Terms of Reference

Project: Year of Microcredit
Country: USA
Job Title: Intern
Duration: August- 15 November 2005

Background
World leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium development goals (MDGs), including the overarching goal to cut poverty by half by 2015. Comprehensive impact studies have demonstrated that: (i) microfinance helps very poor households meet basic needs and protect against risks; (ii) the use of financial services by low-income households is associated with improvements in household economic welfare and enterprise stability or growth; (iii) by supporting women's economic participation, microfinance helps to empower women, thus promoting gender-equity and improving household well-being; (iv) for almost all significant impacts, the magnitude of impact is positively clients have been in the programme. As such, Microfinance can contribute to all of the goals of the Millennium Development Declaration. With this context, the United Nations General Assembly designated the Year 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit (the Year). The Year will be an important opportunity to give impetus to microfinance programmes throughout the world and their contribution to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

United Nations Capital Development Fund – Special Unit for Microfinance (UNCDF/SUM)
UNCDF/SUM is the policy advisor and technical assistance center for microfinance to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Group. The goal of UNCDF/SUM is to contribute to the reduction of poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 by ensuring permanent access to sustainable financial services for poor people. To achieve this, UNCDF/SUM provides technical and financial support to develop inclusive financial sectors and strengthen the capacity of the UNDP group to apply sound microfinance principles in its programming. The Year will be will of particular importance to the efforts of UNCDF/SUM to achieve its goal.

Objectives of the Internship
Under the supervision of the Events Coordinators for the Year of Microcredit, the intern will provide support to the Events Coordination Team in the operational management and implementation of a highly successful and well-attended United Nations International Forum to Build Inclusive Financial Sectors to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Description of Duties:
The Intern will be responsible for the following duties.
1. To compile a complete Mailing List for the International Forum and Gala, including all VIP invitees;
2. To assist the Events Coordination Team with the preparation and dissemination of invitations, and management of invitation follow-up with VIP invitees;
3. To assist the Events Coordinating Committee in the execution of the Gala and Forum;
4. To provide operational management support to the UNCDF/SUM Events Coordination Team as required.

Qualifications:
• University degree in administration or management or relevant experience
• Experience working with databases and strong Excel knowledge
• Fluency in oral and written English; knowledge of French and Spanish a plus
• Strong organization skills
• Ability to multitask and operate in high-pressure situations
• Direct experience in organizing and managing major events

Major Requirements
1. Selected individual must be able to begin immediately (within the next few days).
2. Candidates must be graduate degree students. Undergraduate students or degree holders will not be considered.

The internship will mostly be dealing with event planning and management. An important UNCDF conference is coming up in November for which they require the assistance of an intern.

August 2, 2005.