International Service for Human Rights

An internship with the UN monitoring team offers interns a unique opportunity to view the UN human rights system at work. Interns are required to monitor UN human rights meetings, including the Human Rights Council, Treaty Body sessions, and working groups. Interns substantively contribute to ISHR’s publications and analytical material, such as the Council Monitor, the UPR Monitor, the Treaty Body Monitor and other regular online publications.

To be considered, applicants should:

• be motivated to pursue a career in human rights and have a particular interest in the UN human rights system
• have a background in international human rights law, international relations, political science or a related discipline;
• have a very high standard of written and spoken English;
• be able to report thoroughly and accurately on the meetings they attend
• be flexible, including a willingness to cover the evening sessions of some UN meetings
• be able to work as a member of a team and willing to participate in a variety of tasks, as required

The UN team internship is currently full until January 2013.

This programme works to encourage human rights defenders at the national level to consider engaging with national, regional and international human rights mechanisms as part of their human rights strategies. An internship with this programme would give you the opportunity to be involved in our work with regional human rights defenders' networks, particularly in Africa, and to assist with the preparation of ISHR engagement with human rights bodies at the regional level.To be considered applicants should:

• Be motivated to pursue a career in human rights and have a particular interest in the UN and regional human rights systems
• Have a background in international human rights law, international relations, political science or a related discipline
• Have good analytical and research skills
• Be fluent in English and in French
• Have proven interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multi-cultural environment

The Regional and National team internship is currently full until August 2012.

An internship with the Training Programme gives the intern a chance to be involved in ISHR's core activities in training human rights defenders to effectively use UN human rights mechanisms. The intern will be expected to help plan and co-ordinate Geneva-based training courses, liaise with human rights activists and academics, UN staff, and facilitate interaction between course participants and UN special procedures, diplomats and key NGO representatives.

To be considered, applicants should:

• be familiar with or have an interest in international human rights law and procedures
• be committed to human rights education
• have very good interpersonal and leadership skills
• be highly organised
• be fluent in English. Fluency in French is required for training courses in French.
• have good teamworking skills
• have experience with working with a wide range of individuals from a variety of backgrounds

The Training team internship is currently full until June 2012.

An internship with the communications team provides interns with an opportunity to learn about the workings of the international human rights system and the implementation of communications activities in this context. The intern assists with editing and translation of publications, developing ISHR's online presence, and a variety of other communications projects.

To be considered, applicants should havebe undertaking tertiary study in the field of communication, marketing, sociology, languages, graphic design or similar, or have recently completed such study. They should also possess:

• Excellent communication skills in French and English (fluent oral and written)
• Excellent IT skills including a good command of Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Additional skills in website content management, design or video production software (Joomla, iMovie, InDesign, Xpress, Illustrator, Photoshop) would be an advantage
• A good understanding of online social media (including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter)
• Excellent people skills and ability to multi-task
• Flexibility and willingness to also carry out administrative tasks (data entry, questionnaire analysis, etc)
• A desire to experience working in a multi-cultural environment and genuine interest in becoming familiar with the work of a human rights NGO
• Full or part-time availability, for a period of six months, with a possibility to start in mid-February preferred
• Motivation to pursue a career in Communications with a particular interest in human rights issues.

The Communication team is currently full.

The finance team offers an internship to work on various financial projects in line with the activities of the organization. The intern will provide assistance to the finance officers and carry out some tasks such as follow-up on the budgets, track the funding, expenditures and balances, update monthly reports, prepare monthly payments, ensure regular bookkeeping and manage petty cash. The intern substantively contributes to the implementation of new procedures related to finance and analytical accountability.

To be considered, applicants should:

• Have a background in finance and administration
• Have a good command of Word, Excel, and accountability software would be an asset
• Be fluent in English and fluency in French is desirable
• be able to multi-task and work under pressure to meet tight deadlines
• be flexible and willing to carry out the less interesting tasks (bookkeeping, bill paying)
• be motivated to work in a multi-cultural environment