Internship - Innovations & Grants @ Stop TB Partnership , Multiple positions

UNOPS hosts the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership Secretariat (STBP) as of 1 January 2015, in Geneva, Switzerland. The vision of the Stop TB Partnership is to realize the goal of elimination of Tuberculosis (TB) as a public health problem and, ultimately, to obtain a world free of TB by ensuring that every TB patient has access to effective diagnosis, treatment and cure; stopping transmission of TB; reducing the inequitable social and economic toll of TB; and developing and implementing new preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic tools and strategies. The Stop Partnership is uniquely positioned to support the development and further implementation by partners of the current and future Global Plan, acting as a coordinator and catalyst for the range of partners engaged in the fight against TB.

Founded in 2001, the Stop TB Partnership's mission is to serve every person who is vulnerable to TB and ensure that high-quality treatment is available to all who need it. Stop TB partners include international and technical organizations, government programmes, research and funding agencies, foundations, NGOs, civil society and community groups and the private sector.

The Stop TB Partnership’s TB REACH initiative provides grants to partners in lower-income and/or high TB burden countries to test innovative and well thought-out, yet unproven approaches and technologies which aim to: 

• Increase the number of people with TB (TB infection or active TB [drug-sensitive or -resistant]) who are diagnosed, started on treatment and reported to National TB Programs (NTPs), 

• Decrease the time it takes someone with TB to receive appropriate treatment, and 

• Improve adherence and treatment success for people started on anti-TB treatment. 

TB REACH combines open, but targeted calls for proposals, fast-track financing and rigorous, external monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to rapidly produce results. Other donor agencies and/or national governments can then scale-up the successful approaches piloted by recipients of TB REACH funding to maximize their own investments and to accelerate progress in the fight to end TB. 

Innovations and Grants / TB Reach

In an effort to promote innovation and new ideas, TB REACH was established in 2010 as a multilateral funding mechanism testing and scaling up innovative technologies and strategies aimed at increasing the number of people detected with TB and linked to appropriate treatment. TB REACH provides fast-track and results-based financing with rigorous, external monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to produce strong evidence around specific innovative technologies/approaches, so others can be scaled up by other donor agencies and/or national governments. Since the inception of 2020, TB REACH has funded 313 projects in 54 countries with over USD 155 million.

Unlike other funding mechanisms like the Global Fund, TB REACH can support untested approaches and new technologies that have not been WHO recommended. To date, the projects supported by TB REACH include innovative active case finding, rollout and evaluation of new technologies (Xpert, drone, AI, etc), engaging private healthcare providers and communities. 

Under the supervision of the Technical officer, the intern will work on the TB REACH team to support the advocacy and implementation of critical activities related to TB REACH.

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of  the Technical Officer, the intern will perform the following tasks as part of her or his internship learning experience: 

• As an internship main project: Lead the landscaping analysis of achievements and lessons learned from past TB REACH projects. Having the opportunity to dive inside the work of TB Reach and recommend ways to improve.  

• As part of the “learning by doing” experience: Support the development of concept notes, pitch decks, policy documents, media articles, interactive presentation and other materials.

• As part of the TB Reach team: Carry out research assignments and assisting in the production of agreed outputs including articles, policy reports, and other materials.

• As part of your learning and supervision: Be involved in other assignments suggested by the supervisor, but also, proactively suggest innovative approaches or other potential projects.  

Training components and learning elements

• Gain experience working in public health at the global /international level.

• Gain knowledge in grant making & management and results dissemination. 

• The intern will be part of the TB REACH team and will be learning on the job on a daily basis. 

• The supervisor will allocate dedicated time in order to improve the intern’s understanding of the functioning of Stop TB Partnership and the UN development agency world in general.

Participation in missions or training courses

Participation in meetings with senior level decision-makers and policy-makers.

Additional comments

Looking for candidates with:

• Good writing skills

• Willing to figure things out even if they do not know the answer right away;

• Takes full ownership of their work; and 

• Thrives in a start-up like culture

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Please note, interns based in Switzerland, will have to declare themselves to the tax and social security authorities of the country. Additionally, they will have to purchase a Swiss Based Health insurance to cover the period they are on internship. UNOPS will reimburse 120 USD a month for the payment of the insurance - upon show of proof of valid policy. 
• 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.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• 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
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• 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.

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.