Intern - Alert and Response Coordination/WRE

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The mission of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to build the capacity of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. The WHE Response division (WRE) is responsible for rapidly detecting and responding to health emergencies while leveraging relevant national and international partnerships, ensuring that emergency-affected populations in acute and protracted emergencies have access to essential health services and that systems are maintained and strengthened in fragile, conflict and vulnerable settings while implementing at scale, proven prevention strategies for priority pandemic/epidemic-prone diseases. The Alert and Response Coordination Department (ARC) is responsible to provide end-to-end capacity for the detection, management, coordination and monitoring of acute public health emergencies, as well as the generation and dissemination of public health information around such events. It identifies potential acute events through early warning, provides risk assessment of such events, and delivers on the management, coordination and ongoing monitoring of acute events that require activation of an incident management structure at HQ. These include epidemics and acute humanitarian emergencies.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Terms of reference

Under the supervision of a technical expert in the respective area, the intern is assigned the agreed terms of reference:

• Review historical data and content of the Disease Outbreak News reports (DON reports hereafter).
• Compile data on DON reports, identify any errors or missing information on the DON webpage, and publish the correct version with proper tags on the DON website.
• Harmonize DON titles and standardize all DON reports published on Sitefinity.
• Develop text and library of ‘epidemiology of diseases’ for which DON reports have been published.
• Assist in the global standardization of public health intelligence terminology to define various variables across the regions and headquarters.
• Participate in team and unit meetings, and other relevant meetings as part of the ARC department.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Learning objectives

The WHO Internship Program aims to provide an enriching learning experience for students and recent graduates. The Learning Objectives outlined within each internship vacancy are a key component of the programme.
Within this internship, the intern will:

• Understand the objectives of the programme/area of work.
• Communicate clearly about the programme/area of work.
• Understand the difference of work between headquarters, regional offices and country offices.
• Understand the process of drafting and publishing a DON report.
• Know how to assemble data and prepare a comprehensive analysis.

DURATION OF INTERNSHIP

The internship duration will be 24 weeks.

Tentative start dates for two internship opportunities:

• June, 2023;
• November, 2023.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Have completed the equivalent of three years of full-time studies in health sciences at a university or equivalent institution prior to commencing the assignment; AND be enrolled in a course of study at a university or equivalent institution leading to a formal qualification (applicants who have already graduated may also qualify for consideration provided that they apply to the internship within six months after completion of their formal qualification).

Skills
Core competencies

• Teamwork
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Communication

All interns should be able to demonstrate the following skills in line with the WHO core competencies:

• Communicating effectively orally and in writing
• Showing willingness to learn from mistakes
• Producing and delivering quality results
• Working collaboratively with team members

In addition, interns need to be familiar with commonly used computer programmes, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Knowledge of specialized computer programmes, for example, statistical software such as R, Stata may be an advantage.

Experience

• Experience in compiling and manipulating big data, while paying attention to details
• Experience in drafting reports
• Experience in the subject area through academic work or research
• Experience and interest in collaborating with different teams on a piece of work

Languages

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French. Intermediate knowledge of other UN language.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Interns do not receive a salary. They do, however, receive a living allowance. The allowance depends on the duty station and other external support (grant, scholarships, etc.) received by the intern. In Geneva, the maximum amount of the allowance provided by WHO is CHF 1620 per month. The exact amount of the living allowance will be calculated for each intern, after selection, based on a legal financial disclosure form that the individual will complete. In addition, all interns in Geneva will receive a lumpsum of CHF 15 for each working day to buy lunch at WHO campus or elsewhere. WHO also provides all interns with accident and medical insurance coverage.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Please note that internships at WHO are very competitive and only a small number of applicants will be accepted every year. Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• Living abroad is expensive and finding accommodation can be challenging. All intern candidates should be aware of these factors before they consider applying for a WHO Internship.
• If selected for a WHO Internship, candidates will be required to provide certified copies of proof of enrolment in an eligible course of studies, a completed WHO medical certificate of fitness for work, and the contact details for reference checks details
• Interns are not eligible to take up a consultant or other non-staff contract in WHO for a period of three months following the end of the internship. However, no such restriction applies to temporary or longer-term staff positions if the vacancy has been advertised and a competitive process completed.
• WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.
• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.