Internship on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC)

Grade: Internship

Publication date: 07 April 2025
Application deadline (midnight Geneva time): 30 April 2025

Vacancy no.: INTERNROSTER/2025/1/ENTERPRISES

Job ID: 12772

Department: ENTERPRISES
Organization Unit: MULTI
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Duration of contract: 3 to 6 months (starting on the 1st or the 15th of a given month)

You are applying to the ILO generic internship roster, which is published twice per year. The roster will be made available to all departments and field offices, which will then select and directly contact suitable candidates. Due to the high volume of applications, the ILO does not inform candidates about the status of their application.

The ILO Internship Programme provides an opportunity for you to:

1. Increase your understanding of relevant issues at the international level by involving you directly in the work of the Office and the application of ILO principles, programmes and strategies.
2. Gain practical experience with the ILO directly related to your field of study.

   Please note that you:

   • Are requested to apply to a maximum of three internship profiles, otherwise you will be automatically disqualified.
   • Must upload a cover letter. Your CV or resumé uploaded as attachments are not accepted.
   • Are able to withdraw your application at any time via the Jobs Applied section of your profile.
   • May not be contacted for the duration that this roster is active. Should this be the case, we encourage you to reapply if you are still eligible and available.
   • Should not expect employment at the end of the internship.
   • Must apply before the deadline. Late applications will not be considered.

     The ILO values diversity:

     We welcome applications from qualified candidates, including from persons with disabilities and those from non- or under- represented member States.

     If needed, reasonable accommodation will be provided to candidates with disabilities in the recruitment phase as well as during the internship to promote equality of opportunities. If you are unable to complete your online application form due to a disability, please send an email to internship@ilo.org.

     If you are a national of a non- or under-represented member State, who is pursuing or has completed their studies in their home country, you may be eligible to have your travel costs covered by the ILO to Geneva, Switzerland.

     IMPORTANT:

     You can only apply for an internship if you:

     1. Have no close relative serving in the ILO (mother, father, brother, sister).
     2. Have not already undertaken an internship at the ILO.
     3. Are enrolled in a Master’s or a Doctorate Programme, or have completed such a programme in the year preceding the application.
     4. Have a working (both oral and written) knowledge of English. This is mandatory.
        

        Learning areas

        The internship is located in the Multinational Enterprises and Responsible Business Conduct unit (MULTI) of the Sustainable Enterprises, Productivity and Just transition Department (ENTERPRISES). The department’s overall mission is the promotion of sustainable enterprises of all sizes to achieve the ILO goal of decent work and social justice. MULTI contributes to this mission through the promotion of the ILO Tripartite Declaration on Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) among governments, enterprises and employers’ and workers’ organizations. The unit provides policy advice and technical support for the effective implementation of this instrument at the global, regional and country levels to encourage the positive contribution of business to decent work and to resolve potential adverse impacts of business operations on decent work and inclusive economic growth. It functions as the lead unit on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) contributing to international policy coherence on the labour dimension of RBC. It manages the ILO Helpdesk for Business on international labour standards. The unit also technically backstops a range of development cooperation projects providing opportunities for country level support. MULTI also leads the ILO’s engagement with the OHCHR on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; the OECD on the OECD MNE Guidelines for RBC and the UN Global Compact. Its work contributes to the implementation of the ILO’s strategy on decent work in supply chains.

        Required profile

        As an intern on RBC, you will be exposed to a whole range of policy areas such as trade, investment, supply chains issues, due diligence, local content policies and economic development through business linkages, public and private policies that stimulate responsible business conduct, etc. and the ILO’s specific contribution based on the approach of the MNE Declaration.

        The main focus of the work will involve support to ILO constituents (governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations) on making better use of the ILO MNE Declaration including its operational tools with a focus on preparing capacity building activities and national dialogues as well as capturing case studies and good practices. This work also contributes to the ILO’s strategy on decent work in supply chains.

        📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔, 𝗜𝗢𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐

        ⚠️ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐖!

        You will be gaining experience in working with specialists who are involved in the following tasks: support to the ILO Helpdesk for Business and its different services, country-level interventions using the MNE Declaration as a framework for action, capacity building and training activities, international policy coherence on RBC and due diligence, research to inform evidence-based policy-advice, tool development, engagement with other international organizations to closer align trade, investment and operations of multinational enterprises to decent work and national development priorities etc.

        Interns should expect to devote 10% to 20% of their time to administrative tasks
        

        Education

        • The candidate must be enrolled at least in a Master degree programme or must have completed such a programme no longer than 1 years ago
          • Law, economics, business, humanities, or other related fields.

          • Experience

            • Any relevant work experience in the public or private sector would be an advantage

              Languages

              Excellent communication skills, oral and written in English and French.

              Additional requirements

              • Flexible, able to deal with multiple tasks

                How to apply:

                1. Search for an internship profile via the page on ILO Jobs

                2. Select the internship profile you would like to apply for, and create a profile on ILO Jobs

                3. Complete your candidate profile and apply to the internship profile

                4. Be sure to attach a cover letter in the last section of the application, as applications without a cover letter will not be considered and you cannot attach a cover letter after the deadline.

                Selection process:

                Following a first screening by the Human Resources Development Department (HRD), hiring departments will short-list applicants. You will be directly contacted should an internship opportunity match your profile. If you have not been contacted by any department within six months after your application, you can consider that you have not been selected by any department for this roster. If still eligible, you may apply to the next roster.

                If shortlisted, you may be contacted by the hiring department for a written test and/or interview. The ILO may use communication technologies such as Skype, Video or teleconference, e-mail, etc for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

                Stipend/Financial compensations:

                As an intern in Geneva, you will receive a stipend of 2450 CHF per month from the ILO, unless you receive funding through another institution (for example your university or a foundation). If you receive partial funding, ILO will cover the difference to ensure you receive 2450 CHF per month. Your travel to Geneva will be at your own expense. In addition to the amounts referred above, each intern shall receive the amount of CHF45 per month, or the equivalent amount in the currency in which the monthly stipend is paid, which is a contribution from the Office towards the cost of medical insurance to cover the period of the internship.

                Qualified candidates from non- and under- represented countries may be eligible for a special fund that provides financial assistance for round-trip airfare (economy class) in addition to the stipend.

                Insurance:

                Please note that the ILO does not take responsibility for any costs arising from accidents and/or illness incurred during the internship. You will be responsible for your own insurance coverage for illness and accidents for the duration of the internship at the duty station (whether Geneva or the field).

                Fraud warning:

                The ILO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process whether at the application, interview, processing or training stage. Messages originating from a non ILO e-mail account - @ilo.org - should be disregarded. In addition, the ILO does not require or need to know any information relating to the bank account details of applicants.