Work Location
Office-based / Geneva
Expected duration
6 months
Full time
Duties and Responsibilities
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.
The overall objective of the UNEP's Industry and Economy Division is to encourage decision-makers in government, local authorities and industry to develop and adopt policies, strategies and practices and technologies that promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production, make efficient use of natural resources, ensure safe management of chemicals and contribute to making trade and environment policies mutually supportive.
It promotes the development, use and transfer of policies, technologies, economic instruments, managerial practices and other tools that assist in environmentally sound decision-making and the building of corresponding activities. The Chemicals and Health Branch in UNEP's Industry and Economy Division gathers, compiles and analyses state-of-the-art information and data, including through monitoring activities, inventories and assessments, to allow policymakers to make informed decisions on the sound management of chemicals and waste.
Under the direct supervision of the Team Assistant, Chemicals and Health Branch, the overall supervision of the Chief, Chemicals and Health Branch, and periodic guidance, as needed, from the Library Assistant, Communications Division, the Intern will undertake the following tasks: Phase 1: Verification, Inventory and Gap Analysis of Publications Objective: Verify the Branch's physical publication collection and identify materials that have not yet been digitized or made available in the online repository. Key tasks:
Conduct a physical verification and inventory of publications and other knowledge assets held by the Chemicals and Health Branch.
Review and classify publications, reports and archived materials in accordance with UNEP records management standards.
Cross-check each publication against the Branch's online repository to determine its digitization status.
Prepare and maintain a comprehensive Excel inventory containing:
Publication title
Year of publication
Physical location/reference number
Availability in the online repository
Digitization status (already available / requires digitization)
Additional metadata as required.
Identify priority publications and archival materials requiring digitization.
Support the organization and maintenance of structured filing systems, inventories and records databases.
Contribute to the application of metadata and classification standards to improve information retrieval and discoverability. Deliverable: A complete inventory and gap analysis identifying all verified publications and highlighting those requiring digitization and inclusion in the online repository. Phase 2: Digitization, Quality Assurance and Repository Preparation Objective: Digitize, apply Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to, quality-check, organize, and manage publications and related records for inclusion in the Branch’s digital repository, ensuring accurate, accessible, and well-structured digital content. Key tasks:
Prepare publications and records for scanning and digitization.
Scan, index and organize priority publications identified during Phase 1.
Apply appropriate file naming conventions, metadata and classification standards.
Conduct quality assurance reviews of digitized documents, including verification of:
Completeness
Readability
Metadata accuracy
File naming consistency
Organize and store digitized files in the Chemicals and Health Branch SharePoint in accordance with established records management procedures.
Maintain tracking records documenting the digitization and quality-control process.
Support the preparation of digitized materials for subsequent inclusion in the Branch's online repository.
Contribute to improvements in document management, archiving and information retrieval processes. Deliverable: A complete, digitized, quality-assured and systematically organized collection of publications maintained in the Branch’s SharePoint repository and prepared for seamless integration into the online Knowledge Repository.
Perform other related duties as assigned.
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. Applicants must be students 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.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written English is required for the internship. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an advantage.
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.