Social Media and Video Production Intern at UNDP: A Comprehensive Breakdown of Responsibilities, Skills, and Impact

February 14, 2025

16 minutes read

The United Nations Development (UNDP) for a Social Media and Video Production Intern position. The internship is remote and based in New York, offering the chance to work on digital communications, content creation, and social media management. The role involves tasks like producing social media content, creating videos, curating stories, and working with influencers.

Here’s a quick summary of the key points:

Key Responsibilities:

Research and create engaging social media content for UNDP’s digital channels.
Produce social media videos (from script to editing and captioning).
Assist with editing and captioning social media videos in multiple languages.
Support in creating social media copy, curating multimedia, and coordinating with influencers.
Provide support in analytics reporting.

Required Skills:

Strong English writing and editing skills.
Proficiency in multimedia content creation tools (Adobe Suite, Canva).
Organizational skills and attention to detail.
Interest in global issues and the UN’s work.

Eligibility:

Must be enrolled in a graduate program or in the final year of an undergraduate degree, or have graduated within the past year.

Other Information:

Duration: 3 months.
Location: Remote (based in New York).
Languages: English required, French/Spanish is a plus.
Stipend: Monthly stipend provided.

If you’re interested in applying, you can follow the link to apply before March 8, 2025. Let me know if you’d like any help with the application process!

Job Focus:

This internship focuses on digital communications within the UNDP. The primary goal is to amplify the UNDP’s message globally through engaging and compelling digital content, particularly on social media platforms. You’ll help create content that spreads awareness of the UNDP’s projects, policies, and initiatives while maintaining consistency with the organization’s visual identity.

Key Responsibilities:

Research and Ideation:
- Content Development: You will research and brainstorm ideas for engaging social media products that resonate with UNDP’s diverse global audience. This means understanding global development issues, UNDP’s work, and how best to communicate it.
Video Production:
- End-to-End Creation: You’ll be involved in creating videos from start to finish. This includes writing scripts, filming or sourcing footage, editing videos, adding captions, and adjusting them to fit different social media platforms.
- Multilingual Content: You’ll produce videos and other content in English (primarily) but also in French and Spanish if needed, helping ensure a global reach.
Social Media Management:
- Engagement: You will write compelling captions, create graphic content, and share posts that connect with audiences on global social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
- Campaigns: Collaborate on creating content around key events such as UN International Days, major global development milestones, or UNDP’s ongoing campaigns.
Content Curation:
- Visual Storytelling: Gather and curate relevant stories, images, graphics, and videos that tell impactful stories about UNDP’s work and global issues.
- Trello Boards: You’ll use tools like Trello to organize and present ideas, projects, and progress, ensuring effective team collaboration.
Analytics and Reporting:
- Data-Driven Approach: You will help analyze the performance of content and campaigns, compiling reports on social media engagement, audience growth, and content impact.
Influencer and Partner Coordination:
- Collaborating with influencers, partners, and stakeholders to extend the reach of social media content, engaging audiences and spreading UNDP’s message further.

Skills & Competencies Neededhttps://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/job/23616:

Content Creation & Design Tools: Familiarity with design tools like Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects) and platforms like Canva is crucial for creating high-quality multimedia content.
Writing Skills: As a content creator, your ability to write well-structured, concise, and engaging copy in English is vital. If you know French or Spanish, that’s a bonus!
Attention to Detail: This role requires meticulous attention to detail, especially when producing content (like ensuring videos are properly captioned and edited for accuracy).
Multitasking: You’ll be juggling multiple tasks, including video production, social media management, and report creation, so being well-organized is essential.
Global Awareness: Understanding the UNDP’s global mission and the issues it tackles (sustainability, poverty, human rights, etc.) will help you create content that speaks to global audiences.

Eligibility Criteria:

To apply for this internship, you must either:

Be enrolled in a graduate school program (second university degree or higher).
Be in the final year of your undergraduate studies (minimum bachelor’s level).
Have graduated in the past year and start the internship within a year of graduation.

