Intern - Crisis Preparedness

Job Description

INTERNSHIP OFFICE BACKGROUND

Across Asia and the Pacific, multidimensional crisis risks - from political instability, climate shocks and natural disasters to economic fragility and social exclusion - are becoming more frequent, interconnected, and complex. These risks challenge the capacity of institutions to anticipate and respond effectively, requiring more adaptive, data-informed approaches to development and crisis response.

In this context, UNDP’s Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH) is leading efforts to strengthen integrated crisis risk monitoring and anticipatory action through the “Action and Anticipation for the New Agenda for Peace” initiative, implemented in five countries: Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste. The initiative supports country offices to identify and act on emerging risks to peace and social cohesion, using improved systems for risk sensing, analysis, and action.

To address these complex risk environments, there is a growing imperative to integrate diverse sources of data on risks across timeframe and phenomena – political, natural, social, economic – and to develop tools that can generate insights and flags in real time at low cost. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers significant potential to support this effort by enhancing the granularity, timeliness, and integration of risk analysis across multiple dimensions, and reducing costs of data cleaning, integration, alignment, and insight generation. Applied appropriately, AI tools such as natural language processing, geospatial analytics, and automated trend detection can help UNDP and its partners better understand evolving risks and inform early, context-specific responses.

The intern will support the established Early Recovery Task Team (ERTT) - a cross-functional technical team providing strategic and operational support to country offices navigating crisis contexts. The intern’s work will contribute to enhancing the regional office’s capacity to explore and demonstrate how AI tools can add value to multidimensional risk analysis and its application to early recovery, crisis response planning, and integrated programming.

DUTIES

The intern will assist in the following duties and responsibilities: Under the supervision of the Crisis Coordination Team Leader, the AI and Integrated Risk Monitoring Intern will support the technical colleagues from the ERTT working on risk in scoping, testing, and demonstrating the value of AI-enabled tools and approaches for multidimensional risk analysis and anticipatory action.

1.) Exploring AI solutions for potential integration into UNDP’s crisis and risk monitoring systems (45%):

• Conduct a landscape scan of available AI tools relevant to crisis and development risk monitoring (e.g., NLP, geospatial analysis, automated trend detection);
• Assess potential for AI integration with UNDP’s existing systems, including the Crisis Risk Dashboard (CRD), and data pipelines used by country offices.

2.) Applying selected AI tools to support planning, early warning, and knowledge generation within UNDP (45%):

• Identify and demonstrate the added value of specific tools through short prototypes or demonstrations using publicly available or UNDP-approved data;
• Explore pathways for linking AI-generated insights to planning, programming, and early warning mechanisms within UNDP and/or national systems;
• Support the packaging of findings into user-friendly materials such as technical briefs, presentation decks, or knowledge products for use in training, knowledge exchange, and prototyping workshops – formats TBD by ERTT team.

3.) Other (10%):

• Support other/ad hoc activities as seen relevant and needed.
  

REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Candidates must meet one of the following educational requirements:

• currently in the final year of a Bachelor’s degree; or
• currently enrolled in a Master’s degree ; or
• have graduated no longer than 1 year ago from a bachelor’s or master’s degree or equivalent studies.

Field of study: Computer/Data Science, International Development, Political Science, Conflict Studies, or a related field. Training or coursework in AI/ML, data analysis, or quantitative social science is required.

IT skills:

• Knowledge and a proficient user of Microsoft Office productivity tools;
• Emerging AI software solutions for risk analysis.
  

Language skills:

• English is required;
• Knowledge of other UN languages is an advantage.
  

COMPETENCIES:

• Interest and motivation in working in an international organization;
• Good analytical skills in gathering and consolidating data and research for practical implementation;
• Outgoing and initiative-taking person with a goal oriented mind-set;
• Communicates effectively when working in teams and independently;
• Good in organizing and structuring various tasks and responsibilities;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Responds positively to feedback and differing points of view;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Strong analytical and research skills;
• Ability to synthesize complex technical and programmatic information;
• Effective communicator across technical and policy domains;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and meet deadlines;
• Cultural and gender sensitivity and commitment to UNDP values.
  

DEADLINE: JULY 25, 2025