UN Women: Internship Roster 2026 - 2027 for Programme and Operations

UN News; Fatih; On-site; TRY 8,900 - 18,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Stipend

Job summary

UN Women in Istanbul, Turkiye invites applications for an internship to support regional gender equality programming. The intern will assist with research, data gathering, and support across operations under supervision.

The role requires fluent English, a university degree or enrollment in a postgraduate program, and strong writing and analytical skills. A stipend is provided to help cover living costs, with exposure to international development work.

Qualifications

• Fluent English required for the internship.
• University degree or enrollment in a postgraduate program is required.
• Strong research and writing skills are essential.

Responsibilities

• Develop understanding of how gender equality is promoted through UN Women programmes.
• Gain professional experience in an international development environment.
• Learn to support women in enhancing self-agency and skills alignment.

Skills

Fluent English

Strong research skills

Effective writing

Communication skills

Education

University degree or enrollment in postgraduate program

Tools

Microsoft Office

Basic design applications

Job description

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women Regional Office for the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region was established in Istanbul, Turkiye, at the beginning of 2014 as a part of the UN Women’s new regional architecture. The ECA Regional Office covers 12 countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo (in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine). Based on UN legislative mandates and the UN Women Strategic Plan, the Regional Office for ECA provides strategic programme development, policy/ technical advisory services, and quality assurance support to field offices and regional/sub-regional programmes. It undertakes or coordinates regional research and data analysis, and advises on norms, policies, and strategies for achieving the internationally and regionally agreed goals related to gender equality and women’s empowerment issues. It acts as a knowledge hub at the regional level, collecting evidence on progress and emerging issues and sharing knowledge on innovative approaches and lessons learned in implementation.

UN Women in the ECA region focuses on the following strategic priority areas:

• Women's Leadership and Political Participation: Supporting women's meaningful participation and leadership at all levels of decision-making, and promoting inclusive governance through partnerships with governments, civil society, and international stakeholders.
• Women Economic Empowerment: Enhancing women’s access to economic opportunities by advancing equal pay, decent work, social protection, care services, digital inclusion, and enabling policy environments that support women’s entrepreneurship and economic resilience.
• Ending Violence Against Women: Addressing root causes of violence through prevention strategies, legal reform, institutional capacity-building, survivor-centered services, and community engagement.
• Women Peace and Security: Ensuring women’s participation in peace processes, conflict prevention, and post-conflict reconstruction, and promoting accountability for gender-based violations in humanitarian and crisis contexts.
• Gender and Good Governance: Advancing institutional reforms and processes for gender-responsive public policy development and implementation, strengthening women’s participation in decision-making and institutional accountability, including in the context of EU accession as a reform accelerator in parts of the ECA region.
• Humanitarian, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Response: Ensuring gender-responsive humanitarian action, disaster risk reduction and climate policies and programmes by promoting women's leadership and participation in preparedness, response, recovery and resilience-building efforts, while addressing the differentiated impacts of crises, disasters and climate change to women and girls.
• EU for Gender Equality: Strengthen capacity of institutions, civil society organizations, youth networks and community actors to address discriminatory social norms and counter anti-gender narratives in favor of gender equality, women's economic empowerment and prevention of gender-based violence.
• Gender Data and Statistics: Strengthening the production, accessibility and use of gender data and statistics in key areas, including women's economic empowerment, gender and the environment, violence against women, and women, peace and security/humanitarian action, to advance gender equality, women's empowerment and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting: Advocating gender equality to be mainstreamed into national planning and budgeting processes, ensuring transparency, accountability, and adequate public investment in gender-responsive policies and services.
• Push Forward: Strengthening regional capacity to anticipate and respond to gender backlash and backsliding through evidence generation, foresight, strategic communications and advocacy, UN coordination, and support to feminist movements and broader coalitions advancing gender equality.

And other key functional areas include:

• Strategic Planning, Monitoring & Reporting
• Communications
• Strategic Partnerships, Intergovernmental and Normative Engagement
• Partnership and Resource Mobilization
• Human Resources
• Coordination
• Evaluation
• Operations (Administrative, Finance/Budgets, Procurement & Travel)

Important Note: UN Women Europe and Central Asia Office developing a roster of qualified interns. This is not a recruitment, but based on the roster, UN Women can recruit interns from the roster as the need arises.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Under the overall guidance of the designated supervisor, the intern will closely collaborate with the UN Women team in areas relevant to their specialization. The intern will contribute to advancing the overall goals of UN Women's mandate by supporting the implementation of programme activities, as well as assisting in operational and administrative functions within the Regional and/or Country Offices, as required

1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of how gender equality and women's empowerment are promoted through UN Women programmes and activities.
2. Gain meaningful professional experience in an international development environment, contributing to career development and future employment opportunities.
3. Learn how to support women in enhancing their self-agency and developing skills in areas aligned with their interests and needs.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent research, writing, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work effectively in collaborative settings.
• Ability to multi-task and address competing priorities.
• Ability to produce high-quality deliverables in a timely manner.
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office; familiarity with basic design applications are asset.

Other Requirements:

• Sound Analytical Writing Skills;
• Interest in Gender issues.

Required Qualifications:

• A university degree in a field directly related, or otherwise relevant, to the programme for which you are applying is required.
• Meet one of the following:
  • Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme, or higher);
  • Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent);
  • Be enrolled in a mandatory national service programme of which the internship may form a part;
  • Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within two-year of post‑graduation (maximum).

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is an advantage. (French, Arabic, Chinese, or Spanish).

Other Requirements

• Sound Analytical Writing Skills,
• Interest in Gender issues,
• Strong Research skills.

Renumeration:

Interns who are not in receipt of financial support from other sources such as universities or other institutions will receive a stipend from UN Women to partially subsidize their basic living costs for the duration of the internship.

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates,and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,ability, national origin,or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere toUN Women’spoliciesand proceduresandthestandardsof conduct expected of UN Women personneland will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Disclaimer:

UN Women does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process.

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process