Internship – Country Readiness Strengthening Department HQ/CRS

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The mission of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to build the capacities of the Member States to safely manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international response to mitigate, contain, provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. The Programme supports countries and coordinates international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, timely respond to, and recover from outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

The objectives of the Country Readiness Strengthening Department is to achieve effective operational readiness and response for the most imminent and serious health emergencies. The department supports Member States to develop, establish and finance comprehensive readiness plans for health security that are facilitated by strategic partnerships across all relevant sectors.

Operational readiness is critical for countries, communities and organizations to have the capability to be able to respond immediately and appropriately to health emergencies from any hazard when required. Strengthening operational readiness is based on a continuous process of assessing current risk based on the identification of hazards with the highest likelihood and severity against the level of existing capacities and vulnerabilities. This is a continuous process followed by the assessment of readiness capabilities and the acceleration of targeted actions at trigger for an imminent threat to ensure an efficient emergency response. Readiness is a status of specific capabilities to quickly and appropriately respond when required to mitigate the impact of specific risk(s) and is built upon preparedness.

The Community Readiness and Resilience Unit (CRR) aims to support Member States in strengthening community readiness capabilities for health emergencies through the development and implementation of relevant norms, standards, strategies, guides, and tools. The goal is to ensure the timely and effective delivery of community-based public health interventions and health services to populations affected by health emergency risks and threats. This involves close collaboration at three levels of the organization and the strengthening of technical and operational networks and partnerships at all levels.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Terms of Reference:
Under the supervision of a technical expert in the respective area, the intern will be assigned the following terms of reference:
– Review literature and conduct surveys on community-centered health emergency workforce capacity building, including the training of community first responders.
– Undertake web research, collect data and compile information from WHO Member States, partners, and academic institutions on policies, strategies, programs, and activities related to community workforce capacity building.
– Organize data and documents to assist the CRR unit in developing global guidance and tools related to community-centered health emergency workforce capacity building.
– Participate in the development of guidance and tools produced by the CRR unit.
– Assist in drafting, formatting, and editing guidance and toolkit materials, handouts, brochures, and reports within the CRR unit.
– Assist in the development of case studies documenting best practice and lessons learned around community readiness and resilience
– Assist in organizing workshops, meetings, conferences, and events organized by the CRR unit.
– Participate in ongoing 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.

During this internship, the intern will:
– Understand the objectives, key components and activities of the Community Readiness and Resilience (CRR) Unit of the WHO Health Emergency (WHE) Programme.
– Communicate clearly on the key areas and activities of the CRR Unit and related WHO programmes.
– In supporting country-level implementation, understand the difference of work between the Headquarters, regional and country offices and relations between the three levels.
– Acquire skills in conducting and reviewing literature surveys in areas of Public Health and Health Emergencies.
– Develop the ability to assemble data and prepare a comprehensive analysis to inform the development of WHO guides and tools.
– Learn to systematically prepare background documents for WHO meetings.

DURATION OF INTERNSHIP

Tentative start date: 8 or 22 April 2024
Total duration: 13 weeks

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education
Have completed the equivalent of three years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution in the areas of Medicine, Public Health or Social science 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, the intern needs to be familiar with commonly used Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) software. Knowledge of specialized statistical software like XLStat would be an advantage.

Experience:
– Experience in literature review, research and/or in drafting reports.
– Experience in the subject area through academic work or research.
– Field and/or developing country experience.
– Experience in 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 health system performance assessment.

Languages
Essential: Expert knowledge of English – spoken and written.
Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French or 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 is calculated for each intern after selection, based on a legal financial disclosure form that the intern will complete. In addition, interns in Geneva receive a lumpsum of CHF 20 each working day, to buy lunch at the WHO Campus or elsewhere. WHO also provides 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.
– 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.
– The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits and employs staff regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
– The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply.
– Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to reasonableaccommodation@who.int
– WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
– Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.