Apply for UN Women – Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Internship

Application Deadline: August 14, 2026 (04:59 AM)

About the Internship

UN Women’s regional representation for East and Southern Africa (ESA) is comprised of 12 Country Offices, one programme presence (Somalia), and support to 11 UN Country Teams where UN Women is a non-resident agency. All are coordinated and supported by the Regional Office (RO) in Kenya. ESA is a complex and diverse region comprised of sub-regions ranging from countries with weak governance prone to crises that cross borders, while other sub-regions represent middle-income countries that are relatively stable. The women’s economic empowerment context in the East and Southern Africa region (ESAR) remains complex and dynamic, underpinned by climate-related factors, conflict, displacement, fragility, micro and macro level shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that negatively affected basic commodity prices, agricultural inputs, and food systems in the region. These have and continue to disproportionately impact women and girls due to pre-existing structural gender inequalities before and during the crisis. The main agenda of the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Programme is to strengthen women’s economic autonomy through increasing access to quality livelihood opportunities, and support women and girls in their innovations, social enterprises, and capacities to secure social, economic and environmental assets and knowledge. The key focus areas for 2026/7 are: (1) Climate Resilient Agriculture and ensuring a just transition to the blue and green economies; (2) The Care Economy; and (3) women’s empowerment through entrepreneurship development, decent work and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement. UN Women ESARO seeks to hire an intern to support the WEE portfolio.

Responsibilities

Support the Policy Specialist to:

• Review and conduct economic empowerment related research from a gender economics perspective
• Support programme management and implementation
• Support various communications tasks such as writing position papers, talking points, website articles, and developing social media posts
• Support administrative tasks as required

Learning Goals:

• Enhanced knowledge on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment
• Enhanced knowledge on gender and economics in development in Africa
• Enhanced knowledge on the programmatic and operational aspects of working at UN Women

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

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrable knowledge of feminist/gender economics
• Demonstrable knowledge of development issues in Africa, preferably in East and Southern Africa

Qualifications

Education:

Applicants must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme or higher) in feminist/gender economics or any related field
• Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in feminist/gender economics or any related field
• Be enrolled in a mandatory national service programme of which the internship may form a part
• Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined above) and, if selected, must start the internship within two years of graduation

Language:

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English are required
• Working knowledge of another UN language is an advantage

Remuneration

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

Internship Details

• Job Identification: 35986
• Location: Nairobi, Kenya
• Job Schedule: Full time
• Agency: UN Women
• Vacancy Type: Internship Programme
• Initial Contract Duration: 6 Months
• Required Languages: English

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.

How to Apply

Application Link: Click here

For More Information: Visit the Official UN Women Careers Page