Advocacy Internship

About Defence for Children International (DCI):

Defence for Children International (DCI) is a leading child rights-focused and membership-based grassroots movement, founded in 1979, the first International Year of the Child. DCI promotes and protects the human rights of children at the local, national, regional and international level, and was one of the drafters of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. DCI has special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Intranational Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Council of Europe. DCI also has observer status with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACHR) and the League for Arab States (LAS), among others. Moreover, DCI maintains a close relation with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and other key treaty bodies, agencies and experts working on ensuring the human rights of children. The DCI - International Secretariat, based in Geneva, communicates in three languages (English, French, and Spanish) to its National Sections and consists of four permanent staff (Executive Director, Advocacy Officer, Project & Capacity-Building Officer, and Outreach & Development Officer, as well as interns, volunteers and other temporary staff).

Job Description:

• Job Title: Advocacy Intern
• Position type: 40 hours/week (100%)
• Duration: 6 months (start date: early May 2022)
• Location: DCI International Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland
• Internship allowance (600 CHF/month)

Roles & responsibilities:

The intern will be working on DCI’s priority themes:

• Justice for Children
• Eliminating Violence against Children
• Children on the move
• Children affected by armed conflict

As well as on the cross-cutting issues:

• Children deprived of liberty
• Child Participation
• Gender Equality

The intern will be carrying out the following main activities, among others:

• Attend and report on relevant UN Human Rights mechanisms, such as the Committee of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Human Rights Council (HRC);
• Assist in the preparation of side events, statements, reports, etc. to be delivered to UN Human Rights mechanisms and support the follow-up of country reviews where DCI has presence;
• Assist in advocacy, communications and social media, and research activities in support of the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty (GSCDL);
• Conduct background research on specific issues;
• Liaise with DCI National Sections, particularly in the context of DCI’s Strategic Framework 2022-2026, including translation;
• Assist in monitoring UN Advocacy opportunities, news and events to be disseminated within DCI National Sections regularly;
• Assist in implementing child safeguarding within the movement;
• Provide logistical and translation support for public events and internal DCI meetings.

Qualifications & Education requirements:

Currently enrolled in a university degree in international law, human rights law, international relations or related field.

Preferred Skills:

• An excellent command of both written and spoken English;
• Spanish, French or Arabic are a distinct advantage;
• A good understanding of the functioning of the United Nations human rights mechanisms;
• Good communication skills, especially drafting and editing. Social media skills are a plus;
• Fully computer literate; user of Microsoft 365; knowledge of SharePoint welcome;
• Intercultural and interpersonal sensitivity and ability to represent DCI professionally;
• Proactive and can-do attitude, readiness to help out other team members as necessary, ability to work efficiently.

 We offer:

• Insight into the internal and external working of a global grassroots Movement;
• Insight into the United Nation’s human rights mechanisms and how NGOs can influence international policies;
• Insight into the work of National Sections’ in more than 35 countries across the globe;
• International working environment and being part of a small but dynamic team: your motivation decides the role and responsibilities assigned to you;
• Links to other key child rights organizations working in Geneva.

DCI is committed to equality of opportunity for all staff, and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of sex, age, disability, gender identity, or ethnicity.

Applications:

Interested candidates meeting the qualifications are invited to send their curriculum vitae (max. 2 pages) and an application letter (max. 1 page) in English to: DCIrecruitment@defenceforchildren.org by April 20, 2022 (with the subject line “Application – Advocacy Internship”).

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.