Internship - Public Health Section, DPSM, Geneva

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR INTERNSHIP

Organizational Unit: Public Health Section, DPSM
Duty station: Geneva, Switzerland
Duration of the internship: 6 months
Closing date: 17 October 2019
Expected start date: as soon as possible

Background information/Organizational Context (brief introduction on UNHCR and on the functional unit/office where the intern will be placed, highlight the possible benefits of undertaking an internship assignment for these ToRs)

The Public Health Section in the Division Programme Support and Management (DPSM) supports UNHCR¿s objectives to reduce morbidity and mortality among UNHCR¿s populations of concern through ensuring access to quality preventive, curative, promotive, rehabilitative and palliative health services. UNHCR works with partners including governments and NGOs to achieve these objectives and seeks integration of refugees within existing national health systems as much as possible. Reproductive health and HIV are key strategic priorities within UNHCR¿s public health programming.

Benefits of undertaking this internship assignment include:
¿ The intern will gain a practical understanding of the work of UNHCR in general and of UNHCR Public Health, Reproductive Health and HIV in particular, and roles and responsibilities at headquarters, regional and country level;
¿ Will learn more about the challenges and potential solutions of public health programming including reproductive health at country level in refugee and related humanitarian contexts;
¿ Will learn about recent developments in refugee health and inclusion of refugees in national systems in line with the Global Compact on refugees;
¿ Will have a greater understanding of the work across sectors to achieve health outcomes in refugee contexts.

Duties and Responsibilities
The intern will work under the guidance of headquarters Public Health/ Reproductive Health staff on:
¿ Reviewing the status of inclusion of refugees in national health systems in UNHCR¿s country of operations. This will involve updating information through close contact with country and regional level field staff and working on tools for the optimal analysis and visual presentation of the data.
¿ In collaboration with the Section Chief and RH&HIV officer, follow and actively support interagency efforts of the Interagency Task Team of HIV in humanitarian situations.
¿ Support the public health section in the end-year reporting requirements for HIV including assisting in reviewing and collating country level reports and regional reports and global indicator analysis.
¿ Contribute to updating relevant web pages, such as the resources sections on Public Health on UNHCR website and the Public Health Emergency Toolkit in the UNHCR Digital Emergency Handbook.
¿ Contribute to development of field experiences and lessons learnt on specific topics relating to reproductive health, HIV and public health.
¿ Contribute to development of public health related inputs in preparation for and during the Global Refugee Forum.
¿ Contribute to reviewing and collating input on Ebola virus disease (EVD preparedness and response in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and surrounding priority countries. This will include preparing optimal analysis and summary reports.

Minimum qualifications required/Eligibility

In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:
¿ Recent graduate (those persons who completed their studies within one year of applying) or current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by UNESCO; and
¿ Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of the Organization.
Please note that candidates who have immediate relatives (father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister) working as staff member or affiliated workforce of UNHCR are not eligible.

Desirable qualification and skills:
¿ Prior health/ reproductive health experience is desirable;
¿ Strong interest in development and humanitarian issues;
¿ Experience working with computer software such as Excel, PowerPoint, Word
¿ Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Knowledge of French or any other UN language is an asset.
¿ Good written and oral communication skills with strong interpersonal skills
¿ Ability to deal with persons of various cultural and educational backgrounds
¿ Ability to work independently, when necessary; and
¿ Flexibility and adaptability.

Location
The successful candidate will be based with the team in the Geneva, Switzerland.

Conditions
It is a full-time role with working hours starting from 9.00am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday (40 hours per week).

Allowance: Interns who do not receive financial support from an outside party will receive an allowance to partially help to cover the cost of food, and local transportation

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. Please note that the closing date to apply to this internship advertisement is Thursday 17 October 2019 (midnight Geneva time).