Why This Internship Could Be Great:@vacancyspaces.com

Global Impact: You’ll be contributing to an organization that is directly involved in making the world a better place by tackling global challenges.
Learning Opportunity: If you’re interested in digital communications, social media, and video production, this internship offers hands-on experience working within an international organization.
Networking: You’ll interact with professionals across the globe and might have opportunities to work with influencers, international partners, and key stakeholders in global development.

Stipend and Duration:

Duration: 3 months.
Stipend: UNDP offers a monthly stipend, which varies based on the location of the internship.
Location: While this is a remote position, it’s tied to New York.

This internship would be ideal for someone looking to build a career in digital communications, video production, or working with global development organizations.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, it could be an excellent opportunity to gain experience with a renowned international organization!

Certainly! Let’s dive even deeper into the role, and break down each section to give you a comprehensive understanding of the Social Media and Video Production Intern position with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Here, I’ll expand on the responsibilities, necessary skills, benefits, and much more. This will give you an in-depth perspective of what the role entails and the potential impact you can have through this internship.

1. Background Information on UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global network that works to address the challenges of sustainable development, poverty eradication, climate change, gender equality, and democratic governance. UNDP collaborates with governments, private sector partners, civil society organizations, and local communities to implement innovative solutions for development. With a presence in 177 countries and territories, the UNDP plays a pivotal role in the global development landscape.

As part of its mission, UNDP promotes effective communication as an essential tool in building awareness about the pressing issues it addresses. The Digital Communications Studio (DCS) is a key unit within UNDP’s communications department. This unit is tasked with producing and disseminating digital content across various platforms to raise awareness, mobilize action, and engage people around the world in solving global development challenges.

2. The Role of the Intern in the Digital Communications Studio (DCS)

The Social Media and Video Production Intern will play a central role in supporting the DCS in its mission to engage audiences and deliver UNDP’s key messages. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the forefront of digital communication, where you’ll be able to shape content that will be seen by global audiences.

This internship provides a chance to work in an environment where global challenges and digital media intersect. As the intern, you’ll work directly with the Digital Communications Specialist and collaborate with various teams to produce high-quality social media content that supports UNDP’s mission.

Here’s a breakdown of the primary functions and the potential impact of the tasks you’ll be assigned:

3. Key Responsibilities of the Social Media and Video Production Intern

a. Research, Ideation, and Content Development

One of the first tasks that you’ll be involved with is researching and developing ideas for social media content. This requires a deep understanding of global issues such as poverty, climate change, gender equality, and governance. You will need to consider how to translate these complex issues into engaging, visually appealing, and easy-to-understand content for social media.

Research: You will spend a significant amount of time researching topics, policies, and campaigns that are currently part of the UNDP’s ongoing initiatives. You’ll dive into documents, reports, and relevant sources to ensure that you understand the message being conveyed.
Ideation: Based on the research, you will contribute to brainstorming ideas for campaigns or social media posts. This could include creating storyboards for videos, thinking of catchy hashtags, and generating creative visuals and messages that will resonate with the target audience.
Creative Direction: While you’ll be creating content, the role also involves thinking about how this content will be visually represented. Whether it’s through photos, videos, or infographics, you’ll need to consider how to create a consistent and professional look and feel for all UNDP’s social media posts.

b. Video Production

One of the most exciting parts of this internship is the opportunity to be involved in video production. Videos are one of the most powerful forms of content for social media because they can quickly convey emotions, information, and messages in an engaging way. Your involvement in video production will span multiple stages, from conceptualizing to editing.

Scripting: Writing scripts will be an essential skill to master. You will need to develop scripts that can communicate key messages clearly and concisely, often in under a minute or two, while also ensuring that the tone and message are aligned with the UNDP’s values.
Filming/Production: You may assist in the filming of video content, either by capturing video yourself or coordinating with others to film the necessary footage. This might involve traveling to different events or working with local videographers.
Editing: The role requires you to have strong editing skills using software like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, or other similar tools. Editing videos involves cutting down raw footage, adding music, ensuring the visual and audio quality is high, and adding captions or translations in various languages to ensure accessibility and inclusivity.
Multilingual Content: Since UNDP operates globally, you will likely be tasked with creating videos in more than one language. You may have to add captions in French or Spanish, ensuring that the content is accessible to a wider audience. The ability to edit and ensure the video flows well in multiple languages will be crucial.

c. Social Media Management and Engagement

In addition to producing content, your role will involve managing and engaging with social media platforms directly. UNDP has a broad social media presence across multiple platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), and the content you create will be shared on these channels.

Creating Copy: Crafting social media copy that is not only informative but also compelling will be key. The copy should be clear, engaging, and tailored to each platform’s audience. For instance, a Twitter post might have a different tone compared to a post on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Campaigns: You will contribute to the development of content for specific campaigns. For example, there may be a campaign related to World Environment Day or International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and you’ll help create social media posts, graphics, and videos that promote those events and initiatives.
Monitoring Social Media: You will assist in monitoring the engagement of the content you post, responding to comments and messages, and identifying opportunities to enhance interaction with the audience. You may help track which types of content perform well and assist in making improvements based on analytics.

d. Analytics and Reporting

In today’s world, data-driven decisions are paramount, and UNDP is no exception. As part of your internship, you’ll help gather and analyze data related to social media performance.

Tracking Metrics: You’ll use various tools (like Google Analytics, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social) to track how well posts are performing. This includes monitoring likes, shares, comments, and overall engagement. The goal is to determine which types of posts resonate most with the audience.
Reporting: Once you’ve gathered the necessary data, you’ll create reports that summarize the performance of various campaigns. These reports will be used to adjust future strategies and to ensure that UNDP’s social media outreach is as effective as possible.

e. Collaboration with Influencers and Partners

UNDP works with a wide variety of external partners, including influencers, media outlets, and other UN agencies. Your role may involve working with these partners to amplify the reach of social media campaigns and promote UNDP’s messages to a broader audience.

Outreach: You may help coordinate with influencers who have a significant online presence and are aligned with UNDP’s mission. Influencers can be an excellent way to engage younger audiences or those in regions where UNDP has a specific focus.
Partnerships: You’ll also assist in managing relationships with organizations, media outlets, and other partners. This could involve preparing social media kits, crafting campaign proposals, or working to coordinate promotional efforts with these external collaborators.

4. Skills Required for the Role

To succeed in this internship, several key skills and competencies will be required. Below are some of the core skills:

a. Writing and Editing Skills

As an intern responsible for content creation, writing will be one of the most important aspects of the role. Whether it’s writing captions for social media posts or developing scripts for videos, your ability to write clear, compelling, and grammatically correct copy will be crucial.

b. Multimedia Content Creation Tools

Since you’ll be responsible for producing video content and visual assets, you must be proficient in multimedia design tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Canva. These tools will help you create stunning visuals, edit videos, and design infographics.

c. Organizational and Time-Management Skills

Managing social media campaigns involves juggling many tasks at once, including researching, designing, producing, and posting content. Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize tasks will help you stay on top of deadlines and ensure that projects are completed on time.

d. Creativity and Innovation

The world of social media moves fast, and keeping your content fresh and engaging is key. You’ll need to be able to think creatively about how to present complex issues in a way that’s visually compelling, relevant, and relatable for diverse global audiences.

e. Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity

Since the UNDP operates in over 170 countries with a variety of cultures and languages, understanding the nuances of different cultures is crucial. You’ll need to ensure that the content you create is respectful, inclusive, and sensitive to cultural differences.

5. Benefits and Professional Development

In addition to gaining hands-on experience in digital communications, this internship offers several key benefits:

Networking: You’ll have the opportunity to work alongside a diverse team of professionals from around the world, and you may interact with other UN organizations, influencers, and development experts.
Skill Development: This internship will allow you to sharpen your video production, social media management, and content creation skills, all of which are highly valuable in today’s job market.
Global Perspective: Working with an organization like UNDP will provide you with a unique global perspective on development challenges and opportunities.
Stipend: Although unpaid internships are common, this role offers a monthly stipend, which can help cover your living expenses during the internship period.

