Internship: United Nations Sustainable Development Group System-Wide Evaluation Office

Job Description

Job Opening ID: 270593
Job Network : -
Job Family : -
Category and Level : Internship, I-1
Duty Station : NEW YORK
Department/Office : United Nations Sustainable Development Group System-Wide Evaluation Office
Date Posted : Jan 21, 2026
Deadline : Feb 10, 2026

Work Location
In person in New York or remote. Full time or part time modalities would be considered. Expected duration 4-6 months.

Duties and Responsibilities

Office Background
The Secretary-General established the United Nations Sustainable Development Group System-Wide Evaluation Office (SWEO) to strengthen oversight, transparency, accountability, and collective learning across the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, in line with the provisions of the 2024 UNSDG System-Wide Evaluation Policy.

The SWEO is responsible for the conduct of a small number of global system-wide evaluations on the most strategic and relevant system-wide issues related to the United Nations development system. These evaluations provide input to system-wide policy and agenda-setting, as well as operational implementation and decision making.

The programme of work in 2026 includes evaluations of:

• the UN development system’s approach to key transitions for SDG acceleration,
• the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub,
• the Joint SDG Fund, with others to be confirmed.

SWEO also has a key role in generation system-wide evaluation evidence to enhance collective knowledge sharing and promote learning. This work includes the production of syntheses and summaries of evaluation evidence and of evidence maps. Further priorities include the preparation of system-wide evaluation guidance, systems development and communications.

Further information is available in the 2024 Annual Report and on the United Nations website: https://www.un.org/system-wide-evaluation-office/en

Internship Duties
The System-Wide Evaluation Office is seeking applicants with an interest in the UN system, sustainable development, and monitoring and evaluation who wish to gain professional experience in an international organization from March 2026 onwards for a periods of 4-6 months (full time or part time).

The internship provides practical educational experience working in an independent evaluation office in a multicultural and intergovernmental organization. Under the supervision of experienced managers, interns are assigned projects and tasks that are relevant to their educational background and interests and provided with the opportunity to apply and further develop their theoretical knowledge and gain exposure to the work of the United Nations Secretariat. Interns report to full-time professional staff in the System-Wide Evaluation Office.

Interns will be responsible for one or more of the following duties:

• Contribute to preparation of documents and guidance materials through conduct of desk research and preparation of reports and papers.
• Assist evaluation teams in collecting, organizing and analysing qualitative and quantitative data.
• Contribute to preparation of evaluation knowledge management products, evaluation communication and services (database, newsletter, web-enabled knowledge platforms, etc.).
• Preparation of presentations and other communication material, including drafting, formatting, editing, data visualization, graphics, photos, and videos.
• Assist in coordinating the formulation of workplans and strategies.
• Support outreach and engagement through the preparation of meetings, events, talking points, background notes.
• Drafting minutes of meetings and ensuring timely follow-up.
• Assist with the development of office systems, as required.

Qualifications/special skills
To qualify for an internship by the United Nations Headquarters Internship Programme, the following conditions must be met:

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

1. Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
2. Be enrolled in the FINAL academic year of a university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent); or
3. Have graduated with a university degree as defined in (1) and (2).

Preferably in the area of a degree programme in one of the social sciences, economics, or public administration (preferably with course work in evaluation and/or related applied research methodologies) in a graduate school (second university degree or higher); or if pursuing their studies in countries where higher education is not divided into undergraduate equivalent institution towards the completion of a degree in one of the social sciences, economics, or public administration (preferably with course work in evaluation and/or related applied research methodologies).

Competencies:

• A keen interest in monitoring, evaluation and learning and commitment to the work of the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Show willingness to acquire new knowledge.
• Ability to work as a member of a team.
• Ability to produce quality results in time.
• Ability to work in a multicultural and multilingual environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Data analysis and visualization skills and proficiency of related software applications (e.g. Microsoft Power BI, SharePoint, Tableau, Excel, Qlik, SQL, R, STATA, MaxQDA, NVivo, Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop, Canva) would be a strong advantage.

Demonstrable interest in the UN system, sustainable development cooperation and/or monitoring and evaluation is required. Please explain how you meet this criterion using examples.

Skills in quantitative data collection and analysis are desirable. Please explain how you meet this criterion using examples.

Skills in qualitative data collection and analysis are desirable. Please explain how you meet this criterion using examples.

Communications skills (e.g. report writing, graphics, presentations, and social media) are desirable. Please explain how you meet this criterion using examples.

Prior experience of use of artificial intelligence and large language models is desirable. Please explain how you meet this criterion using examples.

Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian) is an advantage.

Additional Information

Visa and Work Authorization Mandatory Requirements:
For internships in the United States of America, interns who are not United States citizens, permanent residents or on another non-immigrant (such as F1 visa) status, will be required to obtain a G4 visa. Interns will be responsible for ensuring that they have a valid visa, and if required, employment authorization (CPT/OPT), allowing them to undertake the internship.

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 10, 2026