Internship - Birth defects/MCA

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The objectives of the Child Health and Development Unit (CHD) of the department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Aging (MCA) are to generate and synthesize evidence, develop public health recommendations and delivery models, support implementation, and measure impact of policies and interventions that optimize the survival, health and development of children (1 month – 9 years).

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Terms of reference
MCA/CHD is working in partnership with a wide range of organizations to revise the burden of birth defect estimates and produce a revised report for release at the March of Dimes International Conference on Birth Defects in the Developing world in March 2025. We are seeking an intern to work with us in order to learn about the process of working with a diverse community of experts to come to consensus around the estimates. These estimates are critically important to support policy makers in planning programmes in their countries to support the treatment and care of children born with birth defects. The intern will learn the importance of working with a wide range of stakeholder in a collegial manner to ensure that countries have the best possible technical support from WHO.
Under the supervision of a technical expert in the respective area, the intern is assigned the agreed terms of reference:

• organize data and documents on congenital anomalies into the format selected by the Burden of Birth Defects Technical Advisory Group, including into two databases, one for registry data and the other for data from publications
• participate in the development of the Burden of Birth Defects planning tool for policy makers
• assist in drafting, formatting and editing policy briefs, tool kits, guides/manuals, hand-outs, brochures and reports
• assist in organizing a technical meeting bringing together experts on modelling the burden of birth defects
• participate in on-going departmental projects

Learning objectives
Within this internship, the intern will:
Work with the Burden of Birth defects Technical Working group and help to develop an open and transparent data collection process to help build the revised estimates of the burden of birth defects. This entails developing a good understanding of database management, including the provision of metadata which will improve the transparency of the data used as inputs into the estimation of burden of disease. The intern will also understand the:

• main challenges in birth defects surveillance, especially in low-and-middle income countries
• steps needed to work effectively with teams of experts that have different opinions and experiences, and especially to build consensus around complex data challenges.
• steps and care needed to assemble a systematic review of literature.
• steps needed to assemble data and prepare a comprehensive analysis
• steps needed to prepare background documents for meetings

DURATION OF INTERNSHIP

Tentative start date - 3 July 2023 (7 weeks)

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

The chosen candidate should have completed the equivalent of three years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution prior to commencing the assignment; AND be enrolled in a course of study in biology, genetics or medicine 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).

Knowledge of data analysis packages (STATA, Excel, R or a similar statistical package not used primarily as a teaching tool for statistics) is required. Knowledge of the literature on birth defects, including the leading causes of mortality from birth defects, neural tube defects and congenital heart anomalies is an advantage.

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, SPSS or SAS may be an advantage.

Experience

• Experience in research and/or in drafting reports
• Experience in the subject area through academic work or research
• Experience with data analysis, statistical packages and interest in the design of graphical display and analysis of health information in an international comparative perspective, such as for the burden of disease
• Ability to produce slide sets using PowerPoint or other data visualization tools

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 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.