6. Conclusion: Why This Internship is a Valuable Opportunity

This Social Media and Video Production Internship with UNDP is an excellent opportunity for anyone passionate about digital media, global development, and social change. By contributing to UNDP’s communication efforts, you’ll help bring important issues to light, inspire global audiences, and be part of a movement that’s working towards a more equitable and sustainable world.

If you’re passionate about storytelling, creating impactful content, and driving global change through digital media, this internship could be the perfect fit. Plus, the experience you gain from working with such a prestigious international organization will be invaluable for your future career.

Certainly! Let’s continue expanding on this Social Media and Video Production Intern role with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In this extended breakdown, I’ll explore in more depth the organizational context, the day-to-day operations, and the impact this position can have on your career, as well as provide an even more thorough understanding of the responsibilities and skills needed.

7. In-Depth Overview of UNDP’s Mission and Work

UNDP’s Global Presence

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) operates in 177 countries and territories worldwide, and its primary goal is to drive sustainable development. The organization’s mission includes addressing global challenges such as poverty reduction, climate action, gender equality, human rights, and democratic governance. To achieve these goals, UNDP partners with governments, the private sector, and civil society organizations to create solutions that are locally relevant and internationally impactful.

One of the key components of UNDP’s success is its ability to communicate its message effectively across multiple platforms and media. The UNDP Communications team plays a crucial role in ensuring that their global audience is not only aware of the organization’s work but also inspired to get involved in its mission.

Diversity and Inclusion at UNDP

The Digital Communications Studio (DCS) operates within a diverse and inclusive work environment, which is a core principle of UNDP’s broader mandate. UNDP’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is evident in its work culture, where people of diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences collaborate to achieve common goals. As an intern, you will be part of an inclusive team that values a variety of perspectives and strives to create content that reflects these values.

UNDP actively works to increase the representation of marginalized and underserved populations in its outreach efforts. This includes ensuring that its digital content resonates with a broad, global audience, addressing issues such as gender inequality, youth empowerment, and social justice. Through its leave no one behind approach, UNDP seeks to amplify the voices of those who are often underrepresented or excluded from mainstream narratives.

The Role of the Digital Communications Studio (DCS)

The Digital Communications Studio (DCS) within the UNDP’s Office of Communications works closely with various teams within the Communications Group to ensure consistent, high-quality messaging. The studio is responsible for producing a wide range of digital content used across social media platforms, the UNDP website, and other online channels. These materials play a key role in engaging with UNDP’s global audience, advancing strategic goals, and raising awareness about development issues.

The internship position focuses specifically on creating social media content and video productions, both of which are central to the way UNDP communicates with its global audiences. The intern’s role is to support this work, ensuring that the digital content produced is engaging, impactful, and aligns with UNDP’s messaging and branding guidelines.

8. Detailed Responsibilities and Impact of Each Task

a. Research and Ideation of Social Media Content

As an intern, your first step in the content creation process will be to conduct thorough research on key development issues, UNDP initiatives, and current global events. This research helps you contextualize the content you create and ensures that your social media posts and videos are relevant and aligned with UNDP’s global priorities.

Understanding Global Challenges: You’ll need to stay informed about global development trends, emerging challenges, and the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) to create content that addresses the most pressing issues of the day. For example, you might create a post about how climate change impacts marginalized communities or about UNDP’s work in poverty alleviation.
Content Ideation: After conducting research, the next step is brainstorming creative ideas for how to present these complex issues on social media. You will work with the communications team to develop visual concepts that are both informative and visually striking.

This process will involve collaboration with various teams, including graphic designers, video editors, and the Digital Communications Specialist, to ensure that ideas are transformed into engaging and effective content.

b. Video Production and Post-Production

As a Social Media and Video Production Intern, one of the most exciting aspects of your role will be to assist in the production of videos that convey key messages to UNDP’s audience. Video is one of the most powerful mediums for communication, especially when it comes to conveying emotional messages about development issues.

