Back Intern in Ethnography and Administrative Support

Organization context

The UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021 embraces the complexity of development and commits the organization to helping countries find faster, more durable solutions to achieve Agenda 2030. Important development trends like urbanization, climate change, and rising inequalities pose significant challenges on our path to achieve the 2030 agenda of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UNDP has begun incubating several strategic initiatives aimed at ensuring UNDP is ‘fit for purpose’ to deliver a new generation of solutions in line with the challenges the world faces.  One such key strategic initiatives is the Country Accelerator Lab Network.  The initiative is a recognition that increasingly interrelated development challenges require going beyond business as usual and single point, linear and silver bullet responses in development.  Instead, they call for an interdisciplinary approaches and non-linear solutions that crowd in the collective efforts of variety of partners and tap into local insights and the knowledge of people closest to the problem and the solutions. The initiative is also a recognition and an investment in the emerging momentum among a growing number of UNDP Country Offices around joining disruptive, cutting edge methodologies with contextual, country-based insights and expertise to accelerate impact and progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.  

The Accelerator Lab:

The accelerator Lab is the largest and fastest learning global network (set up 92 labs supporting 116 countries) embedded within UNDP’s global architecture and country platforms. The new offering builds on the latest thinking from the fields of complexity science, lead user innovation and collective intelligence to accelerate development impact.

The network is surfacing and reinforcing locally sourced solutions at scale while mobilizing a wide and dynamic partnership of actors contributing knowledge, resources and experience.  The idea is to transform our collective approach by introducing new protocols, backed by evidence and practice, which accelerate the testing and dissemination of solutions within and across countries. This will enable the global community to collectively learn from local knowledge and ingenuity at a speed and at a scale that our societies and planet require. This will be achieved by:

• Building on locally sourced solutions, finding things that work and expanding on them;
• Rapid testing and iteration to implement what works and go beyond the obvious solutions;
• Combining the best understanding, ideas and expertise to generate collective knowledge;
• Accelerating progress by bringing expertise, creativity and collective intelligence to bear.

Support effective solutions mapping, reporting, validation and elevation:

• Liaise with community youth scouts, media houses and universities to identify solutions for development challenges
• Regularly Update a database of solutions and create patterns which can be used for further exploration or experimentation
• Contribute to writing of ethnographic research proposals
• Manage coding of data and data analysis using MAxQDA or Nvivo
• Produce reports on analyzed data and contribute to writing presentation for sharing research findings
• Monitor public media sources (both traditional and new media platforms) on a daily basis to capture innovation related issues as well as how innovation is embedded in people’s lives.
• Identify possible areas for partnership with innovators or local organizations, universities, research institutions engaged in innovation etc. whenever there is entry points;
• Contribute to blogs on solutions mapping and ethnography.

Provides financial support to the lab, support effective delivery of projects, support organization of events, missions focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Support financial operations by ensuring compliance with UNDP policies and procedures for judicious management of assets, resources, and personnel;
• Maintenance of the internal expenditures control system which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Atlas.
• Timely corrective actions on unposted vouchers, including the vouchers with budget check errors, match exceptions, unapproved voucher;
• Creation of requisitions in Atlas for development projects, register of goods receipt in Atlas;
• Review of NEX projects financial reports; preparation of non-PO vouchers for development projects.
• Making budget check for requisitions, POs and vouchers. Preparation of vouchers and requisitions for development projects.
• Support to project asset management including acquisition, verification and disposal of projects’ physical assets in accordance with policies and procedures (and travel in Malawi where required);
• Oversight of disposal of items and accuracy of asset and inventory data.
• campaigns
• Following guidance from the Lab Analysts, lead in the organization and logistics for incoming missions from UN/UNDP Headquarters, regional office and other partners.
• Following guidance from the Lab Analysts, and in close consultation with UNDP communications and operations units, lead in the organization of high level external and internal events, and advocacy functions.
• Effective implementation of the project procurement plan as provided by the Lab Analysts.
• Any other duties as assigned.

• Punctuality
• Intellectual curiosity
• Willingness to take initiative
• Ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines

• (a) Be enrolled for a Masters Degree in social sciences, social work, development studies, Information Technology, Management Information Systems or any relevant field

OR

(b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a Bachelor’s level degree in social sciences, social work, development studies, Information Technology, Management Information Systems or any relevant field

OR

(c) Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

• Knowledge of ethnography or qualitative research methodologies would be a plus;
• Previous experience of working on data and statistics would be a plus;
• Understanding of the social, economic, institutional and political environment in Malawi;
• Ability to work independently with minimum supervision;
• Knowledge of computer programs, including Microsoft Word, Access and Excel, knowledge of data analysis programs like Nvivo, MaxQDA would be a plus

Interns are financially remunerated by UNDP in form of a stipend, which is currently at MWK 93,746.25 per month.

Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of:
The nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students; or
The intern, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence through private sources.
Medical Insurance

Interns are responsible for securing adequate medical insurance for the duration of their internship with UNDP and must provide a medical certificate of good health prior to starting the internship. UNDP will not reimburse the medical insurance of the intern. Any costs arising from accidents and illness incurred during an internship assignment will be the responsibility of the intern.

Costs incurred by interns, including undertaking official travel at the request of UNDP, in the discharge of the activities related to the internship shall be reimbursed by  UNDP on the same basis as costs incurred by staff members or costs reimbursed to staff members, including payment of daily subsistence allowance, as applicable.

UNDP accepts no responsibility for loss or damage to personal effects that may occur during the internship.

 

Contract Duration: 6 months