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Internships

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Internships
• Communication and Public Diplomacy (1 position)
• Political (1 position)
• Strategic Sector Cooperation (2 positions)
• Trade Council (1 position)

The Royal Danish Embassy in Pretoria handles bilateral relations between Denmark and South Africa. The Embassy also covers eight other countries in the region. The Embassy employs more than 30 staff members, is headed by Ambassador Elsebeth Søndergaard Krone and comprises a Consular team, a Management Team, an Operations and Sustainability team, a Political Team, a Strategic Sector Cooperation team, and a Trade Council Team. We are a medium-sized Embassy focusing on providing high-quality services and analyses, while prioritizing a good working environment.

The Embassy’s five internship positions offer educational and challenging assignments for Danish students within the following areas:

• Communication and Public Diplomacy (1 position)
• Political (1 position)
• Strategic Sector Cooperation (2 positions)
• Trade Council (1 position)

The positions are open to Danish or foreign citizens enrolled in a Danish tertiary educational institution or to Danish citizens enrolled in a tertiary educational institution outside Denmark. Foreign citizens can apply if they have lived in Denmark for a number of years and are resident in Denmark at the time of applying.
You will be able to work with colleagues from different backgrounds and with different areas of expertise – and we would be surprised if you did not have some fun while you were with us.

The cultural diversity of South Africa, the fantastic travelling and leisure opportunities as well as the many other embassies and international organizations in Pretoria, all contribute to making this internship in South Africa a great chance to live and work in an international environment while also experiencing the African culture first hand. South Africa has a rich history, is a major economic and political power in Sub-Saharan Africa and an emerging power on the world scene. South Africa is continuously growing and changing rapidly, making this a fascinating place to be a student of economics and politics.

An internship at the Embassy will give you significant knowledge of the Danish Foreign Service, of South Africa, and the region as a whole. The internship is intended to contribute to your education, and will be structured in such a way that it will be possible to obtain course credit, if this is allowed by the relevant graduate programme in which the candidate is enrolled.

The application deadline for autumn internships running from the 1st of August - 31st of January is on 1 March. Internships in the spring from 1st of February - 31st of July have an application deadline on 4 September.

Communication and Public Diplomacy Intern

Communicate and promote Danish interests and values

The Danish Embassy works to demonstrate successful cases, raise awareness of what we do and promote Danish values and interests. Communication and Public Diplomacy is thus an integral part of the Embassy’s activities that support all relevant Embassy activities and teams.
As the communication and public diplomacy intern, you are expected to drive the development and implementation of our communication strategy, produce articles and social media updates for all teams, and assist when it comes to culture and public diplomacy projects with special focus on our youth programme and exchange.

Examples of communication and public diplomacy tasks:

  • Managing and executing the Embassy's digital diplomacy on social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn)
  • Contributing to assignments within public diplomacy, press work, and media handling
  • Acting as a partner in developing and implementing the Embassy’s communication strategy
  • Organising participation in fairs and planning public diplomacy events, workshops, seminars and visits

At the Embassy we work closely together as one and when needed, we help each other out across teams.

You will be part of the political team and your work assignments will be conducted in collaboration with and under employee responsible for Public Diplomacy and Communication.

Please contact Mathias Brønden Christensen ([email protected]) for further information or specific questions regarding the position.


Political Intern

Develop the political relations between Denmark and South Africa

The Embassy’s political team works to develop and strengthen the diplomatic and political relations and partnership between Denmark and South Africa as well as the side-accredited countries of the Embassy.

Through meetings, networks, projects, events and dialogue the Embassy work to support South Africa in priority areas of human rights, democratic governance, gender equality, green transition, youth participation and peace and security.

As an intern in our political team you will be involved in a wide range of crosscutting tasks and will need to continuously follow both the political and economic situation in South Africa and the region with a view to contribute to analyses and reports.

Political work assignments examples: 

  • Contribute to reporting on political and economic issues, e.g. elections in the region and new legislation
  • Analyses of South Africa’s economic policies and performance, e.g. the national budget and economic sector analyses
  • Assist in planning, preparing and implementing cultural activities and cultural exchange programs
  • Assist in the preparation of High-Level visits to South Africa

At the Embassy we work closely together as one and when needed, we help each other out across teams.

The work assignments will be conducted in collaboration with the whole team under the supervision of the Head of the Political Team.

Please contact Signe Dam ([email protected]) for further information or specific questions regarding the position.

Trade Council Intern 

Develop trade relations between Denmark and South Africa

The trade team at the Danish Embassy in South Africa assists Danish companies in their efforts to export products and establish themselves on the South African market.

As the Trade Council intern, you will work as part of the team and contribute to the wide range of tasks performed, including the entire process from eyeing market opportunities for Danish companies to setting up offices and promoting sales. You will be expected to familiarize yourself with the South African economic and trade environment, as well as the procedures of the Danish Foreign Service.

Example of tasks:

  • Contribution to business reports and strategies prepared for Danish companies, including market analysis, partner searches, proposals and similar
  • Assistance with planning, and the preparation of business delegations, ministerial visits and other high-level official visits to South Africa
  • Participation in trade fairs and exhibitions
  • Ad hoc internal assistance to the Embassy’s other employees

At the Embassy we work closely together as one and when needed, we help each other out across teams.

