Internship WHO - Change Management

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The mission of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme (The 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 Intelligence and Surveillance Systems division (WSE) is responsible for building a system of collaborative intelligence enabling better decisions to avert and manage public health threats and risks. 

Our goal is to enable, strengthen and support countries, regional and global actors in averting and managing public health threats and risks through collaborative problem solving and decision-making for short-term action and long-term policies, informed by better data and analytics.

The WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence is a new office of WHO, located in Berlin. We work with partners to enable the generation of relevant public health information to contribute to timely actionable insights in response to health emergencies; improve decision making in response to public health threats. It also aims to reduce data fragmentation and inefficiency by creating an ecosystem that promotes collaboration across multiple professional disciplines, sectors, and initiatives; and empower decision makers, public health professionals, and civil society to make informed public health decisions.

The Project Management Office (PMO) provides project management, business analysis, UX design, and change management support for our technical teams and projects. The work of the PMO as an internal resource is also a cultural transformation project. The change management team aims to achieve internal adoption of a project management mindset for all projects throughout our division. This intern position will receive hands-on change management experience in both transformation and project-based change management.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Terms of reference

The intern is assigned the agreed terms of reference with direct contributions in the two most common types of change management work.

Transformation or Organizational change management

• Assist with transformation initiatives such as adoption of WSE principles as a way of working and other culture initiatives proposed from within the division
• Improve adoption of a “project management mindset” within our division. Assist with internal stakeholder engagement by developing and implementing a change management plan, using available resources to drive adoption

Project-based change management

• Assist in the development of workshop materials and presentations as part of the stakeholder change process on select projects. We use Prosci’s ADKAR model as a guide
• Assist in stakeholder research and engagement recommendations for those projects
• Contribute to drafting and publishing SharePoint and/or web content for assigned projects
• Assist in the organization of meetings, events, and consultations
• Assist the team with other duties, such as developing infographics, drafting/editing materials, etc., as needs arise

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:

• Apply a change management framework and tools to enhance stakeholder engagement for specific projects that further our strategic objectives
• Communicate clearly with stories in a variety of mediums (SharePoint, website, workshops, social media, etc.)
• Learn different change approaches for projects with long horizons (transformation) versus short horizons (project-based)
• Use and further develop change tools such as stakeholder analysis, communications plans, training needs analysis, etc. 
• Support the organization at events, meetings, and consultations of strategic relevance for the division

DURATION OF INTERNSHIP 

24 weeks - tentative start date 17 February 2025

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Have completed the equivalent of at least three years of full-time studies in a degree in business, change management, marketing or similar 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 to the internship within six months after completion of their formal qualification).

Skills

Core competencies

• Teamwork
• Communication
• Planning & organizing

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 from all backgrounds
• Ability to organize workload efficiently and effectively; prioritize and work independently

In addition, interns need to be familiar with commonly used computer programmes, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and MS Teams.

Experience

• Experience in change management, communications, and/or marketing
• Experience in the subject area through academic work, research, or first professional experience
• Experience in developing and delivering stories/content to meet a variety of stakeholder needs through a variety of mediums (video, web, infographics, etc.)
• Experience in organizing events, including participants from the public sector 

Languages

Essential: Expert knowledge of English 

Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of another UN language

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Interns do not receive a salary. They do however receive a living allowance. The amount of living allowance is different in each duty station.  The amount also depends on any other external financial support received by the intern (grant, scholarships, etc.) and whether their permanent residence is in the duty station of the internship.  In Berlin, for interns with permanent residence in the duty station, the maximum amount of the allowance provided by WHO is 619 EUR per month. For interns whose permanent residence is outside of the duty station, the maximum amount is 1440 EUR 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 Berlin will receive a daily lumpsum of 10 EUR for meal expenses. 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. 
• WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
• 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: [email protected]
• 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 Department of Staff Health and Wellbeing (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 [email protected]. 
• In accordance with the social security and labor requirements of the host government, eligibility for WHO internships in Berlin will be limited to candidates who already hold the necessary rights to live and work in Germany.

Apply here

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