Intern, Multiple positions

The Defeat-NCD Partnership

 The Defeat-NCD Partnership was established in January 2018 to help tackle the most significant global health problem of the age: premature death, sickness, disability, and the associated social and economic impacts of selected non-communicable diseases (NCDs). These are projected to cost tens of billions of dollars with the most adverse consequences falling upon the poorer countries and communities.

 The Defeat-NCD Partnership is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and forms part of its growing portfolio of global health related Partnerships such as Stop TB, Roll Back Malaria, Scaling up Nutrition, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. Overall, UNOPS health-related work totaled some US$430 million in 2017 and it is the biggest sector we work in.

 Our vision is that of a world in which there is universal health coverage for NCDs. This is a direct contribution to the transformational 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to which all nations subscribe.

 Our mission is to enable and assist the approximately 100 lower-income and lesser-developed countries to scale-up sustained action against NCDs so that they can progress SDG 3 on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages and, more specifically, to achieve target 3.4 to reduce, by one-third, premature mortality from NCDs by 2030.  Our initial focus is on diabetes and hypertension with expansion to other NCDs in due course probably starting with the early detection and treatment of cervical and breast cancer.

 Defeat-NCD is a ‘public-private-people’ Partnership that is an autonomous inclusive programme of the United Nations system. Our membership and governance include governments, multilateral agencies, civil society, academia, philanthropic foundations, and the business sector.  We subscribe to the ethical principles of the United Nations Global Compact. We follow the technical norms and guidance issued by the World Health Organization. Our operating procedures derive from United Nations rules but are designed to be fast and responsive. We work in a complementary and coordinated way with other health and development actors at all levels.

 The secretariat of the Defeat-NCD Partnership is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Intern will work as part of the of the Defeat-NCD Partnership team. S/he will assist the Defeat-NCD Partnership team with developing, implementing, and monitoring the country-based strategies and activities of The Defeat-NCD Partnership, as well as contribute to global knowledge-sharing.

Under the overall guidance of the respective Defeat-NCD Partnership supervisor that s/he is assigned to work with e.g. the Chief Executive Officer, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Senior Programme Officer, or other personnel, the Intern will be responsible for the following: 

·         Undertake research and analysis on specific assigned topics in relation to the key elements of the Defeat-NCD Partnership – for example health economics outcomes, biostatistics, or regulatory affairs;

·         Write and edit a range of content on key areas related to the Defeat-NCD Partnership: project documents, background notes, presentations, blogs, articles, information sheets, newsletters, progress reports and key messages, as appropriate;

 ·         Contribute to the development of overall Defeat-NCD Partnership guidance materials such as manuals and procedures concerned with country support activities;

·         Assist the Defeat-NCD Partnership team’s related mission/meeting preparations and follow-up, with a focus on the office relevant partner countries;

·         Support the Defeat-NCD partnership’s wider communications, outreach, and resource mobilisation through social media and professional networking, and researching and reaching out to new partners and supporters;

·         Support country assessments and formulations of the Defeat-NCD Partnership’s country assistance strategies;

·         Assist track, monitor, review, and report on progress with programmes, and identify solutions if implementation problems are encountered;

·         Document and analyse information from, policy briefs, reports, academic journals and news articles relevant to the Defeat-NCD Partnership and its partner countries;

·         Share knowledge with the wider Defeat-NCD Partnership through distilling lessons learnt and other insights gained from research and programme interaction;

·         Assist in developing training and other curricular materials for NCD courses and act as a resource person for training events and workshops;

·         Perform any other professional work-related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the supervisor.

a. Education

·         Applicants should be enrolled in a university programme such as Bachelor, Master or Ph.D. (or the equivalent) or have graduated from such studies within three (3) years prior to the application date of the internship.

·         The preferred candidate would have a degree in a subject including public health, medicine, health economics, public policy, health communications, biostatistics, pharmacy, finance, law, social sciences or other related areas. 

b. Work Experience  

·         Experience in public health, international development, consulting, communications, or research is preferred.

·         Experience in private sector industries such as pharmaceuticals, insurance, financing, telecommunications, digital technology is preferred 

·         Proficiency in Microsoft Office Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word applications required.

·         High quality drafting and interpersonal skills are essential.

Applicants are not required to have professional work experience but experience in administration and/or clerical services in a business environment in procurement and legal services, auditing or accounting would be an advantage.

c. Languages

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

APPLICANTS MUST INCLUDE A MOTIVATION LETTER.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.