Deadline for Applications
December 14, 2025
Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)
H (no hardship)
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate Type
Internship
2026-02-15
UNHCR partners with governments and international organizations to ensure quality protective education for refugee children and young people everywhere. Of the 31.6 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate, approximately 14.8 million are refugee children of school age. Their access to education is limited, with almost half of them unable to attend school at all.
Five years after the launch of Education 2030: A Strategy for Refugee Education, there are signs of progress. Furthermore, continual improvements in data collection and reporting help to provide the most detailed picture yet of the state of refugee education and enrolment.
The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants pinpoints education as a critical element of the international refugee response. Furthermore, Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims to deliver “inclusive and quality education for all and to promote lifelong learning”.
Through their work with the Education section in Copenhagen, the Education intern will gain a better understanding of the work of UNHCR, increase their knowledge on forced displacement and challenges in refugee education, more broadly. Their contribution to the education team will specifically enhance their analytical skills, expose them to other actors working in the field of refugee education, including prominent authors in the field, and will help them enhance their publication track record, depending on opportunity.
The Position
The role involves supporting the work of the Education team focusing on key data & evidence elements with a number of relevant activities (specified below). The ideal candidate should have background and experience with research methods (both quantitative and qualitative), an academic or professional background in the field of education, and excellent writing skills. The candidate should also have experience working with datasets and analysis software (STATA, R, AtlasTi).
Duties and responsibilities
• Support ongoing work for the annual education data collection; specifically, contribute to the finalisation of a data mapping and produce regional factsheets with information on data gaps.
• Co-produce the Education Research Digest, a quarterly production which summarises the most recent evidence on refugee education.
• Produce one analytical report for the Education Brief series on a topic of interest related to refugee education.
• Support our work on learning measurement in contexts of forced displacement, as required.
• Provide support for talking points, presentations, or notes, as required.
Minimum qualifications required.
In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:
• Be either a recent graduate (having completed their studies within two years of applying) or a current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by IAU/UNESCO1; and
• Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of UNHCR2.
• Candidates with previous UNHCR Internship experience must not have exceeded the maximum total cumulative full-time internship duration of eight (8) months.
NOTE: An individual who bears the relationship of parent, child or sibling or step-parent, step-child or step-sibling to a current UNHCR staff member or affiliate is not eligible for an internship.
Desirable qualifications and skills
• A bachelor's degree in social sciences, currently enrolled in a postgraduate programme on education, forced displacement, development or other related field.
• Demonstrated experience with producing written material of good quality (unpublished material is acceptable); published work is an asset.
• Proficiency in data analytics and use of statistical software (R, STATA, PowerBI) and qualitative analysis software (AtlasTi). Use of MS Office is a must.
• Proficiency in English is a must; French and Spanish are desirable.
• Great communication skills, oral and written.
• Experience with other international organizations is an asset.
Conditions
It is a full-time role with working hours starting from 8.30 am to 17.00 pm, Monday to Friday (40 hours per week). The successful candidate will be assigned to support the team in Copenhagen.
The Intern’s allowance for the Copenhagen internship location is 12,190.21 DKK per month for a full-time internship.
Internships normally last two to six months, with the possibility of extension up to eight months for full-time internships and twelve months for part-time internships.
How to apply
The selected candidate will receive a link to the UNHCR recruitment portal to create a profile.
Obligations
Acquiring and renewing current visas, residence permits, including all associated costs, obtaining medical certification, and compliance with taxation requirements (if applicable), are the responsibility of the intern.
The selected candidate will need to provide UNHCR with proof of funding from the sponsoring institution (if applicable), health insurance coverage applicable to the assigned internship location, and a certificate of good health from a qualified medical practitioner certifying their fitness for work, as well as travel. In the event the candidate is not able to produce the required certificate, they will not be admitted to the Internship Programme.
Allowance and Travel: The Sponsoring Institution shall provide non-reimbursable financial support in the form of a stipend/scholarship/allowance/etc. for the period of internship with UNHCR. Travel expenses to and from the internship location shall be the responsibility of the respective sponsoring institution. UNHCR is not responsible for any renumeration for the intern during the internship period.
If you are a person with a disability and you expect you may face challenges during the recruitment process, you can indicate it in your application form.
There are options to select any health conditions you may have and outline any necessary adjustments related to disabilities during the recruitment phases. Providing this information is optional. It will be treated as strictly confidential and used only for the purpose of finding out how to better assist you during the recruitment process.
Adjustments for candidates with disabilities will be provided as best as possible and as needed upon request.
All candidates will be assessed based on meeting the requirements for each vacancy in relation to experience, skills, and education.
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UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, or training).
We welcome applications from candidates with a refugee or stateless background.
The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Standard Job Description
Required Languages
English
,
,
Desired Languages
,
,
Additional Qualifications
Skills
Education
Certifications
Other information
This position doesn't require a functional clearance
Remote
No