Your work will be conducted in collaboration with and under the supervision of the Trade department and the Head of the Trade Department.

Please contact Jens Thomsen ([email protected]) for further information or specific questions regarding the position.

 

 Strategic Sector Cooperation Interns

Enhance strategic sector cooperation between Denmark and South Africa

As an intern in Strategic Sector Cooperation (SSC), you will work as part of a dynamic and ambitious team. You will work with Danish green diplomacy first-hand, focusing on building strong bilateral relations to support a green transition and sustainable development in South Africa.

We facilitate technical assistance and cooperation between Danish government institutions and their South African counterparts within the water, energy, food and agriculture, climate adaptation, and finance. You will be involved in a wide range of tasks and work with other teams at the Embassy such as the political and trade departments.

ENERGY and FINANCE (1 intern)
The bilateral cooperation between Denmark and South Africa in the energy sector aims to support South Africa in their transformation to a low carbon intensive energy system, in accordance with their NDC targets. The most prominent players in this programme involves the Danish Energy Agency and South African partners from Department of Energy and Electricity, the energy utility ESKOM, NERSA and the IPP Office. The programme also addresses the socio-economic consequences of the green transition such as employment and skills development.

In addition to working with the energy programme, you will also be engaged in financing critical infrastructure projects related to the SSC programmes. This role involves collaboration with financial institutions in Denmark, such as IFU, EIFO, and DANIDA, as well as local and international development financial institutions.

During your six-month internship, you will gain an understanding of the economic and technical aspects of energy systems and markets, including their challenges and opportunities in terms of climate change. Additionally, you will develop a foundational understanding of infrastructure project financing and become familiar with the most important development finance institutions and their role in Africa.

WATER (1 intern)
The National Water Partnership between Denmark and South Africa in the water sector supports the development within the South African water sector and focuses on regulation and capacity development. The programme tracks are groundwater, water efficiency in industries, urban water management, research and innovation.

The two urban water SSC projects between Johannesburg - Copenhagen and Tshwane (Pretoria) - Aarhus focus on improving water service delivery. We do this by developing and sharing Danish best practice frameworks such as operational procedures, guidelines and strategies and by implementing Proof of Concepts.

SSC work assignments examples:

  • Prepare incoming and outgoing delegation programs, technical workshops, logistics etc.
  • Contribute to formulation and programming of new SSC projects
  • Provide support to ongoing project management – e.g. monitoring and progress reporting towards outcomes and indicators
  • Participating in the preparation and implementation of project activities and support the teams with ToRs and mission reports. Contribute to, identification and mapping of business opportunities for the Danish water tech industry, Danish energy industry, food and agriculture and various sectors within the sustainable and smart cities space.
  • Contribute to on-going investigations, identification and mapping of joint research and innovation opportunities for relevant South African and Danish research institutions.
  • Assist in preparations for Ministers’ and other High-Level visits to South Africa

At the Embassy we work closely together as one and when needed, we help each other out across teams.

Please contact Morten Holm van Donk ([email protected]) or Tine Anbæk ([email protected]) for further information or specific questions regarding the positions.

General Terms and Requirements

GENERAL TERMS AND REQUIREMENTS

A. GENERAL TERMS OF INTERNSHIPS
The positions are open to Danish or foreign citizens enrolled in a Danish tertiary educational institution or for Danish citizens enrolled in a tertiary educational institution outside Denmark. Foreign citizens can apply if they have lived in Denmark for a number of years and are resident in Denmark at the time of applying.
The position is not remunerated. However, the intern will be covered for expenses in the range DKK 4.000 – 6.000 per month. The Embassy facilitates a rental house for the Embassy’s five interns, in which you will be required to stay.

It is possible to remain eligible for SU during the Internship according to the applicable rules. Interns also have the opportunity to seek grants from relevant institutions. It is a condition that the Intern takes out a health and accident insurance that covers the entire stay in South Africa.

While most visitors experience a problem-free stay in South Africa, the crime rate is high, and life in South Africa requires more attention to personal safety than in Denmark. New interns will receive briefings, guidance and other assistance from the Embassy immediately upon arrival.

It is a clear advantage to have a driver’s license in South Africa, as public transport is not a viable option in most cases. The cost of living in South Africa is less than living in Denmark. To get an updated view of the current situation in South Africa, we refer to the travel guidance on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

You are also welcome to contact current trainees at the Embassy.


B. DURATION
The internship is for a term 6 months. There are two options for terms:
• Each year from 1 February to 31 July or
• Each year from 1 August to 31 January.


C. FURTHER INFORMATION
Interested applicants are encouraged to read the travel information for South Africa published on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Further questions can be directed to [email protected].

AppliCATIONS AND dEADLINES

A. APPLICATION

An application containing a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a copy of your diploma(s), and any recommendations should be send to [email protected] as a single PDF-file.

Please write “Intern” and the position you wish to apply for; for instance “Intern– Trade Council” or simply “Intern” if you apply for multiple positions.

B. DEADLINES

  • Applications for traineeships starting 1 February must be submitted by 1 September.
  • Deadline for applications for traineeships starting 1 August is 1 March.

Selected candidates will be contacted for an interview via Skype or telephone approximately 2 weeks after the indicated deadline.