2 Child Survival Advocacy Internship, New York Headquarters, GCA, 6 months (Remote/work from home)

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, an advocate

UNICEF’s Child Survival Advocacy Team is hiring two advocacy interns to support the team for six months starting in May or June 2026. These paid internships are located in the Division of Global Communication and Advocacy. The interns will be supervised by the Advocacy Manager and Advocacy Specialist in the team.

We are looking for individuals who are passionate about securing new policies, resources, and commitments which will accelerate action on child survival. UNICEF uses a range of advocacy tactics and approaches to reach decision makers and the public, and an interest in learning more about how change happens is a necessity for this role. Working collaboratively with UNICEF offices and partners is a core part of the advocacy team’s role, and we are looking for individuals with a passion for partnership and coordination. Our strength as a team is driven by good communications, teamwork, and collective determination for high-impact actions and activities.

The internship aims to provide an opportunity to be embedded into UNICEF’s Child Survival Advocacy Team and part of cross-divisional project teams to learn more about global advocacy and communications strategies, initiatives, and activities, while also providing opportunities the selected individuals can undertake and lead on key tasks and projects to contribute to the team’s overall goals. Successful candidates will have an opportunity to work on UNICEF’s global advocacy and communications moments and priority workstreams, which could include report launches, data releases, influencing the outcomes of political processes and meetings, and the design and implementation of champion and influencer engagement strategies.

Both interns will have the opportunity to work on multiple issues and on cross-cutting projects, determined by areas of interest and expertise.

How can you make a difference? 

Key tasks during the internship will include:  

• Supporting the coordination of meetings, webinars, and workshops, and producing relevant resources for these
• Desk research and analysis to produce short briefings on key child survival topics
• Developing background materials and undertaking scoping for new projects and activities, including UNICEF’s new champion and influencer engagement workstream
• Writing key messages, drafting briefings, and developing communications related to events, meetings, and key moments
• Support monitoring and case study development to showcase results from advocacy activities at country, regional and global levels
• Attending and supporting meetings, partner workshops, and other internal events
• Improving and supporting internal coordination systems for knowledge sharing across UNICEF offices and National Committees
• Prepare pitch decks or presentations for advocacy and communications activities

To fill this role, we are looking for students and recent graduates with a background in international development, public health, public policy, or international affairs who see themselves in an NGO/non-profit sector advocacy, policy or communications role in the future. A background in communications, advocacy, or related fields with demonstrable knowledge in vaccines, food systems, nutrition, public health or international development is desirable. This role requires strong writing and organizational skills, and attention to detail.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements:

• Education:
• Be enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or Ph.D. degree programme in Public Health, Global Health International Relations, Public Policy, International Development, Human Rights, Communications, Journalism or have graduated within the past two years.
• Work Experience:
• Have a relevant background in nutrit