Sustainable Finance Research intern - HOME-BASED

Description

As the lead United Nations agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries develop policies, leadership skills, partnerships and institutional capabilities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 

As outlined in the UNDP Strategic Plan 2026-2029, UNDP’s work is guided by four strategic objectives that together define our contribution to human development: expanding prosperity for all, strengthening effective governance, safeguarding a healthy planet and building crisis resilience. These objectives are enabled by three accelerators that drive transformative impact across our portfolio: digital and AI innovation, gender equality and sustainable finance. Through this integrated approach, UNDP supports countries to deliver tangible improvements in people’s lives and to advance sustainable development at scale.  

UNDP, through its Sustainable Finance Hub (SFH), supports partners in promoting financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  As an accelerator of the UNDP Strategic Plan, sustainable finance strengthens countries’ ability to mobilize, align and deploy finance at scale for national priorities. UNDP supports international and country level policy reform as a catalyst for system-wide change, stronger policy environments, better-functioning markets and more coherent financing strategies for sustainable development. SFH work is delivered through three interconnected portfolios: 1) Public Finance for the SDGs; 2) Private Finance for the SDGs; and 3) Global & Country Financing Policy Frameworks.

You can visit the Sustainable Finance Hub website (https://sdgfinance.undp.org/) for more information
 

The intern will work under direct supervision of the Sustainable Finance Specialist and in close collaboration with other SFH team members. They will primarily support program design and implementation related to advancing understanding on the relevance of development reforms for credit risks and sovereign debt sustainability, including how reforms are evidenced, articulated, and perceived by markets.

The intern will assist in delivering the following duties and responsibilities:

• Research and Analysis: Conduct targeted research on the methodologies used by sovereign credit rating agencies (S&P, Moody's, Fitch) to assess ESG factors, and analyze the link between SDG-aligned investments, fiscal strength, and sovereign creditworthiness. Monitor research on stress test credit risks models and climate scenario modelling as relevant for the project. 
• Tool Development Support: Support the conceptualization and development of a visualization tool mapping the impact of SDG-aligned reforms on sovereign credit scores by gathering and analyzing country-level data on fiscal inputs (government spending on reforms), development outcomes (measurable SDG impact), and macro-financial metrics (risk assessment).
• Case Study and Knowledge Product Contribution: Draft literature reviews, contribute to the writing of research papers, and develop case studies showcasing how specific SDG-aligned investments can strengthen a country's fiscal fundamentals.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building Support: Assist in preparing background notes, presentations, and summaries related to the project. Contribute to the creation of training materials for capacity-building workshops.
• Fundraising Support: Assist in identifying potential funding opportunities, compiling donor intelligence, and drafting inputs for concept notes, grant proposals, and donor presentations aligned with SFH priorities.
• Communications Support: Assist the communication lead with planning and content development to promote knowledge products and research outputs through social media, websites, and internal platforms.
• Perform other duties within the functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.    

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and good interpersonal skills
• Strong organizational skills
• Ability to work independently, and in an entrepreneurial setting
• Ability to work and deliver under pressure
• Demonstrates and promotes the highest standard of integrity, impartiality, fairness and incorruptibility in all matters affecting his/her work and status.
• Demonstrates a high level of responsibility and professionalism in handling sensitive and confidential information with discretion and integrity.

Eligibility:

Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

1. Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme, or higher);
2. Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent);
3. Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation;

4. Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as part of this program.

    

   Education:

Field of study required: international development, sustainability, finance, business, economics, political affairs, sustainable finance, or any related field.

Experience:

• Demonstrated understanding of macroeconomics, sovereign debt, and international financial institutions (e.g., IMF, World Bank) through coursework or research is required.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills, with proven experience in collecting, cleaning, and analyzing economic and financial data is required.
• Familiarity with the methodologies of credit rating agencies and the role of ESG factors in sovereign risk analysis is an asset.
• Experience in writing research reports, policy briefs, or academic papers, preferably in sustainable finance or economics, is an asset.

IT skills:

• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office Suite of products is required.
• Familiar with data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, R, etc.) is desired.

Language skills:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

• More information about internship can be found here: https://popp.undp.org/policy-page/internship
• Interns must provide proof of enrolment in health insurance plan
• UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship
• Interns may be given a stipend according to UNDP Internship Policy: the stipend is to help cover basic daily expenses related to the internship, such as meals and transportation at the duty station
• Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity.