🇨🇭 Academic Engagement Intern 🎓 UNEP FI Taskforce Internship in Geneva, Switzerland 🌱

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The overall objective of UNEP's Industry and Economy Division is to encourage decision makers in government, local authorities and industry to develop and adopt policies, strategies, practices and technologies that promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production. The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is the strategic partnership between the United Nations and over 500 banks, insurers and investors. For over 32 years, UNEP FI has been shaping and driving the international sustainable finance agenda, setting global standards and growing a global network of leading financial institutions. Through its work-streams and regional activities, peer learning, methodology development, training and research, UNEP FI promotes sustainable finance and helps the financial industry align with and contribute to the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

UNEP FI established a 12-month Academic Engagement Taskforce, running from February 2026 to January 2027, to bridge the gap between market actors and researchers in sustainable finance, with the UNEP FI Global Roundtable 2026 in London in June as its centrepiece. The Taskforce advised on priority research questions and event formats and produced a scoping paper on bridging the research-practice gap. With the Global Roundtable now delivered and its outcomes being digested, the initiative is entering a follow-up phase focused on taking forward the next steps identified by the Taskforce and the academic sessions at the Roundtable. This work may be pursued in collaboration with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) or independently, and could include expanding academic engagement to banking and insurance, establishing regular research outputs and outreach, and strengthening the links between UNEP FI members and the research community. The intern would join this motivated team to support the follow-up phase and help shape the future of UNEP FI's academic engagement, reporting to the Nature and Academic Engagement Lead who leads the Taskforce secretariat.

What You Will Do

The intern will work with the Academic Engagement Lead to support the follow-up phase of the Academic Engagement Taskforce, subject to relevant approvals, on tasks such as:

📋 Support follow-up on Taskforce outcomes and next steps, helping to synthesise and track the outcomes and recommendations emerging from the Global Roundtable 2026 and the Taskforce, and supporting the development of a prioritised action plan for the follow-up phase, including options to be taken forward with PRI or independently

🏦 Expand academic engagement with banking and insurance teams, supporting efforts to broaden academic engagement, collaborating with other networks, initiatives and institutions, and developing a legal review note on data access and use in banking and insurance research

🌍 Develop regional engagement formats, supporting the design and delivery of regional sessions at UNEP FI regional roundtables, and helping to identify opportunities to embed academic engagement into these events

📝 Publish priority research questions and research briefs, supporting the publication of an annual list of priority research questions and/or the production of regular research briefs, monthly or quarterly, drawing on the latest research relevant to banking, insurance and investment

🪟 Design a researcher engagement window, contributing to the design of a dedicated researcher engagement or membership window for universities, data providers and potentially think tanks, including scoping the model, benefits and governance

🎥 Support a webinar series and member outreach programme, helping to launch and coordinate a webinar series and member outreach programme on the latest research findings relevant to banking, insurance and investment, including liaising with speakers and members, which may be delivered with a partner organisation

💶 Scope seed grants and collaborative research awards, supporting the identification of seed grants or awards for collaborative research, potentially supported by UNEP FI members and/or philanthropic foundations, including mapping potential funders and delivery models

🗂️ Maintain the stakeholder map and provide secretariat support, maintaining and expanding the database of academic researchers and institutions relevant to UNEP FI's work, and providing secretariat support to the follow-up workstream, including coordinating virtual meetings, preparing briefing materials, and synthesising findings into presentations, briefings and written outputs

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Candidate Profile and Who Can Apply

You should have strong analytical and research skills, ideally with a focus on sustainable finance, environmental economics, political economy, or a related field. You should be completing or have completed a Master's degree or a strong undergraduate degree, with a demonstrated ability to work with academic literature and engage with complex concepts. Exposure to sustainable finance and/or financial institutions is a strong asset. Excellent writing, critical thinking and communication skills in English are required, and familiarity and experience with academic databases, citation tools or data visualization tools would be an advantage.

At the time of application you must meet one of the following requirements: be enrolled in a graduate school programme (a second university degree or equivalent, or higher); be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (a bachelor's level or equivalent); or have graduated with a university degree and, if selected, commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation. This includes Master's degree students in Finance, Business Administration, Environmental Studies or other related themes, or those who have recently graduated, up to one year after the graduation date, and you must be able to show proof of enrolment or of your graduation date if selected.

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The Details

📆 Duration: 6 months

📍 Location: Geneva, Switzerland

🌐 Language: for this internship, fluency in oral and written English is required; knowledge of another UN language is desirable

Funding

This internship is unpaid. Interns are not financially remunerated by the United Nations, and the costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of interns or their sponsoring institutions.

How to Apply

Submit a complete online application, indicating which of the eligibility criteria you meet and attaching proof, and explaining how your field of study relates to the internship.