Grow your skills with a paid remote internship: Apply for the Innovation Intern position at UNDP
Closing Date: 30 September 2025
Grow your skills with a paid remote internship: Apply for the Innovation Intern position at UNDP
Background
The Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) serves as UNDP’s primary knowledge and advisory hub for Europe and CIS (RBEC) region. The Hub connects the region to a global network of development experts, builds knowledge and capacity, and forges partnerships to address the development challenges of a complex and diverse region. The Regional Programme (2022-2025) focuses on three key directions of change: structural transformation (including green, inclusive and digital transitions); leaving no one behind; and building resilience.
The UNDP Innovation Team in Europe and Central Asia is pioneering a transformative approach to sustainable development through strategic innovation, portfolio and systems-thinking methods. At the core of this work is the portfolio approach, which organizes initiatives around cohesive outcomes, enabling UNDP to address complex challenges through systems thinking and adaptive management. With over 15 active portfolios across 12 Country Offices, this systemic approach is reshaping development strategies in areas such as urban transformation, digital innovation, and crisis response.
Looking ahead, the team is focusing on three key innovation portfolio areas: Twin Transition (Digital and Green) on local level; AI and emerging technologies, aimed at scaling these solutions; and Future Ready UNDP, which incorporates foresight and intelligence for horizontal integration across themes. Our innovation work is organized around three flagship projects:
· The Mayors for Economic Growth initiative, funded by the European Union, has grown to include over 400 municipalities across five countries. This project provides targeted support, from quick response grants to portfolio journeys, helping local authorities reimagine economic development.
· The Slovak Transformation Fund enables city experimentation and impact acceleration work through BOOST, which accelerates social impact ventures through tailored support, networking, and financing opportunities.
· The SDG Blockchain Accelerator is a global initiative that helps scale blockchain and AI solutions to advance the SDGs. Led by UNDP’s AltFinLab, together with the Blockchain for Good Alliance, EMURGO Labs, the Stellar Development Foundation, and FLock Technology Holdings, it is funded by partners, including contribution from Project Catalyst, part of the Cardano ecosystem.
In addition to these flagship projects, the team is actively supporting conflict-affected countries on their pathway to EU accession, particularly Ukraine and Moldova. For instance, through the “EU Response and Renewal Grant Programme for M4EG,” we’re providing direct support to city and town authorities in these countries, addressing immediate needs caused by the war and supporting longer-term economic recovery and renewal.
The team is also at the forefront of exploring innovative financing mechanisms to address the unique challenges faced by small capitals and secondary cities in the region. Building on the success of the UNDP Alternative Finance Lab (AltFinLab) and early experimentation with innovative financing mechanisms, we’re exploring tools such as Green and SDG Bonds, Social Impact Bonds, tokenization, and smart contracts to bridge the financing gap for high-impact urban development projects.
Looking ahead, the team is exploring how emerging technologies can be harnessed for development. The innovation team is also focusing on digital transformation, recognizing that most innovation in the region is rooted in this space, with the goal of leveraging emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and digital financing solutions to drive systemic change and ensure transparent, efficient public sector and while seeking to create new opportunities at the intersection of digital and green technologies to drive sustainable development and systemic change in the region.
IRH is now looking for a driven and curious Innovation intern to join the Innovation Team, to support in the area of innovations and urban transformation, including on research, horizon scanning, design, and explore new ways of doing development.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Innovation Team at IRH, and in collaboration with project coordinators, the Innovation Intern will work closely with various team members in the Innovation Team on the following tasks:
- · Support the development of knowledge products, such as tools and user guides, as well as consolidation of practices on system thinking, urban transformation, alternative financing models, emerging technologies such as blockchain and AI or similar;
- · Support in advocacy efforts and development of communication materials for the innovation team, such as:
- o Draft articles, blogs, social media posts about regional and country level activities
- o Consolidate newsletters, develop and maintain user databases, and support distribution of newsletters and other communication materials
- o Support with updates of web-based platforms for the innovation with new communication materials
- o Research and generate input for policy notes/briefs;
Required Skills and Experience
Academic Qualifications/Education:
- Education: Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements: a) be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); b) be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent); or c) have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) in a relevant discipline and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation;
- · Demonstrated interest on systems thinking, innovative finance, human-centered design, emerging technologies such as blockchain and AI and other innovative approaches for development
- · Experience conducting advanced internet search and work with multiple documentation sources to extract required data and information [literature review];
- · Knowledge and/or experience with service design or other design disciplines, are an advantage
- · Experience with handling of web-based management systems, web administration, data analysis is is an advantage;
- · Experience in field of research is a advantage.
- · Experience in ethnography and/or urbanization is an advantage
Language skills:
· Language skills: Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English; knowledge of Arabic, French, Russian and/or Turkish is an asset.
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