UN Women – Internship Push Forward for Gender equality and Women’s Empowerment, Istanbul,Turkiye

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.

As the lead UN entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, UN Women plays a central role in advancing global norms and standards, supporting their implementation at regional and national levels. The UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO), established in Istanbul, Türkiye, in 2014, provides strategic guidance, technical support, and coordination to country-level efforts across the region. ECARO collaborates with national gender equality mechanisms, governments, civil society, the private sector, and UN system partners to promote transformative change for women and girls.

Across Europe and Central Asia (ECA), gender equality progress is under acute threat. Regressive narratives, legal rollbacks, and shrinking civic space have led to a marked backlash against women’s rights, feminist movements, and civil society actors. Rising anti-rights narratives, democratic backsliding, legal and policy regressions, and shrinking civic space have intensified backlash against women’s rights, feminist movements, and gender justice actors. These trends intersect with rising authoritarianism, nationalism, digital repression, and geopolitical instability, posing a systemic risk to inclusive governance and sustainable development.

In response, UN Women’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) has taken succinct steps towards regionalizing UN Women’s global Push Forward Strategy, aiming to shift the narrative from reactive defense to proactive momentum-building. The Regional Push Forward Strategy and its accompanied Implementation Guide for ECA aims to provide a framework to coordinate system-wide responses, align programming around key leverage points, and strengthen partnerships with civil society, governments, and the UN system. It shall aligns with the newly approved UN Women ECARO’s Strategic Note (2026–2029) and complements ongoing efforts to integrate gender-transformative approaches at a regional- and country-level.

This internship will support the work of the Push Forward Task Force in finalizing, piloting and implementing the Regional Push Forward Strategy for Europe and Central Asia. The intern will contribute to strengthening coordination across regional and country-level workstreams, deepening collaboration with Country Offices and supporting engagement with HQ colleagues, including the Civil Society Division, to ensure alignment between regional implementation, global learning and cross-regional knowledge exchange. The internship is intended for a candidate with strong research experience who can help build on ECARO’s regional research initiative on gender push-back narratives, including by supporting analysis, synthesis and documentation of findings, practices and emerging trends. Working in close collaboration with regional and HQ colleagues, the intern will contribute to evidence-based, politically informed and strategically coordinated efforts to advance gender equality in increasingly complex and contested contexts.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Under the overall guidance of the designated supervisor, the intern will support the work of the Push Forward Task Force in advancing the finalization, piloting and implementation of the Regional Push Forward Strategy for Europe and Central Asia. The intern will contribute to research, coordination, analysis and knowledge management, working closely with ECARO colleagues, Country Offices and HQ colleagues, including the Civil Society Division.

Expected tasks may include:

• Supporting research and analysis on gender push-back narratives, anti-rights movements, shrinking civic space and related trends across Europe and Central Asia;
• Contributing to the finalization, piloting and implementation of the Regional Push Forward Strategy and accompanying tools or guidance;
• Supporting coordination with Country Offices to gather inputs, document emerging practices and identify country-level needs related to Push Forward implementation;
• Assisting with knowledge management, including the synthesis of research findings, preparation of briefs, meeting notes, presentations and other internal materials;
• Supporting collaboration with HQ colleagues, including the Civil Society Division, to align regional work with global learning, civil society engagement and cross-regional exchange;
• Providing logistical and substantive support to meetings, consultations and task force discussions, including agenda preparation, note-taking and follow-up tracking.

Learning objectives:

1. Develop a strong understanding of how UN Women advances gender equality and women’s empowerment in contexts marked by gender backlash, anti-rights narratives and shrinking civic space.
2. Gain practical experience in supporting regional strategy implementation, including coordination across regional, country and HQ levels.
3. Strengthen research, analytical writing and synthesis skills through contribution to a regional research initiative on gender push-back narratives.
4. Learn how evidence, partnerships and civil society engagement inform strategic programming and advocacy on gender equality in Europe and Central Asia.
5. Gain professional experience in an international development environment, including collaboration, knowledge management and support to multi-stakeholder processes.

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:

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 an asset.

Required Qualifications

Applicants to UN Women Internship Programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

a) Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme, or higher);

b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent);

c) Be enrolled in a mandatory national service programme of which the internship may form a part;

d) 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).

A person who is the child or sibling of a UN Women personnel is not eligible to apply for an internship. An applicant who bears any other family relationship with a UN Women personnel is eligible and may be engaged as an intern, provided that the intern must never be assigned to the same work unit of the related personnel or be placed under the direct or indirect supervision of the same.

Other Requirements

• Sound Analytical Writing Skills;
• Interest in Gender issues;
• Strong Research skills
• Excellent communication skills in English (spoken and written);
• Working knowledge of another UN language is an advantage.

Renumeration:

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

Application Information:

• All applicants must submit CV and a motivation letter with their application indicating their available timeframe for the internship programme. (When completing your application profile, please make sure to include all relevant experience and skills on Quantum)
• Due to the high volume of applications received, UN Women can ONLY contact successful candidates.
• The successful candidate will be required to provide proof of enrollment in a valid health insurance plan at the duty station of the internship, proof of school enrollment or degree, a scanned copy of their passport/national ID and a copy of a valid visa (as applicable).

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 to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and 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.)

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.