TRTA: TRADE-RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

The WTO regional coordinator internship programme (RCI)

Objectives & conditions

  • The aim of the RCI is to provide support to the mission of TA beneficiary Members selected to coordinate a WTO regional grouping, provided that the Member is eligible for TA from the WTO. The development status of the coordinator and size of the permanent
  • RCI interns are posted in the permanent mission of their country.
  • The RCI Programme provides capital based mid-level public officials, with a minimum of 5 years of working experience on WTO issues with the opportunity to learn on WTO-related matters through work experience as a delegate in Geneva. A maximum of six (6) RCIs will be recruited annually.
  • Candidates are typically between 30 and 45 years of age.
  • Interns under this programme are paid a lump sum of CHF 5,000 per month, plus travel expenses, for the period of the coordination mandate and to a maximum of 1 year.
  • For coordinatorships lasting more than one year, Members are encouraged to use two different interns to cover the full duration of their mandate in order to allow more individuals to benefit from this learning experience.

The main objectives of this internship programme are to:

  • enhance the interns knowledge and understanding of the multilateral trading system and of the trade policy in general,
  • strengthen the understanding of the negotiation process at the WTO, and
  • support the mission in participating more actively in the daily activities at the WTO and to allow the permanent mission to cope with the additional workload linked to their responsibilities as group coordinator.

How to apply?

There is no call-for-candidate procedure as such for this programme since Members become eligible upon their designation as group coordinator.

As soon as a Member country is designated for group coordination, applications for an RCI (2 or 3 applications minimum) can be sent to the ITTC Director, with:

  • a letter from the Member country Permanent Mission indicating the dates of the coordination mandate,
  • complete curriculum vitaes (CVs) of the candidates,
  • a list of WTO training courses/activities in which the candidates have participated, in particular RTPC and/or ATPC.

The selection process

Candidacies will be reviewed by a WTO selection committee comprising the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC), the Development Division (DD) and the Human Resources Division (HRD).  

In the selection process the criteria of highest qualifications in terms of WTO exposure and expected contribution to the set objectives will prevail, but the mission could be consulted on the candidate to be retained. The WTO selection committee will carefully review the qualifications of each of the candidate and assess with all means at its disposal, including through the WTO's data base, to what extent the candidate has undergone prior WTO training, including the number of e-Learning courses completed, face to face training, through regional seminars and RTPCs/ATPCs.

In addition, feedback will be sought from WTO trainers on the performance of the candidate during the courses, in order to retain the highest qualified officials and for whom the committee considers that the candidate can make the most useful contribution to attain the set objectives of the programme.

Countries that are in Category III are not eligible for the programme.

Candidates who have already benefitted from any WTO internship programme are not eligible.