External Statistical Engagement and Partnership Internship

Global Data Service,

Statistics and Demographics Section

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a full-time internship with the Statistics and Demographics Section of the Global Data Service at UNHCR Copenhagen.

Established in December 1950, UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for asylum seekers, refugees, returnees, internally displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. UNHCR currently operates in over 130 countries, using its long expertise to protect and care for millions.

Title: External Statistical Engagement and Partnership Intern

Duty Station: Copenhagen Denmark

Duration: 6 months (with possible 2 month extension)

Contract Type: Internship

Closing date for application: 15 January 2023 Midnight CET

Start date: February 2023

Organizational context

The Statistics and Demographics Section (SDS) which is located in UNHCR’s Global Data Service (GDS) in Copenhagen, oversees the production of global statistics on refugees and other populations of concern to UNHCR. Access to reliable, timely and accurate data is essential to achieve the aims of the Data Transformation Strategy 2020-2025, that is, to position UNHCR as a trusted leader on data and information related to refugees and other populations of concern. The Section develops external products such as the annual Global Trends report, which analyzes the changes in forced displacement and statelessness and deepens public understanding of ongoing crises, and the Refugee Data Finder, which enables humanitarian workers, decision-makers, researchers and many more to quickly access data and information on affected populations. The Section ensures that quality and coherent data related to forced displacement is systematically, responsibly and efficiently collected, analyzed and presented by UNHCR and its partners.

Increasingly, UNHCR’s approach to strengthen statistics, data and information systems is based on collaboration and collective efforts with partners and stakeholders, as the optimal way to both ensure the effective use of resources and to achieve outcomes for those affected by forced displacement.

At global level, UNHCR is a member of several multi-stakeholder statistical expert groups, ensuring that forcibly displaced people are visible in global statistical recommendations and reporting, through disaggregation of data by forced displacement status and, recently through the custodian role of a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator.

SDS has taken a leading role in the Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS), both as a steering committee member and host of the secretariat. EGRISS is a multistakeholder group, which was established by the UN Statistical Commission in 2016 to develop recommendations to improve official statistics on forced displacement and statelessness. UNHCR coordinates the activities of the group together with other steering committee members, consisting of organization from country, regional and international levels. In addition, SDS is co-leading the work of the EGRISS subgroup on capacity building on forced displacement statistics.

The section is a key member of the International Data Alliance for Children on the Move (IDAC), a platform that brings together diverse stakeholders working at the nexus between data and the topics of migration, forced displacement, human mobility, development, and child protection. It is led by a joint Secretariat comprised of UNICEF as Chair, UNHCR, IOM, Eurostat, and OECD. UNHCR is also a member of its capacity building and technical guidance working group.

In addition to the international initiatives mentioned above, SDS is increasingly working with Nordic National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and other identified partners to improve internal and external capacity on forced displacement statistics and expand the availability of statistical expertise for implementation.

Through the above-mentioned initiatives, UNHCR works closely with global, regional and national partners to strengthen capacity on how to collect and compile official statistics on forced displacement and to improve the quality and availability of such statistics. Inclusion of forcibly displaced and stateless people into national, regional and global statical production and systems is an important prerequisite for making these groups visible in policy making and programme development and a key component of the Global Compact on Refugees.

The position

The External Statistical and Partnership intern will work under the direct supervision of the Statistics and Data Analysis Officer responsible for statistical external engagement and partnerships within SDS, based in Copenhagen. The intern is expected to provide support to the Statistics and Data Analysis Officer in the collaboration with the above-mentioned partners and implementation of capacity building initiatives on forced displacement statistics.

Duties and responsibilities

• Support effective collaboration with external partners and groups, including the expert group on migration statistics, the interagency expert group on gender statistics, the interagency expert group on SDGs, IDAC and EGRISS.
• Support preparation for expert group meetings, including preparation of technical input and presentations.
• Support working group activities in EGRISS and IDAC, including research, analysis and administrative procedures in coordination with other working group members. This could include research related to capacity building and technical support or guidance development.
• Support organization of meetings, documentation of decisions and actions agreed and necessary logistical arrangements.
• Support in communication with relevant UNHCR divisions, units and DIMAs.
• Support monitoring & evaluation of activities, including keeping relevant folders up to date.
• Support the development of relevant communication and dissemination materials, including flyers, brochures and content to be used by UNHCR communication team.
• Support the organization of events, trainings, and workshops.
• Any other tasks, as needed including responding to ad hoc requests.
• Support UNHCR’s leadership and involvement in EGRISS and IDAC.
• Support the effective collaboration with Nordic NSOs and other identified NSOs and partners.

Minimum qualifications required

In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Be either a recent graduate (having completed their studies within two years of applying) or a current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by IAU/UNESCO; and
• Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of UNHCR.

NOTE: An individual whose father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister is a staff member of UNHCR, including a Temporary Appointment holder or a member of the Affiliate Workforce, is not eligible for an internship.

Desirable qualifications and skills

• A University degree (BA) in Statistics, Demography, Public Policy, Economics, International Relations, Social Science or any other related field;
• Demonstrated interest and understanding of official statistics and operational data, including different data sources (surveys, administrative data and census);
• Demonstrated ability to develop written material (reports, notes from meeting and advocacy material);
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with different audiences including national and international partners.
• Interest to pursue career in humanitarian/development action, forced displacement, migration or related field.
• Previous exposure to data management tools, information sharing platforms and data visualization tools, knowledge of statistical and data programming languages such as STATA, SPSS, R, MySQL or Python is desirable;
• Interest in project coordination and facilitation;
• Advanced knowledge of MS Office suite, especially Excel;
• Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members from different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Fluency in English language (knowledge of another UN language is an asset).

Conditions

It is a full-time role with working hours starting from 8.30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday (40 hours per week). The successful candidate will be assigned to support the JDC team at UN City, Copenhagen, Denmark. Depending on the circumstances, there is a possibility the successful candidate will perform certain duties remotely and/or from at home. Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member and engagement under a UNHCR affiliate scheme or as an intern is subject to proof of vaccination against Covid-19.

For non-EU candidates, D-visa needs to be obtained before traveling to Denmark which takes 4 to 6 weeks. The office will provide assistance on visa-related issues.

Allowance: Interns who do not receive financial support from an outside party will receive an allowance to partially help to cover the cost of food, local transportation and living expenses.