Internship - UNITAID/UTD

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

Unitaid is a global health agency engaged in finding innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more quickly, affordably, and effectively in low- and middle-income countries. Its work includes funding initiatives to address major diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as HIV co-infections and co-morbidities such as cervical cancer and hepatitis C, and cross-cutting areas, such as fever management. Unitaid also applied its expertise to address challenges in advancing new therapies and diagnostics for the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as a key member of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization. Unitaid investments improve access - typically utilizing market-based interventions to effect price reductions, improvements in quality and supply, and rapid introduction of innovative products more suitable for populations who can benefit.

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 literature and conduct literature surveys on intellectual property, hepatitis C and/or mRNA technology to advance hepatitis C vaccines
• undertake web research and data collection on intellectual property, hepatitis C and/or mRNA technology to advance hepatitis C vaccines
• participate in partner and stakeholder engagement, including supporting consultations to ensure relevance of research and strategic alignment
• organize data and draft documents, reports and papers on intellectual property and/or hepatitis C for internal use and for publication
• assist in Unitaid’s proposals selection process and grant agreement development process
• assist in drafting, formatting, and editing Unitaid Joint Review Committee and Executive Board documents, presentations, hand-outs, brochures, and reports
• assist in organizing workshops, meetings, conferences, events
• participate in on-going departmental projects

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:

• Understand the objectives of Unitaid and its intellectual property and hepatitis C work
• Communicate clearly about Unitaid’s efforts in addressing intellectual property issues in access to healthcare technologies
• Understand the way Unitaid works with technical, funding, procurement and country partners to achieve its mission
• Develop the outline of a document
• Assist in drafting documents and reports for internal and external audiences
• Assist in drafting reports and papers for publication
• Prepare background documents for meetings

DURATION OF INTERNSHIP

Tentative start date: June 2023
Duration: approx. 13 weeks

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; AND be enrolled in a course of study, such as health administration, health policy, public health, global health equity or a related field at a university or equivalent institution leading to a formal qualification (applicants who have already graduated may also qualify for consideration if 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 XLStat may be an advantage.

Experience

• Experience in research and policy related to Global Health and/or in drafting reports
• Experience in the intellectual property, hepatitis c, nutrition and/or mRNA vaccines through academic work or research
• Field and/or developing country experience
• Experience with data analysis

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.