The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) PeaceWomen Program Offers a United Nations (UN) Security Council Monitor (SCM) Research Fellowship Through Their New York City UN Office
The fellow attends and monitors Security Council debates and related events, writes policy analysis, posts monitoring information on the website, and provides PeaceWomen staff with information allowing timely and relevant interventions or advocacy with UN Member States.
Deadline: April 25, 2014
Location: New York
Organization: PeaceWomen
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) PeaceWomen Program offers a United Nations (UN) Security Council Monitor (SCM) Research Fellowship through their New York City UN office. This competitive unpaid fellowship is offered to graduate students or professionals interested in women, peace and security issues. A small travel stipend is included. The experience offers an opportunity to do analysis, research and write about women, peace and conflict issues and gain experience with grassroots communications and non-governmental organization management in the context of the United Nations.
The SCM Research Fellow is the project lead for PeaceWomen’s Security Council Monitor project, which provides comprehensive and up to date information on all Security Council debates and other action addressing issues of Women Peace and Security. The fellow attends and monitors Security Council debates and related events, writes policy analysis, posts monitoring information on the website, and provides PeaceWomen staff with information allowing timely and relevant interventions or advocacy with UN Member States. The fellow collects monitoring information about the Council including on upcoming missions and countries on the Council’s agenda with particular focus on countries where there are peace support operations. They participate in PeaceWomen’s Women Peace and Security lecture series and have access to related events and policy discussions through the UN and civil society community.
Fellows should be highly self-motivated and well-organized; work well both independently and as part of a team; open-minded, flexible, and not afraid to take initiative; and able to prioritize and complete multiple tasks on tight deadlines. The fellowship requires initiative, creativity, flexibility, and commitment while maintaining PeaceWomen’s high professional standards.
Term:
The term of this fellowship is for 8 months- 12 months, from May 2014. While a 1 year commitment is preferred, they are open to considering the shorter term lengths for exceptional candidates although a minimum commitment of 5 months is required.
Qualifications:
- Currently be enrolled in a graduate program (MA, MS, JD, LLM, PhD) or recently graduated with studies in international relations/affairs, international law, political science, public policy and administration, human rights, international development, international security, gender studies, or related field
- Background or interest in issues related to women, peace and security, including but not limited to sexual violence in conflict, women’s roles in decision-making, women’s participation in conflict prevention, peace processes and post-conflict peacebuilding
- Background in or strong interest in the United Nations system, understanding of its basic functions, structure
- Exceptional oral and written communication skills and attention to detail
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Computer proficiency in Windows environment (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); editing and website development experience including Content Management System (CMS) a plus
- Strong working knowledge of social media (Facebook, Twitter); experience with blogging and multi-media platforms a plus
- Ability to commit to at least 3 full days per week beginning May 2014;
- Ability to speak additional languages, such as French, Spanish or Arabic an asset, but not required.
Please note that the organization is unable to provide work visas for this position.
Expectations:
The SCM fellow will work three to five days per week in the WILPF PeaceWomen office and will have a key role in programmatic work. The fellow’s work will be guided by the PeaceWomen Program Manager and Program Director.
In addition to being project lead on the Security Council Monitor, the fellow should contribute as part of a team to other PeaceWomen projects and communications. Fellows will also be responsible for posting news, resources, and initiatives on the website according to their regional focus area as well as which are forwarded to them for posting by Program staff. The regions which PeaceWomen covers are listed online.
Additional duties include:
- Develop expertise on Security Council procedures and work
- Monitor and analyze international policy developments with short turn-around times to maintain most current information for advocacy and monitoring
- Contribute to other PeaceWomen projects including other UN and national implementation advocacy, monitoring & evaluation, & capacity building initiatives
- Contribute to PeaceWomen communications, including monthly Enews and social media
Fellows are also responsible for a certain amount of general office work which they will be trained on, including updating the PeaceWomen website, attending meetings, taking notes and performing general support and administrative tasks.
Application Process:
To be considered for the UN Security Council Monitor Research Fellowship, applicants should submit the following documents by 25 April 2014 via email. The subject of the e-mail should be “Spring/Summer 2014 Security Council Monitor Fellow Application” and all documents should be combined into one PDF or DOCX file.
- CV or Resume indicating education, relevant past activities and experience
- Cover Letter (1 page, single-spaced), including start/end dates & days/week available
- 3 References, including names and contact information
- Writing Sample (optional, no more than 5 pages), addressing an issue related to women, peace, and security demonstrating ability to write in short, clear, and concrete language (may be an excerpt of longer work)
No phone calls please.