INTER PARES Internship - Belgium

Context

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization with a mission to advance democracy worldwide, as a universal human aspiration and an enabler of sustainable development, through support to the building, strengthening, and safeguarding of democratic political institutions and processes at all levels.

International IDEA produces, shares, and enables the use of comparative knowledge in its key areas of expertise: electoral processes, constitution building processes, political participation and representation, as well as on democracy as it relates to gender and inclusion, conflict sensitivity and sustainable development.

INTER PARES

International IDEA and the European Union (EU) entered into an Agreement to implement the project “INTER PARES | Parliaments in Partnership - EU Global Project to Strengthen the Capacity of Parliaments”, for the period 2019-2022. In response to a successful first phase, the INTER PARES programme has been granted a second phase, again funded by the European Union, and implemented by International IDEA, for the period 2023-2025. INTER PARES aims to strengthen representative and inclusive democracy through support for the effective functioning of parliaments in partner countries, by enhancing their legislative, oversight, representative, budgetary and administrative functions. It focuses both on elected Members of Parliament (MPs), particularly in their capacity as members of parliamentary committees and on the staff of parliaments' secretariats.

The core of INTER PARES’ work is facilitating partnerships between European Union Member State Parliaments and partner parliaments around the world. To date, INTER PARES has enabled 21 partnerships, engaging 23 European Union Member State Parliaments in one or more of these partnerships. INTER PARES is demand-driven, supporting the development priorities of the partner parliament.

In combination with, and in addition to, its core partnership work, INTER PARES supports enhanced capacity of parliaments to advance critical global challenges, with a particular emphasis on youth, gender equality and women’s empowerment. Further, INTER PARES supports development of parliamentary strengthening knowledge and inter-parliamentary co-operation.

Internship Activities

The internship is an opportunity to be exposed to a diverse range of project activities, in collaboration with and under the guidance of a professional programme and administrative team.

The intern, under the guidance of the Head of Programme and his/her designees, shall perform the following tasks:

• Support to organisation of peer-to-peer partnership activities that take place in Europe, around the world, and virtually;
• Conduct short research assignments in preparation for project activities;
• Support development and implementation of international parliamentary development conferences and meetings;
• Assist in tracking project activities;
• Prepare project activity communications including for various social media platforms.

Expected outcome/learning opportunities

The intern is expected to benefit from the position by gaining insights, experience and knowledge on:

• Working processes of an intergovernmental organisation;
• Research and Communication tasks;
• Partnerships and network building;
• Democracy support; and
• Organisation of events and online meetings.

The intern will also have the opportunity to develop his/her analytical, presentation and researching skills. The objective of the internship is to provide a learning and research opportunity for an interested and talented student within a relevant study area. The intern is expected to act as part of the team, learning from all team members in their different capacities.

Management and Organization

The intern will be mentored by the Head of Programme and/or any other person designated by him/her. The intern will be provided with a workstation at International IDEA.

Qualifications and required skills

• Undergraduate students pursuing a degree in political science, history, international studies, international law, communications or equivalent. Postgraduate students (MA/MSc) are encouraged to apply
• Analytical, drafting and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to assess, manage and structure information.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Ability to appreciate diversity and interact with project partners around the world, and as part of a diverse team.
• Knowledge of the Microsoft Office package (including Excel).
• Knowledge of information management systems.
• Previous experience in publishing on websites and social media.
• Knowledge of platforms such as: Mailchimp, SurveyMonkey, Canva desirable.
• Fluent written and oral English required; Spanish and/or French language skills a strong asset.

Terms of Internship:

• The internship position will be full-time from 01/09/2024 to 30/01/2025. The intern will work office hours 9-17 if not otherwise agreed with the Mentor.
• All internships at International IDEA are unpaid, and insurance cover in respect of travel, health, medical costs, disability, accident, and death is not provided by International IDEA. It would be your responsibility to make your own insurance arrangements to ensure such cover.

Applying for this position:

• Applications should be submitted online no later than 23:59 (CET), 24 May 2024. Please note that all applications must be made in English.

International IDEA is an equal opportunity employer which seeks to further diversify its staff in terms of gender, culture and nationality.