Intern - Governance and Institutional Development Division

The Governance and Institutional Development Division (GIDD) is one of the major Secretariat Divisions responsible for managing the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC). It executes the Secretariat’s mandate on public sector development. GIDD’s work covers the full spectrum of public policy, management, and administration, as well as issues relating to civil society and private sector institutions with public responsibilities. Its role is to provide advice and technical cooperation in capacity building and institutional development towards poverty alleviation and sustainable development in Commonwealth member countries.

GIDD is seeking a talented individual with excellent research and analytical skills to support the work of the ICTs for Development team.

The ICT for Development team sits within GIDD and focuses on the ways in which ICTs can positively contribute to both the Governance and Development Agendas. The team administers 3 principle programmes:

• The E-Government programme assists member states in the deployment of technologies which improve service delivery, increase access to information, and enable effective government decision-making.
• The Commonwealth Connects Programme is the Secretariat’s response to bridge the deepening Digital Divide across the 54 countries of the Commonwealth.
• The Commonwealth Connects Portal, and sub site Commonwealth Communities Online, articulate the secretariat’s vision of an online gateway showcasing the work of the numerous Commonwealth agencies, and provides a space where Governments and citizens can interact.

In addition, the team is responsible for the management of the ICTs for Development journal and produces in-house research on various topics including the impact of ICTs on corruption, education and food security and examines the role of web 2.0 in promoting participatory democracy.

Job Summary

GIDD is seeking a talented individual with excellent research, analytical and communication skills for a six month internship placement. The intern will primarily assist the ICT for Development team in carrying out research on areas related to the team’s work, including research to identify and document the key strands and themes across GIDD’s ICT for Development work, in order to inform improvements in the coordination and coherence of the work programme.

Internship Programme

The Commonwealth Secretariat’s Internship Programme combines practical work experience with a structured learning experience through specific briefs aimed to achieve identified Secretariat objectives. It also aims to provide opportunities for professional development for recent graduates to gain experience and prepare them for the labour market.

Task description

• Conduct in-depth research on various topics related to ICTs for Development, Governance and Democracy.
• Conduct research on the Secretariat’s work in ICTs for Development, in order to identify and document common themes, strands and approaches throughout the programme.
• Provision of research support in order to identify the economic impact of Cybercrime.
• Produce briefings on a variety of topics as and when required.
• Perform any other duties appropriate to the position, including programme support, as may be required from time to time.

Person Specification

• Recognised graduate level qualification in a relevant field (International Development, Public Administration and Development, ICTs for Development, Informatics, Governance, Political Economy etc).

• Relevant Post-Graduate level studies on-going or completed.

Post holder should be able to demonstrate:

• Understanding of the governance agenda in international development thinking and practice
• Excellent understanding of the role of ICTs for Development
• Well-developed research and analytical skills
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team
• Ability to organise, plan and prioritise workload and work under pressure to deadlines
• Excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills
• Problem solving skills used to resolve routine and ad-hoc queries/ problems
• Ability to draft short promotional articles
• Ability to use own initiative
• Negotiating skills to interface at all levels
• Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with a variety of stakeholders;
• Excellent IT, e-mail and internet skills including the use of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint)
• Ability to meet the core Secretariat requirement of working effectively and sensitively in a multicultural environment