Sample cover letter for Internship position at UNDP

Dear XXX,

I am writing to you because of my strong interest in working as an intern at UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery and in particular in the area of Disaster Risk Governance. Perhaps, due to my background in civil engineering, I initially thought that disaster risk reduction and recovery was primarily a matter of implementing hard measures such as adequate housing or storm-water drains. However, after spending the last three months in city XXX working for the XXX Disaster Management Authority on urban flood mitigation, I have come to realize that both transparency and accountability of Government’s implementing agencies are as important as building key infrastructure. 

It is for this reason that I want to deepen my knowledge on Disaster Risk Governance. I believe that by collaborating with the DRR team I will be able not only to learn more about the current best practices on Disaster Risk Governance, but also to better understand the actual work of UNDP country offices in this area. I am confident that after the internship I will have acquired a wider and richer understanding of Disaster Risk Reduction strategies, which will be highly beneficial as I intend to further my professional career in this area. With regard to my time availability, I could work as an intern from September 3rd until December 19th. Please note that I will be outside New York during the first week of November due to previous commitments. I am available Mondays and Wednesdays all day; and Tuesdays and Fridays mornings (my classes at XXX University start at 14:30). Unfortunately, I will not be able to work on Thursdays. 

Thank you very much for your consideration. 

Best regards,