Internship - Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Unit / Health Security Preparedness Department

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

As part of the WHO Health Emergencies (WHE) Programme, the Health Security Preparedness (HSP) Department supports Member States (MS) to build IHR core capacities to manage all-hazard risks and emergencies by promoting multisectoral collaboration and coordination for health security. The Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Unit provides technical support to MS, through WHO’s Regional and Country offices, to operationalize health emergency and disaster risk management as part of the IHR (2005) Monitoring and Evaluation framework (IHR-MEF), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030), and the WHO Health Emergencies and Disaster Risk Management Framework (HEDRM Framework). The DRR unit supports countries to manage health emergency and disaster risks through a series of tools and guidance including the risk and vulnerability assessments using the Strategic Toolkit for Assessing Risk (STAR), multi-hazard response concept of operations through National Health Emergency Response Operational Planning (NHEROP), and hospital safety and resilience tools. The tools and guidance have been developed to help MS to take advantage of critical opportunities for learning and improvement to better respond to health emergencies and disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic. The DRR unit is currently developing specific materials to support countries to plan and conduct risk-based assessments and planning processes. The DRR unit intends to strengthen country capacity in documenting health emergency and disaster risk management actions in their countries through both peer-reviewed articles as well as grey literature.

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:

• support the process on developing and updating relevant technical guidance on all-hazard safety and resilience of health facilities, including an updated hospital safety index tool and a hospital emergency response planning toolkit
• assist in the development of case studies documenting best practice and lessons learned around all hazard health emergency and disaster risk management
• assist in drafting, formatting and editing policy briefs, tool kits, guides/manuals, hand-outs, brochures and reports related to DRR tools and guidance
• compile information related to DRR activities and support reporting requests
• assist technical officers with the development of communication materials appropriate for the WHO website, social media platform etc.
• assist in drafting, formatting, and editing documents and materials, including meeting reports, policy briefings, presentations, guidelines, and toolkits.
• assist in organizing workshops, meetings, conferences, events
• The intern may also be asked to support other duties under the WHE, upon request from the responsible officer

Learning objectives

The purpose of the WHO Internship Programme is 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:

• Learn core concepts of Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management as undertaken by WHO and contribute to the development and implementation of risk assessment and risk-based operational planning under technical supervision.
• Communicate clearly about the work of the Disaster Risk Management and Resilience unit.
• Understand the difference of work between headquarters, regional offices, and country offices and the relations between the three levels in support of country-level implementation.
• Know how to assemble data and prepare comprehensive communication materials to inform public health policy decision making and implementation
• Prepare background documents for meetings.

DURATION OF INTERNSHIP

13 weeks

Start date: 1 July 2023
End date: 30 October 2023

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Have completed the equivalent of three years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution prior to commencing the assignment or equivalent experience in a related field; 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).

Desirable: Master's degree in Public Health, humanitarian, emergency preparedness and response, Social Sciences, International Development, Public Policy, or any related field or working towards equivalent degree.

Skills

Core competencies

• Team work
• 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.

Experience

• Experience in drafting reports
• Experience in the subject area through academic work
• Experience in drafting technical documents
• Familiarity in public health or emergency management.

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 1680 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.