Internships

ISA accepts interns on a limited basis, depending on the specific needs of the respective offices within the Secretariat.

The purpose of the internship programme is twofold:

(a) to provide a framework through which students and young government officials from diverse academic backgrounds can gain exposure to the work and functions of ISA, in order to enhance their educational experience and/or gain experience in the work of ISA; and

(b) to enable ISA to benefit from the assistance of qualified students and young government officials specialized in various skills within the scope of activities of ISA.

The nature of the internships are not predefined, rather, the Secretariat determines the number and nature of internships, according to the current requirements of the respective offices. Selection and recruitment are therefore on an ongoing basis. Each intern is supervised by a designated staff member of the Secretariat.

Interns are responsible for obtaining the necessary visas, arranging travel to and from Kingston, and arranging accommodation and travel in Kingston. They are not financially remunerated by ISA. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of the interns or their sponsoring institutions.  ISA accepts no responsibility for the medical insurance of the intern or costs arising from injury, illness or death that may occur during an internship.

Applicants must show proof of valid medical insurance coverage to cover the full period of the internship in Kingston and provide a medical certificate of good health prior to the commencement of the internship.

ISA accepts no responsibility for loss or damage to personal effects that may occur. 

Application for Internship

The programme is open to students and young government officials specializing in fields relevant to the work of ISA.

Student applicants to the ISA internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
• Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum bachelor’s level or equivalent);
• Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in 3.2 (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation, as provided for in section 6.7 of the present Instruction;
• Young government officials must have a university degree.

All applicants to the ISA internship programme should meet the following requirements:

• Normally not be more than 35 years of age;
• Have a good command of one of the working languages of ISA (English and French); and
• Have an interest in law of the sea, international environmental law, deep sea mining, marine science or international institutions and organizations.

 All internships are advertised on Inspira, the United Nations talent management portal. Please visit careers.un.org and you can search for openings at the International Seabed Authority in Kingston, Jamaica. 

In order to be considered eligible, all applications must be submitted online through Inspira in response to an job opening. Guidelines and detailed information on completing a Personal History Profile (PHP) will be found on the webpage. 

For any additional questions, please contact training@isa.org.jm