Internships

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

The Royal Danish Embassy in Pretoria handles bilateral relations between Denmark and South Africa. The Embassy also covers 8 other countries in the region. The Embassy employs more than 30 staff members, is headed by Ambassador Elsebeth Søndergaard Krone and comprises a Management Team, an Operations and Sustainability team, a Strategic Sector Cooperation team, a Political Team, a Consular team, and a Trade Council Team. We are a middle-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:

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

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.

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 the candidate is enrolled in.

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 has application deadline on 1 September.

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 office 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, 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

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 (e-mail ) for further information or specific questions regarding the position.

Communication, Public Diplomacy and Trade Intern
Communicate Danish interests and develop trade relations between Denmark and South Africa
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, public diplomacy and trade intern, you are expected to spend half of your time to drive the development and implementation of an ambitious communication strategy, produce articles and social media updates for all teams, and assist when it comes to culture and public diplomacy projects.

Examples of communication and public diplomacy tasks:

• Managing the Embassy's digital diplomacy on social media platforms
• Contributing in 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 business delegation visits

In the other half, you will work as part of the Trade Council and contribute to the wide range of communications tasks performed, including market research, promoting sales and business delegations within all areas of the Trade Council. You will be expected to familiarize yourself with the South African economic and trade environment, so you are able to assist Danish companies in their efforts to establish themselves on the South African market. Examples of tasks are described under the Trade Council Intern.

Your work on Communication and Public Diplomacy will be conducted in collaboration with the Embassy’s Communications Taskforce and under the supervision of the Deputy Head of Mission while the tasks related to the Trade Council will be under the supervision of Head of the Trade Department. Please contact Jacob Stensdal (e-mail ) or Jens Thomsen (e-mail ) for further information or specific questions regarding the position.

Strategic Sector Cooperation Interns
Develop 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 be able to experience working with Danish green diplomacy first-hand, focusing on building strong bilateral relations to work for a green transition and sustainable development in South Africa.

Our focus is on identifying, facilitating and furthering cooperation between Danish public institutions and their South African counterparts within the specific sectors of water, energy, food and agriculture and smart cities. You will be involved in a wide range of tasks and work closely with other teams at the Embassy, as foreign policy and private sector involvement are important cross-cutting components of the Strategic Sector Cooperation.

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, as in accordance with their NDC targets.

The bilateral cooperation between Denmark and South Africa in the water sector supports the development within the South African water sector and, furthermore, focuses on Danish best practices and knowledge sharing. The programme focuses on ground water, water efficiency in industries, urban water management, research and innovation and project support facility.

The city to city cooperation between the City of Tshwane (Pretoria) and the City of Aarhus has an objective to provide Danish know-how and technology in the areas of city planning, sustainability and smart city solutions and thereby contribute to the positive development of the City of Tshwane.

SSC work assignments examples:

• Working in the SSC team on facilitating the implementation of the SSC projects

• Contributing to the elaboration and detailed formulation of project implementation plans – processes, modalities, practicalities, activity plans, time schedules etc.
• Support to the on-going project management – e.g. monitoring and progress reporting towards key performance goals and adjoining indicators.
• Participating in the preparation and implementation of project activities. Meetings with South African partners, site visits, workshops, staff exchange arrangements.
• Contributing to on-going investigations, 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.
• Contributing 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
• Assisting any other Embassy departments when required.

Please contact Kristoffer Rønde Møller (e-mail ) or Morten Holm van Donk (e-mail ) for further information or specific questions regarding the position.

Political Intern
Develop the political relations between Denmark and South Africa
As an intern in the political team you will be involved in a wide range of tasks pertaining to the Embassy’s political, economic, cultural and developmental activities, including the political cooperation on democracy, good governance, human rights and peace and security.

You will continuously need to 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 and events, 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 with the planning, preparing and implementing of the Embassy’s cultural activities and cultural exchange programs
• Assist in preparations for Ministers’ and other High-Level visits to South Africa
• Communication tasks, e.g. updating the website and social media platforms
• Assisting any other Embassy departments when required.

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

Please contact Jacob Stensdal (e-mail ) for further information or specific questions regarding the position.

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. SECURITY CLEARANCE AND CONTRACT

The selected candidate will only be offered the position and internship contract once the candidate has obtained the required security clearance via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Denmark and PET. The Embassy will initiate this process as part of the finalisation of the application process. A contract will be drafted prior to the beginning of the Internship.

D. 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 e-mail .

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 e-mail 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.