Intern - Humanitarian Affairs

Work Location New York, in person/hybrid/remote, full-time/part-time Expected duration February - July 2027 Duties and Responsibilities The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response efforts. OCHA's mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention and facilitate sustainable solutions. All internships are within the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) secretariat, which provides timely, flexible aid where it's needed most, supporting humanitarian reform efforts and coordination led by Humanitarian and Resident Coordinators. The CERF team values diversity, empathy, and collaboration, encouraging open communication and the sharing of knowledge. Members lead their areas of work independently while contributing to team decisions, voicing opinions, and focusing on continuous improvement. Interns will monitor humanitarian developments, support anticipatory action frameworks, and draft funding application responses. Responsibilities include preparing guidance, conducting training, and coordinating with Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators. Interns will manage data on localization, gender, and funding trends, maintain information resources, and assist in partnerships with Member States and UN agencies. They will help organize high-level events, analyze complex data, and create dashboards to improve efficiency and transparency in funding allocations. This internship is based in New York and may be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis. For all positions, the preferred modality is in-person. However, remote or hybrid arrangements may be discussed and mutually agreed upon with the manager. Interns will participate in all aspects of the programmatic and partnerships work at CERF, and will be under the general guidance and direct supervision of a supervisor within CERF. Within the delegated authority, the incumbents will be responsible for performing the following duties, or a combination thereof, as determined by CERF: 1. Monitor, analyze, and research humanitarian developments: collaborate with OCHA desk officers on disaster-affected countries, using quantitative and qualitative research to support funding decisions for underfunded emergencies and anticipatory action frameworks. 2. Support anticipatory action frameworks: assist in setting up Anticipatory Action (AA) frameworks through research, analysis, document development, and work plan implementation, while coordinating with AA teams. 3. Review funding applications: work with Programme Officers to review and draft responses for funding applications, ensuring accountability with other OCHA branches and UN agencies. 4. Contribute to CERF’s work on climate-smart humanitarian action, including conducting analysis, reviewing project proposals and strategies, developing guidance and other work. 5. Support the partnership and reporting efforts of the CERF secretariat, including the preparation of the Fund’s annual reports, the meetings of the CERF Advisory Group and other events, as well as the development of CERF advocacy materials. 6. Support CERF’s responsible use of artificial intelligence by helping test and improve CERF AI agents, develop practical guidance, and validate AI-assisted outputs against source documents. 7. Prepare guidance and conduct trainings: support the preparation and revision of internal and public guidance, participate in training, and provide support to Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators for pooled funding processes. 8. Document preparation: pr