Overview
Internship Assignment
Adaptation Division
Review sub-division Team
(multiple assignments)
Application Announcement Expected start date Duration of assignment Modality
deadline number
18 June 2026 26/Intern23/A/Review Flexible, from August Minimum three months, On-site or
Sub-division 2026 onwards maximum six months remote
Organizational context
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the focus of the political
process to address climate change. The secretariat supports the Convention, its Kyoto Protocol and
the Paris Agreement by a range of activities, including substantive and organizational support to
meetings of the Parties and the implementation of commitments. It is a dynamic organization
working in a politically challenging environment to help resolve one of the defining environmental
issues of our time.
The Adaptation division of the UNFCCC secretariat supports the intergovernmental process relating
to adaptation. This process includes activities relating to the global goal on adaptation, national
adaptation plans, the Adaptation Committee, the Least Developed Countries Expert Group, the
Nairobi work programme, the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage and its
Executive Committee, the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform and its Facilitative
Working Group, adaptation communications and the adaptation registry. The Adaptation division also
engages Parties and stakeholders, including national, regional, multilateral and international
organizations, across public and private sectors, civil society and other relevant stakeholders.
The internship positions (remote or in-person) are located in the Review subdivision of the
Adaptation division, which supports the provision of coherent, holistic guidance on adaptation to
countries.
The Review subdivision consists of three units:
• Adaptation Committee unit, which supports the activities of this constituted body;
• Global Goal on Adaptation unit, which supports the workstream relating to the GGA including the
UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience;
• Reporting and Engagement unit, which supports the work on adaptation communications and
the associated registry, adaptation transparency, stakeholder engagement and outreach.
The interns will work with one or more of the units and its team members, under the overall
supervision of the Team Lead of the respective units.
Objectives of the internship
The interns are expected to perform a range of activities that are undertaken by all units in the
Adaptation division’s Review subdivision, including:
• Carrying out web-based research and literature review on specific topics to support the
preparation of knowledge products, mandated documents and outreaching/information
material;
• Supporting the team in updating relevant webpages and support in developing communication
materials on assigned topics;
• Participating and assisting in any meetings and events organized under the respective units,
including by taking notes during the respective negotiations and assisting the secretariat support
team as needed;
• Participating in activities of the Adaptation division, including attending staff meetings, with a
view to gaining understanding and insights into issues under other adaptation workstreams, the
workings of the UNFCCC and its organizational culture;
• Assisting in activities requested by the Manager of the Review subdivision and the Director of
the Adaptation division as needed.
Tasks specific to the three units include:
1. Support to the Adaptation Committee unit:
• Contributing to the committee’s communications and outreach work, including drafting
newsletters, social media posts, articles, documents and surveys; and graphically
designing material to make the technical work of the Adaptation Committee accessible
to a broader audience, including publications, slides, posters and social media cards;
• Contributing to technical work on indicators included in countries’ national reports for
measuring progress achieved towards reaching the global goal on adaptation;
• Researching background information for technical work on the state of adaptation in
countries world-wide, and on recognizing adaptation efforts by developing countries.
2. Support to the Global Goal on Adaptation unit
• Conducting research related to the Belém adaptation indicators, and support the
delivery of the secretariat technical paper;
• Supporting the preparation of workshops and events organized under the Baku
Adaptation Roadmap;
• Supporting the team in tasks related to preparation for negotiations at COP and
Subsidiary Body sessions.
3. Support to the Reporting and Engagement unit:
• Supporting the preparation of the secretariat's synthesis report on the state of
adaptation efforts, experience and priorities, for the 2nd global stocktake;
• Processing and updating adaptation data and information submitted by Parties;
• Supporting engagement and outreach activities carried out in collaboration with the
Office of the Executive Secretary, including preparing background notes on themes
ancillary to the work of the adaptation division.
Timeframe
The remote or in-person internships are for a minimum period of three and a maximum of six
months. The exact period will be determined based on the interns' availability.
For assignments with time on site: The selected candidate might require a permit to perform the
internship in Bonn. This could limit the time on-site to a maximum of 3 months in some cases and
could entail carrying out part of the internship remotely. Thus, any selected candidate shall take this
in consideration when applying. Also, they are expected to comply with the IT requirements
mentioned below.
Requirements
Applicants must, at the time of application and for the entire duration of the internship, meet one of
the following requirements: 1) Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree
or equivalent, or higher, such as a PhD) at a recognized university; or 2) Be enrolled in the final
academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s level or equivalent) at a
recognized university.
• University studies shall be in the field of economics, development studies, environmental
sciences, international relations, or other related fields, with good understanding of climate
change and its negotiating process.
• Candidates must be fluent in English (both oral and written) and have strong writing and note-
taking skills. Knowledge of additional UN languages is an asset.
• Demonstrated oral and written communication skills are required.
• The ability to work in a multicultural and multi-disciplinary environment is an asset.
• Experience with qualitative data analysis tools, as well as infographics, photography and
videography, and communications, including social media, are assets.
IT requirements
For any internship with a remote component, i.e. outside of Bonn, the selected candidate will
require a laptop or desktop PC (with Windows 10 or newer) or Mac (with the latest macOS update),
as well as a reliable, high-speed internet connection. An Office 365 license will be provided by
UNFCCC to enable the interne to access official emails, SharePoint, OneDrive, and other necessary
applications, such as Word and Excel.
Further computer requirements:
• An antivirus application which receives regular updates;
• Browsers must be a newer version with regular updates enabled;
• Regular Windows 10 updates should be enabled with a Windows laptop or PC.
In addition, a mobile phone will be required to enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA) through
SMS or the Authenticator App.
Internship conditions
UNFCCC secretariat internships are not remunerated, and the selected intern will be responsible for
all costs before, during and after the internship assignment. Interns of the UNFCCC secretariat are
not considered to be staff members. The selected intern will work in person in the UNFCCC premises
in Bonn or remotely on a full- or part-time basis (40 or 20 hours per week).
For more detailed information about UNFCCC Internship programme please visit the internship
section on our recruitment webpage.
Application procedure
Applicants who are interested in this assignment and meet the minimum requirements must use the
on-line application system, include a cover letter and attach the necessary documents to evidence
they are eligible. Due to the high number of applications, only candidates under serious consideration
will be contacted for assessment.