Internship: Artificial Intelligence

Job Description

Job Opening ID: 270576
Job Network : -
Job Family : -
Category and Level : Internship, I-1
Duty Station : THE HAGUE
Department/Office : Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Date Posted : Jan 23, 2026
Deadline : Feb 8, 2026

Work Location: The Hague, in person / Hybrid / Remote

Expected duration: 3 months extendable

Duties and Responsibilities

These are internship positions which are located in Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in The Hague, in person / Hybrid or Remote.

OCHA is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response efforts. OCHA’s mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention and facilitate sustainable solutions.

The internship is within the Technology Services Section (TSS). Within OCHA, TSS enables the organization’s humanitarian coordination by providing secure, reliable, and user‑focused technology services across the organization. It ensures that staff can work effectively anywhere through robust corporate services, crisis‑ready connectivity, and responsive ICT support. TSS develops and governs digital solutions, strengthens data and reporting capabilities, upholds ICT policies and compliance, and drives innovation - including cloud technologies and AI - to enhance operational efficiency and empower both headquarters and field teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Research and Analysis:
  1. Conduct research on emerging AI trends, tools, and best practices relevant to OCHA’s work.
  2. Prepare internal papers, reports and/or presentations on these topics. Share findings through online engagement (online discussions, presentations, etc.).
• Rapid Prototyping and Experimentation:
  1. Explore and test emerging AI tools and approaches through quick, low-effort prototypes.
  2. Contribute to the development and refinement of a Prompt Catalogue to support effective use of generative AI across OCHA.
  3. Document learnings from experiments and share insights with the OCHA-AI community to inform future development and adoption.
  4. Collaborate with teams to identify practical use cases for AI tools and assess their feasibility through rapid testing.
• Content Development and Management:
  1. Collaborate with OCHA teams to gather and share insights on AI projects and initiatives.
  2. Develop and maintain content for the OCHA AI Intranet site, including policies, guidance, use cases, and project updates.
• Community Engagement and Support:
  1. Support the identification of sustainable activities to help ensure long-term engagement of the OCHA-AI community of practice.
  2. Contribute updates and other communication materials to keep the OCHA-AI community informed and engaged.
  3. Support the community focal point(s) with AI-related inquiries and support within the organization.
  4. Support the organization and coordination of regular meetings, workshops, and webinars to promote AI knowledge sharing and collaboration.
• Training and Capacity Building:
  1. Identify and promote opportunities for staff to participate in AI-related training and development programs. This may be done via the OCHA-AI Intranet site/community and/or OCHA’s Learning platform.
  2. Time permitting, produce short summaries / videos of how AI-approved tools can be used to aid OCHA staff in their work.

Qualifications/special skills

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

• (a) be enrolled in, or have completed, a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
• (b) be enrolled in, or have completed, the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent).

Applicants to the UN Internship Programme are not required to have professional work experience. However, a field of study that is closely related to the type of internship that you are applying for is required.

Do you meet any of the above criteria? 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 should have good knowledge of standard software applications, especially MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and MS Teams.

Applicants to the UN Internship Programme are not required to have professional work experience. However, a field of study that is closely related to the type of internship that you are applying for is required.

What is your area of study and how do you believe it is related to the internship you are applying?

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? 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.

Experience with AI tools or technologies is required:

Please describe your experience working with AI tools or technologies. Include specific examples of projects, platforms, or tools you have used, and your role in those initiatives.

Research and analysis skills is required:

Have you conducted research or written reports on emerging technologies, digital trends, or AI-related topics? Please provide a brief summary of your work and its relevance.

Prompt engineering or prototyping experience:

Have you experimented with prompt engineering or developed quick prototypes using AI tools (e.g., Vibe Coding, ChatGPT, etc.)? Share an example and what you learned from the process.

Training and capacity building:

Provide examples of how you have identified and promoted training opportunities within an organization.

Research and analysis skills:

Describe a time when you conducted research on emerging trends or best practices, how you analyzed the information, and the outcomes.

Community engagement and knowledge sharing:

Describe any experience you have in supporting or managing a professional or academic community, especially around technology or innovation. How did you contribute to engagement or knowledge exchange?

Publications question:

Provide details of any contributions you have made to publications, such as articles, reports, or research papers, and how they relate to AI or community engagement.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in English is required for the internship.

Additional Information

Competencies: The United Nations Core Competencies include:

1. Communication: Ability to draft clearly and concisely, good written and oral language skills.
2. Teamwork: Good interpersonal skills, ability to work collaboratively with colleagues from different national and cultural backgrounds to achieve organizational goals.
3. Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be ‘clients’ and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view.
4. Technological Awareness: Keeps abreast of available technology; Understands applicability and limitations of technology to the work of the office; Actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks; Shows willingness to learn new technology.

Assessment: Potential candidates may be contacted for interview.

Intern Specific text

Interns are not financially remunerated by the United Nations. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of interns or their sponsoring institutions.

Interns who are not citizens or permanent residents of the country where the internship is undertaken, may be required to obtain the appropriate visa and work/employment authorization. Successful candidates should discuss their specific visa requirements before accepting the internship offer.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

DEADLINE: February 8, 2026

About the Organization

In December 1991, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 46/182, designed to strengthen the United Nation's response to both complex emergencies and natural disasters. In addition it aimed at improving the overall effectiveness of the UN's humanitarian operations in the field. The resolution also created the high level position of Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC). This new function would combine into a single UN focal point the functions carried out by representatives of the Secretary-General for major and complex emergencies, as well as the UN's natural disaster functions carried out by the UN Disaster Relief Coordinator, UNDRO. Soon after, the Secretary-General established the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) and assigned the ERC the status of Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Humanitarian Affairs with offices in New York and Geneva to provide institutional support. Resolution 46/182 also created the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) and the Central Emergency Revolving Fund (CERF) as key coordination mechanisms and tools of the ERC. As part of the Secretary-General's programme of reform in 1998, DHA was reorganized into the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA. Its mandate was expanded to include the coordination of humanitarian response, policy development and humanitarian advocacy. OCHA carries out its coordination function primarily through the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, which is chaired by the ERC. Participants include all humanitarian partners, from UN agencies, funds and programmes to the Red Cross Movement and NGOs. The IASC ensures inter-agency decision-making in response to complex emergencies. These responses include needs assessments, consolidated appeals, field coordination arrangements and the development of humanitarian policies.