UNEP's "South-South Exchange Mechanism" is a tool to share information on SSC's role in environmental protection and environmental capacity building.  The Division of Regional Cooperation in Nairobi is seeking an intern to carry the project into its next phase. 

Please distribute this notice far and wide throughout your networks.  Interested candidates can contact Mr. Bob Kakuyo, Coordinator of UN Reform & South-South Cooperation, at bob.kakuyo@unep.org with a CV and cover letter.  We would like the intern to begin work on June 6, or as early as possible.  Thank you!

Project Description:

UNEP is in the process of creating an "Exchange Mechanism" intended as a tool for sharing South-South Cooperation (SSC) initiatives, events, success stories, established best practices, lessons learned, and expert group forums, with direct relevance to the environment. The Exchange Mechanism is hosted on a web platform which will get its source material from other organizations, governments, academic/research centres, civil society groups, and existing on-line resources, as well as original case studies.  

Currently, two colleagues are working on making the Exchange Mechanism a "living" resource and are engaged in the following: 

·        Defining the scope of SSC in relation to UNEP's work with a view to setting the operating boundaries for the case base; 
·        Assessing the design structure and tools that will make the Exchange Mechanism most effective and user-friendly; 
·        Deciding on a format for use in presenting individual SSC cases; 
·        Identifying and summarizing SSC initiatives, events, success stories, established best practices, and lessons learned for integration into the Exchange Mechanism; 
·        Interacting with and possible visits to relevant project sites to generate detailed case studies with analyses of how SSC works in practice and how SSC can be mainstreamed into UNEP activities and initiatives; 
·        Creating networks with individuals and organisations possessing relevant SSC information for sourcing Exchange Mechanism material; 
·        Piloting features of the Exchange Mechanism with SSC stakeholders and senior staff within UNEP and partner organizations; 
·        Overseeing the launch of a Beta-Version of the reformed Exchange Mechanism. 

The Exchange Mechanism is a long term project that is being developed through an iterative process of improvements, connection building and expansion of the scope. 

Internship Description: 

The intern will be expected to continue the program of activities as listed above, in addition to: 

·        Sustaining the networks created and building new ones for information sourcing; 
·        Receiving, reviewing, and drafting responses for queries, comments, requests, etc, sent to the south-south email address; 
·        Moderating and soliciting content from partner organizations and resource channels for analysis and posting on the Exchange Mechanism; 
·        Expanding the case-base of SSC initiatives, events, success stories, established best practices, and lessons learned for integration into the Exchange Mechanism; 
·        Analyzing in-depth studies of SSC cases through field investigations where possible and appropriate; 
·        Tracking developments in partner network events, activities, stories, etc, for use in generating content for the Exchange Mechanism; 
·        Continuing a pilot of features and content changes to the Exchange Mechanism with SSC stakeholders and senior staff within UNEP and partner organizations; 
·        Overseeing the continued integration of reformed features for the Exchange Mechanism. 

The intern will be expected to offer any foreign language skills to query information and reports from other countries.   The intern will be expected to invest time in a diverse range of SSC projects relevant to UNEP's interests including technology transfer, water, agriculture, energy, and climate change, among many others. Interns with experience in China-Africa cooperation may be invited to collaborate with the UNEP Special Representative to China on additional projects.  

Qualifications:

• Enrolled as an advanced degree candidate;
• Substantial international experience, excellent communication skills and self-motivation;
• Demonstrated interest and leadership in the fields of environment and development.