Internship in International Relations in Occupational Safety and Health Knowledge

Department Description

The internship is located in the Labour administration, labour inspection and occupational safety and health Branch (LABADMIN/OSH) in the Governance and Tripartism Department. The Branch supports ILO global policy making and assists member States in strengthening and modernizing national labour administration, inspection and occupational health and safety policies, systems and services. The Branch also carries out activities related to strengthening institutional capacities to acquire and use OSH knowledge and information for prevention. This includes monitoring, research, and prospective studies on OSH with a view to identify trends, prepare situational reports to inform policy development, programme design and implementation. It also manages and further develops the wealth of ILO knowledge assets in these areas.

The Branch collects, organizes and publishes information on OSH knowledge agencies, institutions and organisations (AIOs) on the INTEROSH database (www.ilo.org/interosh). OSH Knowledge AIOs play an increasingly important role in protecting workers and the economy in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic which is impacting their scope of work and means of operations, including the way they interact one with another in regional and subject-matter OSH networks. New information on the impact the pandemic is having on their governance and operations is needed to identify emerging challenges and new capacity development needs. The incumbent of this internship will play a key role in collecting and analysing information, further investigating key issues, and reporting on findings. The intern will interact directly with selected OSH knowledge AIOs from around the world, support the development and promotion of the INTEROSH web portal, and prepare technical material for strengthening the roles and capacities of knowledge AIOs in national OSH systems.

Learning areas

The intern will develop a good understanding of the functioning of the ILO, its unique mandate, values and current work. He/She will be exposed to international conventions, recommendations and codes of practices covering the main issues and topics covered by OSH policies, laws, regulations, and standards. He/She will learn about national OSH systems, programmes, and the organization of occupational health services. More specifically, the intern will become familiar with the role, governance, scope of work and functioning modalities of OSH knowledge AIOs, and identify how they adapt to changing circumstances. He/She will also learn how to engage international relations with national institutions and how to organize global and regional meetings to discuss priority development issues.

The intern will benefit from the direct guidance and supervision of a senior official. He/She will be guided towards preparing a review of selected literature on OSH knowledge development, engaging international relations with AIOs from around the world, conducting analytical work, and contributing to working papers. The intern will gain first-hand experience with the ILO INTEROSH database and develop a comprehensive understanding of the state of OSH knowledge development and the essential role AIOs play in national OSH systems. The intern will participate in the work of the Branch on the same basis as regular staff and have the possibility to interact with leading experts. The specific duties of this internship will be the following:

-    Undertake a review of selected literature on OSH knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE);
-    Undertake analysis of data and information on AIOs, including statistical analysis and preparation of tables and infographics;
-    Assist the production of working papers and articles on policy challenges and opportunities in the area of OSH knowledge development and networking;
-    Engage relations with selected OSH knowledge AIOs to complement, review, update and consolidate information in the INTEROSH database;
-    Update the INTEROSH database content, contributor’s guidelines and promotional material;
-    Prepare short public information notes for the ILO INTEROSH web portal;
-    Assist the organization of a global and regional meetings of AIOs;
-    Design and organize pilot webinars for AIOs and other interested parties on selected topics, e.g. setting research priorities in OSH, collaborating with universities, collaborating with private sector or NGOs, organizing awareness-raising campaigns, others. 

*Interns should expect to devote 10% to 20% of their time to administrative tasks.

The internship contract is for a 3 to 6 months duration.

Education

Area of studies: public health administration, management and/or relevant disciplines of social sciences. A background or specialization in occupational safety and health and/or comparative studies in this area would be an advantage.

The candidate shall be enrolled in the final year of a Master degree or higher level programme or shall have completed such a programme no longer than 1 year ago.

Experience

Experience in conducting research and/or comparative studies in public administration and related field, including occupational safety and health; with relevant work experience and ability to use video conferencing and meetings as well as Microsoft Office applications; experience in working with a database would be an advantage. Experience organizing webinars would also be an advantage.

Languages

The intern shall have working knowledge (both oral and written) of at least one of the ILO's official languages (English, French or Spanish). Good command of English and/or fluency in any other language would be an advantage.

Competencies

a) Good analysis and research skills;

b) Ability to draft clearly and concisely for the purpose of preparing literature summaries, reports and studies;

c) Good understanding of the occupational safety and health domain;

d) Good organization skills;

e) Good communication skills;

f) Quality oriented with attention to details; g) Ability to work autonomously; h) Ability to adapt to an international, multicultural and multilingual environment.