Internship at UNICEF’s Office of Research – Innocenti

Deadline: 20 July 2018
Open to: candidates who are enrolled in the last year of a Master’s or Ph.D. programme at an accredited institution orbe a recent graduate (have graduated within the past two years)in Development Studies, International Relations, Education, Public Administration, Political Science or other fields in Social Sciences related to the work of UNICEF.
Benefits:  monthly internship stipend of 1,000 USD to contribute towards living expenses.

Description

UNICEF’s Office of Research – Innocenti is looking for two interns for six months from September 3, 2018 to March 1, 2019. The position is at the Education Unit of the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, based in Florence, Italy.

The Office of Research – Innocenti is UNICEF’s dedicated research arm. Its prime objectives are to improve global knowledge of issues relating to children’s rights and to help facilitate full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child across the world. Working with partners including national committees and research institutes, the Office conducts research activities with a view to setting out a comprehensive framework for research and knowledge within the organization and making policies for children more evidence informed. The Office actively promotes high standards of research, including through the development of tools and trainings, and adopts a broad range of innovative communication methods to influence public debates and share best practice and insights to the benefit of children.

The purpose of the internship positions is to assist the Education Unit with the multi-country research project, Time to Teach:  A Study on the Determinants of Teacher Absenteeism in Sub-Saharan Africa.

To meet the aims of this project, the Education Unit is seeking two interns to undertake desk review and secondary data collection and assist indrafting national teacher motivation policy reviews for a number of countries in WCAR countries, including Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Niger, Togo, Mauritania, Central African Republic and Gabon. The interns will provide support in conducting comprehensive literature reviews of the causal effects of teacher policies on teacher absenteeism, producing individual teacher motivation policy maps for participating countries, making preliminary assessments of national policy effectiveness, and assisting the provision of country-specific policy recommendations.

Duration: 6 months, starting from September 2018.

Working hours: 9:00am-5:30pm (flexible based on agreement), full-time, 5 days a week.

The interns’ main responsibilities/tasks include:

  • Collecting information on the general characteristics of eachparticipating country’s education system, such as : organizational structure;number of schools and students;types of schools; anddemographic characteristics of the teaching force.
  • Conducting asystematic and comprehensive literature review of 1)existing evidence on the magnitude and determinants of teacher absenteeism in WCAR region and in individual participating countries; 2) the causal effects of teacher management policies on teacher absenteeism.
  • Identifyingonline policy databases and other digital platforms of national teacher management laws and policies, includingnational education strategies and policy reviews, schemes of service for teachers, trade union submissions and analyses for salary reviews, and other conditions of service.
  • Mapping of teacher policies in the WCAR countries. The interns will record and provide detailed informationon12 areas of teacher management and motivation policies: 1) requirements for entering and remaining in the teaching profession; 2) initial teacher preparation; 3) recruitment and employment; 4) teacher workload and autonomy; 5) professional development; 6) compensation (salary and non-salary benefits); 7) teacher transfers/mobility; 8) retirement rules and benefits; 9) monitoring and evaluation of teacher quality (including absenteeism); 10) teacher representation and voice; 11) school management/leadership; and 12)primary education plans and strategies.
  • Draftinga report of max. 20 pagesfor each participating countrywhich summarizesresearch findings and outlines preliminary policy recommendations and priority actions.

Eligibility

The candidate should:

  • Be enrolled in the last year of a Master’s or Ph.D. programme at an accredited institution orbe a recent graduate (have graduated within the past two years)in Development Studies, International Relations, Education, Public Administration, Political Science or other fields in Social Sciences related to the work of UNICEF.
  • Be proficient in English and French. Knowledge of Portuguese or other UN languages will be an advantage (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish).
  • Have strongacademic performance as demonstrated by recent university or institution records or, if not available, a reference letter from an academic supervisor.
  • Availability to travel to participating countries based on requests.
  • Have no immediate relatives working in any UNICEF offices in the world.
  • Have comprehensive health insurance coverage for the entire duration of the internship(UNICEF does not arrange health insurance for interns).

Required competencies:

  • Technical– strong research and analytical skills and ability to conduct critical literature and policy reviews.
  • Technical – strong understanding of various qualitative methodologies and analysis.
  • Technical – excellent knowledge and command of software such as, but not limited to, Microsoft Office applications, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.; basic statistical analysis and reporting skills (percentages, means, and drawing of charts).
  • Communication – effectively presents thoughts and ideas including complex technical concepts, in a clear, concise and readily understood manner, both verbally and in writing. Listens to and acknowledges others’ perspectives and views.
  • Managing resources – be efficient and effective. The candidate is comfortable with organizing and managing time and information to achieve defined goals and optimum results, working to strict deadlines.
  • Flexibility – works effectively on multiple assignments simultaneously and adapts to changing demands and circumstances.
  • Flexibility – ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

Desired:

  • Experience in research on issues related to educationand teacher motivation.
  • Experience indraftingpolicyreports.
  • Experience in presentation and meeting facilitation.
  • Have demonstrated knowledge of the sub-Saharan Africa context, preferably work experience in sub-Saharan African countries in education- or other development-related areas.
  • Fluency and excellent writing skills in one or more local languages (in participating countries).
  • Research publications in refereed/peer-reviewed journals.

Benefits

Please note that this internship foresees an all-inclusive monthly internship stipend of 1,000 USD to contribute towards living expenses.

How to apply?

To view the details of this Internship and for instructions on how to apply please click here.

For more information please visit the official website.