Intern – Safe abortion/Reproductive Health and Research

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMMEThe Department of Reproductive Health and Research (RHR) works to enable people to protect their own health as it relates to sexuality and reproduction, and to receive quality health care in matters related to sexual and reproductive health. To achieve this, the Department advocates and promotes sound public health strategies, sets norms and standards, engages in technical cooperation activities, and supports research. RHR's overall strategic framework is provided by the WHO Global Reproductive Health Strategy approved by the 57th World Health Assembly in 2004.

RHR includes the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP).

HRP is the main instrument within the United Nations system for promoting, conducting, evaluating, and coordinating interdisciplinary research on sexual and reproductive health; for collaborating with countries in enhancing national capacities to conduct this research; for promoting and facilitating the use of research results in policy-making and planning for sexual and reproductive health care; and for the setting of standards and guidelines, including technical and ethical guidelines, in the field of sexual and reproductive health research. More information about HRP can be found at http\://www.who.int/reproductive-health/hrp.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Terms of reference

Under the supervision of a technical expert in the respective area, interns are assigned a project based on agreed terms of reference and in line with their skills set. These terms of references typically include some or all of the following responsibilities\:

• Support the evidence synthesis for the Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcomes (PICOs) for the update of the Safe Abortion guidance

• Support the ongoing activities related to the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) initiative

• Support the drafting, formatting, and editing policy briefs, tool kits, guides/manuals, hand-outs, brochures and reports
• Support the pre-scoping and guidelines-specific meetings
• Support other work of the Safe abortion team as agreed between the supervisor and the intern

Learning objectives

• To understand how WHO develops guidelines in the context of safe abortion and post-abortion contraception

• To learn about methods for systematic reviews

• To learn how WHO applies synthesized evidence to develop recommendations and programs for international communities in the context of safe abortion and post-abortion contraception

• To understand the difference of work between WHO headquarters, regional offices and country offices, and the roles that WHO fulfills when working with countries

INTERNSHIP PERIOD\:

The internship duration will be for a minimum of 8 weeks to a maximum of 24 weeks, at any point between 02 January to 30 June 2020 (exact dates to be determined by the supervisor and the selected intern)

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Have completed three years of full-time studies (bachelor's level or equivalent) 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 the internship within six months after completion of their formal qualification).

Desirable\:An advanced university degree (Masters level or above) in medicine or public health

Skills
Core competencies

• Team work
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural difference
• 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/or in drafting reports
• Experience in the subject area through academic work or research
• Field and/or developing country experience
• Experience with 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.Desirable\: Intermediate knowledge of French. Intermediate knowledge of Other UN language.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Interns do not receive a salary. They do however receive a stipend. The stipend depends on the duty station and other external support (grant, scholarships, etc.) received by the intern. In Geneva, the maximum amount of the stipend provided by WHO is 1728 USD per month. The exact amount of the stipend will be calculated for each intern, after selection, based on a financial disclosure form that they will complete. In addition, all interns in Geneva will receive a daily lunch voucher of a value of CHF15 to be used on WHO campus during the working days. WHO is also providing all interns with an 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 successful candidates 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 a course of studies and a medical certificate of fitness for work.
• Interns are not eligible for appointment to consultant position in WHO for a period of three months following the end of the internship. However, no such restrictions apply to temporary or longer term staff positions if the vacancy has been advertised and a competitive process completed.