View Vacancy – Climate, Nature and Infrastructure Intern – Lima

This is an exciting Intern position within the Climate, Nature and Infrastructure (CNI) section of the British Embassy in Lima (soon ~13 staff) and will involve collaborating with national stakeholders as well as UK government officials in London and across Latin America. The successful applicants will help implement CNI’s strategy through the delivery of different UK programmes and projects.

CNI works towards achieving a permanent fall in deforestation and biodiversity loss, bedding in sustainable livelihoods and respect for indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) while reducing vulnerability to environmental crime in the Peruvian Amazon. We provide technical and political guidance to programmes managed by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, manage a portfolio of projects directly (funded by internal Challenge Funds), offer expertise to the Peruvian government, and engage in policy advocacy. 

Our work is divided into three priority themes: (1) Development of bio-businesses to create economic incentives for forest and land users to halt deforestation, (2) scale up of private sector investment into green products and activities, especially in the forest sector/nature, and (3) sustainable infrastructure. The successful applicants will work directly in one of the thematic priority areas – one intern will be focused on the bio-economy and green finance, and one intern will work on sustainable infrastructure and economic reporting depending on their background and interests. Applicants are encouraged to specify in their application which thematic area they are applying for.

Both interns will have the opportunity to learn about these thematic areas by supporting the delivery of projects, through engagement with local stakeholders, preparation of events and trips, and by assisting with logistical and administrative tasks. 

Roles and responsibilities:

One of the interns will report to the Head of Forests and Climate and the other intern will report to the Economic and Infrastructure Policy Lead. Both will:

1. Support the CNI portfolio, related with technical assistance programmes and other sources of funding, supporting project work to align with Embassy priorities, the section’s strategy and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals in Peru.
2. Contribute with projects’ monitoring and reporting under the guidance of thematic leads, especially through engagement with implementers, support in the preparation of meetings and review of deliverables. All this, while increasing knowledge in one key thematic areas.
3. Lead logistical aspects – with the support and guidance of thematic leads – of strategic events (such as Bioeconomy and Infrastructure Task Forces and High-Level Dialogues). Overseeing planning, stakeholder coordination, and delivery while ensuring that outputs strengthen bilateral relations between the UK and Peru.
4. Provide administrative and logistical support to official visits, scoping trips, working meetings, launches and capacity building activities (like workshops, training sessions, and best-practice dissemination).
5. Build relationships and maintain open lines of communication with key stakeholders in the Peruvian government, international donors, multilaterals, civil society, businesses and Indigenous Peoples.
6. Undertake research on specific subjects and summarise information to contribute to CNI objectives with strategic pieces of work.
7. Provide wider administrative support to CNI alongside team leads, including budgets, knowledge and information management, projects and contact management. This will include leadership on the quarterly newsletter and liaison with the communications team.

These responsibilities will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organisation. The above is an indicative outline of roles and responsibilities required of the role. The job holder will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by the Embassy. 

• Good organisational skills are crucial, with strong attention to detail. Successful applicants will be required to support the organisation of strategic meetings and events.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including experience collaborating and partnering with others and understanding other actors’ perspectives with empathy and patience.
• Very proactive. We look for applicants with a desire to learn and develop professionally. We expect applicants to share their skills with the team and be confident in expressing their ideas. 

Language requirements:

Language: English and Spanish
Level of language required: Advanced level. Applicants are expected to contribute to meetings and produce written work in English to a good standard.