Economic Affairs Intern

  • Internship, Short-term contract assignment
  • Posted on 17 June 2025

Job Description


Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development (OISC), in the Inter-organizational and Inter-institutional Support Branch (IISB). OISC, under DESA, provides substantive support to the work of the United Nations General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/desa The internship is for four months, with an opportunity for extension, pending on the needs of the Department. The internship is UNPAID, full time and in-person. Interns work five days per week (35 hours) under the supervision of a staff member in IISB, to which they are assigned.

Duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Contributing to the monitoring and analysis of the work of UN intergovernmental bodies, including meetings of the 80th session of the General Assembly and its main committees, as well as those of ECOSOC on a broad range of issues (sustainable development, climate change, youth engagement, gender issues as well as peace and security);

• Following and reporting on negotiations of UN draft resolutions, in particular in the Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) of the General Assembly;

• Monitoring the annual high-level debate of the General Assembly, as well as formal and informal UN meetings and preparing reports and summaries of those meetings and on key issues and major developments in the economic, social and environmental fields. This may include preparing inputs for the Second World Summit for Social Development to take place in November 2025, and/or summaries of intergovernmental negotiations to reach a consensus on the outcome document of the Summit (UN To Hold “Second World Summit For Social Development” In 2025 | United Nations);

• Assisting in the substantive and organizational preparation of the 2026 ECOSOC Youth Forum (ECOSOC Youth Forum 2024 | Economic and Social Council);

• Contributing to the preparations and coordination of the annual session of the ECOSOC Coordination Segment in early 2026

• Providing assistance to support the work of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti; Undertaking research on critical issues on the agenda of ECOSOC 2025-2026; • Providing inputs to statements, speeches, briefing materials, talking points and background notes for the President of ECOSOC and UN DESA Senior officials;

• Providing inputs for communications, including contributing content to the ECOSOC website, newsletter, brochure, social media channels, press releases and news articles; and

• Undertaking other tasks as required.

Qualifications/special skills

Eligibility – To qualify for an internship with the United Nations Internship Programme, the following conditions must be met:

• Applicants to the programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements: (a) be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); (b) be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent);

• Applicants must be computer literate in standard software applications.

• No working experience is required to apply for the United Nations Internship Programme.

Your training, education, advance course work or skills should benefit the United Nations during your internship. No working experience is required to apply for the United Nations Internship Programme. Your training, education, advance course work or skills should benefit the United Nations during your internship.

Please explain how you meet this criterion using examples. Applicants must be a student in the final year of the first university degree (bachelor or equivalent), Master’s or Ph.D. Programme or equivalent, or have completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PH.D. Programme.

Do you meet any of the above criteria? Please explain below. If yes, please indicate which one and attach proof to the application. Please note that you will have to provide an official certificate at a later stage. Applicants must be computer literate in standard software applications. Please explain how you meet this criterion using examples.

Deadline : Jun 29, 2025

About the Organization

The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat is a vital interface between global policies in the economic, social and environmental spheres and national action. The Department works in three main interlinked areas: it compiles, generates and analyses a wide range of economic, social and environmental data and information on which Member States of the United Nations draw to review common problems and to take stock of policy options; it facilitates the negotiations of Member States in many intergovernmental bodies on joint courses of action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges; and it advises interested Governments on the ways and means of translating policy frameworks developed in United Nations conferences and summits into programmes at the country level and, through technical assistance, helps build national capacities.

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