Intern for Mental Health

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

WHO Representative Office for Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore works closely with the respective governments to improve the health and wellbeing of their populations. This includes providing support for the development and review of national plans for health promotion and disease prevention, as well as promoting collaboration to achieve the strategic priorities.

Internships provide a modality of engagement of students and young professionals to gain knowledge of WHO guidelines, programs and activities and appreciate the role of WHO in maintaining and improving health at country level and globally. In addition to the experience gained by interns, internships allow the Country Office to benefit from the active engagement, enthusiasm, and innovative ideas of internes newly exposed to the WHO.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Terms of reference

Under the supervision of the Technical Officer, the intern is assigned the agreed terms of reference:

• Support implementation of the activities under the Joint Programme on Mental Health and Psychosocial Well-being and Development of Children and Adolescents
• Study available literature to identify the gaps in knowledge on the existing mental health service delivery pathways in Malaysia
• Contribute to the development of communication and advocacy materials
• Identify opportunities to apply innovation to improve youth mental health
• Participate in collection of data from secondary sources including conducting reviews of literature, undertake web research and data collection on priority topics for the Country Office.
• Contribute to organizing data, performing analysis and drafting of scientific documents and reports
• Participate in on-going departmental programs and activities, and assist in organizing workshops, meetings, conferences and other events.

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 main challenges in strengthening mental health service provision in a middle-income country
• Practice searching for data and evidence and know how to conduct and review literature surveys
• Know how to assemble data and prepare a comprehensive analysis
• Understand how to evaluate the strength of evidence available and how to use them to develop
programmatic activities
• Understand the modality of engagement with national authorities and the difference of work between
the headquarters, regional offices and country offices
• Prepare background documents and presentations for meetings

DURATION OF INTERNSHIP

The internship will be for a duration of 14 weeks starting on 27th August 2023 and completed by 30th November 2023.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: Bachelor’s degree in health or related field
Desirable: Currently enrolled in a Masters programme related to health

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 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

Applicants 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, applicants need to be familiar with commonly used computer programs, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

Experience

• Experience in mental health through academic work or research
• Experience in research and/or drafting reports
• Experience with data analysis

Languages

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable: Knowledge of Bahasa Malaysia.

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. 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 Malaysia will receive a lumpsum amount for meal expenses. 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.