support
the team for six months starting in May or June 2026. These paid internships are
located in the Division of Global Communication and Advocacy. The interns will
be supervised by the Advocacy Manager and Advocacy Specialist in the team.
We are looking for individuals who are passionate about securing new policies,
resources, and commitments which will accelerate action on child survival.
UNICEF uses a range of advocacy tactics and approaches to reach decision makers
and the public, and an interest in learning more about how change happens is a
necessity for this role. Working collaboratively with UNICEF offices and
partners is a core part of the advocacy team’s role, and we are looking for
individuals with a passion for partnership and coordination. Our strength as a
team is driven by good communications, teamwork, and collective determination
for high-impact actions and activities.
The internship aims to provide an opportunity to be embedded into UNICEF’s Child
Survival Advocacy Team and part of cross-divisional project teams to learn more
about global advocacy and communications strategies, initiatives, and
activities, while also providing opportunities the selected individuals can
undertake and lead on key tasks and projects to contribute to the team’s overall
goals. Successful candidates will have an opportunity to work on UNICEF’s global
advocacy and communications moments and priority workstreams, which could
include report launches, data releases, influencing the outcomes of political
processes and meetings, and the design and implementation of champion and
influencer engagement strategies.
Both interns will have the opportunity to work on multiple issues and on
cross-cutting projects, determined by areas of interest and expertise.
How can you make a difference?
Key tasks during the internship will include:
* Supporting the coordination of meetings, webinars, and workshops, and
producing relevant resources for these
* Desk research and analysis to produce short briefings on key child survival
topics
* Developing background materials and undertaking scoping for new projects and
activities, including UNICEF’s new champion and influencer engagement
workstream
* Writing key messages, drafting briefings, and developing communications
related to events, meetings, and key moments
* Support monitoring and case study development to showcase results from
advocacy activities at country, regional and global levels
* Attending and supporting meetings, partner workshops, and other internal
events
* Improving and supporting internal coordination systems for knowledge sharing
across UNICEF offices and National Committees
* Prepare pitch decks or presentations for advocacy and communications
activities
To fill this role, we are looking for students and recent graduates with a
background in international development, public health, public policy, or
international affairs who see themselves in an NGO/non-profit sector advocacy,
policy or communications role in the future. A background in communications,
advocacy, or related fields with demonstrable knowledge in vaccines, food
systems, nutrition, public health or international development is desirable.
This role requires strong writing and organizational skills, and attention to
detail.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
* Education:
* Be enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or Ph.D. degree programme
in Public Health, Global Health International Relations, Public Policy,
International Development, Human Rights, Communications, Journalism or have
graduated within the past two years.
* Work Experience:
* Have a relevant background in nutrition, food systems, community health,
global health, international development, or public policy. Experience in a
prior NGO/non-profit role, especially in advocacy and communications, is an
asset.
* Excellent writing and research skills, including experience in writing short
reports and briefing notes.
* Experience developing or maintaining knowledge management tools and systems
is desirable.
* Good working knowledge and experience across Microsoft SharePoint, Word,
PowerPoint, Excel is required.
* Have excellent academic performance as demonstrated by recent university or
institution records.
* Have no immediate relatives (e.g. father, mother, brother, sister) working in
any UNICEF office; and have no other relatives in the line of authority that
the intern will report to.
* Additional consideration will be given for any relevant past experience.
* Language Requirements:
* Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language
(Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.
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For every Child, you demonstrate...
UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and
Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get
acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values
[https://www.unicef.org/careers/get-prepared#Values]
The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…
(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others
Familiarize yourself with our competency framework
[https://www.unicef.org/careers/media/1041/file/UNICEF%27s_Competency_Framework.pdf]
and its different levels.
UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child,
everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of
the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global
workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is
committed to include everyone
[https://www.unicef.org/careers/equity-inclusion-and-diversity-unicef],
irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual
orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any
other status.
UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of
gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with
disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to
our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable
accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable
accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any
accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button
on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF
[https://www.unicef.org/accessibility#contact]. Should you be shortlisted,
please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details,
enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.
UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18).
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims
and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation
and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on
gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic
background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and
safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo
rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to
these standards and principles. 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, and
selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting
documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.
UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the
host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be
facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation
(vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be
selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required
or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN.
Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.
Remarks:
As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the
paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of
securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.
UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming
workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable applicants are encouraged to
apply.
Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally
required to resign from their government positions before taking up an
assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of
appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not
obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable
period for any reason.
UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment,
selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage,
validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for
applicants’ bank account information.
Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan.
UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all
staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be
deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening
resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.
All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be
contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal
candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area,
or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be
selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.
Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here
[https://www.unicef.org/careers/unicef-job-categories].