Internship for Dakar Hub

Intern – The Health Emergency Information and Risk Assessment (HIR) under the Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) (2400856)

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

Objectives of the Programme and of the immediate Strategic Objective

The mission of WHO’s Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Programme is to build the capacity of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. The Health Emergency Information and Risk Assessment (HIR) Programme area of the EPR focuses on three major streams of work: i) enhancing public health intelligence for early detection and risk assessment of health events; ii) strengthening public health surveillance and epidemiology based on the IDSR framework; and iii) modernizing information management systems and data analytics.

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:

• Conduct exploratory data analysis and visualization of datasets related to emergency data
• Apply basic pattern extraction techniques (machine leaning, data mining) on sample datasets
• Contribute to the development of automated tools by testing existing tools, creating templates, or/and collecting user feedback
• Analyze specific disease datasets, generate reports or maps using hotspot analysis, GIS, space-time analysis.
• Practice data triangulation with smaller, guided exercises using readily available data sets
• Contribute to the development of early warning systems for epidemic and pandemic-prone diseases for early detection and response to public health events of national and international concern
• Develop user user-friendly tools (interface, dashboards) for early detection of public health events
• Evaluate the usability of existing electronic surveillance tools through surveys or user testing
• Participate in other activities within AFRO EPRHIR programme involving other programmes, member states, and partners, including meetings, training sessions, and other capacity building activities organized by the programme.

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 and leverage data analytics, digital transformation, GIS, big data, AI, and machine learning to effectively manage health emergency data.
• Know how to assemble data and prepare a comprehensive analysis.
• Communicate clearly on health information data through capacity building activities, information sharing sessions with other programmes, WCOs, member states, and partners.
• Prepare background documents and notes for meetings as well as training sessions at the country and regional.

DURATION OF INTERNSHIP

6 months (24 weeks)

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential

University degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, Statistics, GIS, or a related discipline.

Desirable

Relevant training and/or certification related to information systems technologies, data analytics, digital transformation, GIS, big data, AI, and machine learning. Familiarity with Business Intelligence (BI) solutions, ability to adapt open-source tools, and skills in programming and scripting will be an asset

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

Essential

At least a minimum of 1 year experience in software development, use of statistical software packages (e.g., R, STATA, SAS, MATLAB) for epidemiological analysis.

• Some experience and knowledge in statistical data analysis, data management, data processing and computing.
• Strong experience in advanced data analytics, data systems, machine learning, data mining, simulations, and modeling.
• Practical experience in the use of statistical packages such as SPSS, STATA, SAS, R.
• Strong experience working with large databases, database systems and data management tools.
• Practical experience in software and database systems (MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Postgres, MS Access, or any RDBMS platforms, etc.), programming languages (Java, Python, C Sharp, PHP, Visual Basic, R, etc.).
• Strong knowledge of information management tools and mechanisms.
• Strong analytical skills; the ability to analyze raw data, draw conclusions, and understand how to best visualize data.
• Some experience in Geovisualization and advanced mapping tools.
• Knowledge of GIS

Desirable

Experience in developing information systems, data analysis and reporting of time-sensitive public health data.

Languages

Essential

Expert knowledge of English

Desirable

Intermediate knowledge of French

• The above language requirements are interchangeable.

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 Dakar, the maximum amount of the allowance provided by WHO is 696.000 XOF 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 Dakar will be provided with accommodation options situated close to duty station to facilitate their stay in the city. 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.
• 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.