Legal/Protection Intern

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

H (no hardship)

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Family

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

Internship

Target Start Date

2024-06-01

Job Posting End Date

May 8, 2024

Terms of Reference

The UNHCR Office for Switzerland and Liechtenstein offers attractive internships with the legal/protection unit as well as the public relations unit. The internships are available throughout the year and usually last six months.
The Office acts as a country office for Switzerland and Liechtenstein. We work closely with the Swiss authorities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other relevant actors in Switzerland and Liechtenstein for the protection of asylum seekers, refugees and stateless people. We also seek to support governments to find durable solutions for refugees. 

Main Responsibilities
• Support in individual cases management and answer questions from refugees. 
• Conduct legal and factual research and collect information on a wide range of protection topics.
• Analyse the situation of asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
• Support the drafting of reports, briefing notes and background papers on matters relevant to UNHCR protection activities in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
• Provide ad hoc support in organizing trainings and workshops.
• Translate documents and correspondence.
• Perform other tasks as required.
Selection Criteria
In order to be considered eligible for an internship, the following criteria must be fulfilled:
• Be a recent graduate or current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by UNESCO.
• Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field of law, political science or related studies and a particular interest in refugee protection and human rights.
• Practical experience in / good knowledge of the Swiss asylum and international refugee law.
• Excellent knowledge of English, as well as French or German, and good knowledge of the other language. 
• Research experience and strong drafting skills.

What makes this position attractive
Our interns are part of a small but dynamic team and benefit from individual supervision. They are involved in day to day tasks, but are also entrusted with specific longer and shorter term projects. It is important for us that interns profit from the given tasks and learn more about UNHCR's mandate and activities. There is also the possibility of partial home-office arrangements.

Allowance
Interns receive an allowance of 2748 CHF/month. They are expected to make their own arrangements for travel, visa, accommodation and living expenses during the internship period. Please be aware that this internship does not carry any expectation or entitlement to employment with UNHCR at the conclusion of the internship or at any time thereafter.

Application
Interviews are supposed to take place on 15th May 2024. The successful candidate would ideally start during the month of June 2024.
Candidates with refugee background (holders of Swiss residence permits C, B, F or S) are encouraged to apply.

We look forward to your application!

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

German

French,

English

Additional Qualifications

Skills

French Language, German Language, Human Rights, International Human Rights, Languages, PR-Analysis of laws and practice relevant to human rights, Refugee Law

Other information

This position doesn't require a functional clearance

Home-Based

No

Important notice:

Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing or training). Read about how to avoid scams and fraudulent job offers.

If you were notified about unsuccessful application

• While our recruitment system successfully implements UNHCR policies, we have noticed some marginal errors. Please rest assured that a human recruiter will duly review your application as per our internal processes when it was declined due to lack of required number of years of relevant work experience.

For external applicants:

• We would like to call your attention on the eligibility of International Professional (P) category: According to our Recruitment and Assignments Policy,  P staff members will not normally serve in the country of their nationality, and the first regular appointment in the P category must be outside the staff member's country of nationality. In practical terms this means that you are not eligible to apply for International Professional vacancies advertised in the country where you are national of.
• Past application data and previously created applicant accounts are not migrated to this platform. Therefore, when applying for current vacancies, external applicants (not current UNHCR workforce members) should create a new account ("Sign In" on the top left corner >> Create account). Once successfully registered, you can start filling in your data and apply for vacancies.
• Applications for vacancies advertised on UNHCR's old recruitment platform will be duly reviewed and processed in the old platform (but no data will be migrated to the new platform).
• In case of technical difficulties when applying, external applicants (not current UNHCR workforce members) can write to Global Service Desk at Write an email.

For former UNHCR Colleagues:

• Former UNHCR employees who are on mandatory break-in service or have separated from UNHCR after 1 October 2022 should create an account through this platform. Once you fill in your basic personal information (employee ID, birth date, name, email address), Workday will identify you as prior personnel and merge your employee account with your external applicant account.

For Talent Pool / Evergreen candidates:

• Past applications to Talent Pools have not been migrated to UNHCR's new recruitment platform.
• As part of the transitional measures, candidates who were successfully accepted to a Talent Pool (now called Evergreens) have received e-mail instructions for re-submitting their application on UNHCR's new recruitment platform.
• The Evergreens are advertised per grade/ level; candidates can apply to one or more levels. If meeting all eligibility criteria at the given level and subject to functional clearance (if applicable), candidates will be added to the relevant talent pool. Applications will be valid for one year, after which candidates can re-confirm their interest.
• Evergreens are for sourcing candidates for Temporary Appointments (TAs). Candidates considering TA opportunities are recommended to keep an eye on the UNHCR Career website and apply once Evergreens are open for new applications (at the end of 2022).
• For updating a previously submitted Evergreen application, please click on the "withdraw" button against the Profile and reapply. Note: the change(s) will apply only to the relevant profile. You will have to update all other profiles (if any) if your data (i.e. nationality, new BA/MA degree, new language skill) has changed.

Read More

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

This is how cinfo can support you in the application process for this specific position:

• Application preparation: Before you apply for this position: Improve your application documents by registering for a Job Application Support. Our coaches are here to help tailor your application to the requirements of the job (service provided at your own cost). 
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