Pre-Production: You’ll be involved in the early stages of video production, such as scriptwriting, storyboarding, and planning the visual elements. The scriptwriting process is particularly crucial, as it will need to be concise yet powerful enough to communicate the desired message in a short amount of time, usually between 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Shooting: While the shooting of videos may be done by a professional crew or external partners, you’ll likely assist in gathering footage for the videos. This might involve capturing video content at UNDP events or collaborating with the video team to gather stock footage that aligns with the message.
Post-Production: The real magic happens in the editing room. Here, you’ll be tasked with editing video clips, adding music and sound effects, adjusting lighting, and making sure that the video is polished and ready for distribution. Using Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and other video editing tools, you will make sure that the final product aligns with the UNDP’s branding guidelines.
Captions and Accessibility: Given the global audience that UNDP reaches, adding captions or subtitles to videos is crucial. You may also help ensure that videos are made accessible to a wider audience by translating them into multiple languages, such as Spanish or French.

Videos you work on could range from short-form social media clips to longer, more in-depth pieces about the UNDP’s work. You’ll need to be adaptable in the way you approach video production based on the platform and target audience.

c. Social Media Management and Copywriting

The management of UNDP’s social media accounts involves much more than just posting content. The Social Media and Video Production Intern will contribute to the creation of a strategic content calendar for social media platforms, ensuring that posts are timely and relevant to current events, holidays, and campaigns.

Engagement: UNDP’s social media is a two-way conversation. As part of your role, you will actively engage with users on social media, responding to comments and questions. You will also monitor trends, hashtags, and conversations on social media that are relevant to UNDP’s mission.
Copywriting: Writing engaging and succinct copy for social media posts is one of the most important parts of the job. Whether it’s an informative post about sustainable development goals, a video promoting a UNDP event, or a powerful message in honor of an International Day, you will need to craft compelling copy that grabs attention, motivates action, and aligns with the brand’s voice.
Campaigns and Events: Social media campaigns are central to UNDP’s outreach efforts. For example, during UN International Days, UNDP might run a campaign to raise awareness about a specific development issue. You will help plan, create, and schedule content that promotes these campaigns across multiple channels.

d. Content Curation and Analytics

In addition to creating content, you will assist in curating content for UNDP’s platforms. This involves researching relevant articles, videos, and imagery that support UNDP’s mission. You may also be tasked with finding user-generated content or relevant media that can be shared through official channels.

Content Curation: This is about finding and sharing articles, blog posts, and videos that align with UNDP’s mission, while also making sure the content is engaging and up-to-date.
Analytics: Analytics is essential to understanding how well the content is performing. You’ll work with the communications team to analyze data on post engagement, reach, and audience demographics. This information helps refine strategies and improves future content production.

By analyzing the impact of different types of posts and campaigns, you will be able to provide insights into what works best for each social media platform and what resonates with UNDP’s audience.

e. Working with Influencers and Partners

UNDP often collaborates with influencers and partners to reach new audiences and extend its impact. Your role may involve coordinating with influencers who have a strong following in areas such as environmental sustainability, human rights, or global health.

Influencer Outreach: You might be tasked with identifying influencers whose values align with UNDP’s and reaching out to them for potential partnerships. This could involve drafting emails, creating social media kits, and building proposals for joint campaigns.
Partnerships with NGOs: As part of UNDP’s work in fostering global partnerships, you may also assist in managing relationships with NGOs and other international organizations, ensuring that their work is highlighted through social media and video content.

9. Skills and Competencies Required for the Role

a. Creativity and Innovation

Creativity will be a cornerstone of this internship. Working in a communications role for a global organization like UNDP requires the ability to think creatively and come up with fresh ways to engage audiences. Whether you are designing a graphic, writing a video script, or brainstorming a campaign, your ability to approach problems with an innovative mindset will be critical to your success.