Internship in the Executive Office

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the world organization of national parliaments. It is the oldest political multilateral organization in the world, dating back to 1889. The IPU promotes the peaceful settlement of conflicts through political dialogue and negotiation. Its mission is to work for stronger parliaments and better democracies. Its current membership stands at 178 Member Parliaments.

The Executive Office is composed of the Senior Adviser to the Secretary General, the Senior Executive Assistant to the Secretary General and the Administrative Assistant. The Office provides backstopping to the Secretary General in the performance of his duties.

The intern would be required to support the administrative functioning of the Executive Office, inter alia by:

• Providing backstopping to the Secretary General in terms of correspondence inflow and outflow;
• Assisting with the preparations and activities associated with the two-three annual sessions of the IPU’s governing bodies;
• Attending bilateral meetings with the Secretary General for the purpose of drafting notes for file on the discussions;
• Drafting of correspondence in English and French;
• Maintaining spreadsheets and correspondence records;
• Providing administrative support for ad hoc bodies and events;
• Providing logistical support to the IPU President; and
• Preparing the IPU President’s official missions.

Given the sensitive nature of matters dealt with by the Executive Office, the selected intern will be expected to display discretion and respect confidentiality. The intern should be able to communicate orally and in writing in English and French (preferably French mother-tongue), the IPU’s two official languages.

Tasks

The intern should assist in carrying out all the tasks assigned to the Executive Office as part of the team. The workflow will depend on the schedule of meetings and missions. The intern will also be called upon to participate in IPU Assemblies held in Geneva and support those hosted abroad or virtually.

The intern should carry out any other tasks deemed suitable by the Senior Executive Assistant.

Location

The internship shall be carried out at IPU Headquarters in Geneva.

Length of internship

The internship would be from 1 September 2022 until 1 July 2023.