Internship – Human Resources

Introduction to UNFPA

UNFPA, the United Nations reproductive health and rights agency, contributes to the expansion of possibilities for women and young people to lead healthy and productive lives. It is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

In East and Southern Africa (ESA) UNFPA works to improve lives in 23 countries in the region. The agency works with governments and through partnerships with other United Nations agencies, civil society, regional economic communities and the private sector to ensure that no one is left behind.

Globally, the ESA region is the most affected by HIV, which remains a major contributor to maternal mortality. Women are particularly affected, young women more so. A contributing factor is gender-based violence, which remains widespread. There are high rates of pregnancy-related school drop-outs. The region also faces an unprecedented rise in the number of adolescents and young people. There is a high population growth rate, the result of a substantial decrease in mortality rates and high fertility in 15 countries.

UNFPA focuses on impacting the lives of women and young people by empowering them; the agency seeks to ensure that they enjoy universal access to reproductive health and realize their reproductive rights – including in humanitarian crises. UNFPA places gender equality and human rights at the heart of this.

Background

The ESA Regional Office (ESARO), located in Johannesburg, South Africa, has the core function of providing strategic support and technical expertise to colleagues in the 23 Country Offices, including partners who work on the ground to improve people’s lives. The Regional Office is expected to provide policy advice, training and support to Country Offices, including the development of tools, guidelines and templates that can be replicated and contextualized within the Country Offices.

To enable the RO to achieve its strategic objectives that include technical support to COs, competent staff, recruited both locally and internationally, are a key underlying success factor. The RO currently has a staff complement of 58 members, who come from diverse backgrounds, technically and geographically.

The expectations from the COs on regional teams are quite high and this in turns requires that RO staff have a good understanding of the organization (Region, HQ and COs), processes and systems to enable them to support and respond to the Country Office needs in a timely manner.

The RO recently completed a realignment process that resulted in changes to the organizational structure, with the most notable change being the establishment of a Middle Income Country Technical Hub as well as a Regional Office Shared Services Centre; both structures are aimed at providing improved support, including technical support, to Middle Income Countries.

Consequently, 2018 will see the RO welcome on board a number of new staff members and it will be imperative to have a solid orientation guide and practice in place. The RO is cognizant that professional transitions are challenging and even unsettling in certain instances, for the new staff. A well thought through orientation process not only serves to settle in the new staff members more quickly, but also has an impact on their ability to perform effectively within their first year.

The orientation manual and guideline is aimed at providing the new staff members with a grounding on i) what the organization does; ii) guidelines on key required/expected processes; iii) sources of information and support, including ‘go to’ persons for both the office and unofficial queries in the form of a buddy system.

Purpose of the internship

The purpose of this internship is to provide support in the development and compilation of an orientation guide for new staff at ESARO. This guide will also be used as a guide/template for the COs in the development/review of their own orientation guides.

Main duties and responsibilities

1. Review the existing documentation within and outside of the region that relates to staff orientation, including review of industry best practice.
2. Develop/revise briefs for the different departments/programmes/thematic areas, including Country Office areas of work, and collate it centrally.
3. Create quick access links to commonly used information and tools, such as forms, approval processes, etc.
4. Develop/revise the RO’s operating context information necessary for new starters, especially those moving to South Africa.
5. Develop a standard schedule of orientation meetings for would-be newcomers, including necessary and relevant check lists.
6. Develop a guideline for the buddy system approach to orientation.
7. Facilitate the review of the final documentation by all the different stakeholders.
8. Collaboratively work with IT to ensure that relevant links to information are active and the orientation manual is active on the microsite.

Deliverables

1. A completed orientation manual with input from the different teams/units/departments;
2. Standard schedule template for newcomers, which includes key meetings;
3. Brief version of the orientation manual to send to newcomers before their actual start date;
4. Key documentation developed and stored on the microsite.

Organizational setting and management

The intern is expected to work from the UNFPA ESARO main office in Sunninghill, Johannesburg, South Africa, under the leadership of the HR Strategic Partner, who will also be the intern’s direct supervisor. The intern is also expected to collaborate with members from other units of the Regional Office and possibly, Country Offices.

The intern will have weekly planning and progress review meetings with the HRSP.

Logistics

This is an internship open to South African-based candidates only. A computer, desk and internet connection will be made available at the UNFPA ESARO office for the duration of the assignment.

Qualifications and key competencies

• A Bachelor’s degree in any field of study;
• Excellent communication skills in written and spoken English; past experience in professional writing is desirable;
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity;
• Developed skills/proficiency in the use of MS Office, ability to utilize the Internet as a source of information;
• Possess creative/innovative thinking abilities.

Application procedure