Adolescent Mental Health and Climate Change Internship, Beijing, China, 2 months (office-based)

Contract

This is a Internship contract. It usually requires 0 years of experience, depending on education. More about Internship contracts.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, a champion

China is home to 146 million adolescents aged 10-19. Based on the available data from the 2013 national survey by the China Adolescent Mental Health Research Group, an estimated 23% of urban adolescents were found to be suffering from mild to moderate depression and nearly 13% from severe depression.[1] Furthermore, a recent survey conducted by the National Health Commission (NHC) and UNICEF in 2017, covering 15,415 adolescents from 11 provinces, also showed similar prevalence. The survey found that that 17% of adolescents might suffer from depression, 40% reported self-harm at least once in the past 12 months, and over one third reported feelings of anxiety. A total of 30 million children and adolescents under 17 are estimated to have behavioral and emotional problems in China, among which, about 50 to 70% need mental health services but remain untreated.[2]

In response, UNICEF has been working with the National Health Commission (NHC) on the Adolescent Health and Development Demonstration Project (AHDP) to lay the groundwork for improvements in adolescent mental health (AMH) service provision. A comprehensive mental health service package has been included in the AHDP to promote and foster positive mental health and emotional well-being, covering key AMH interventions such as interpersonal skills, emotional regulation, problem-solving and stress management.

Building on the project, in close partnership with the Government, academia and adolescents, UNICEF will design and test an adolescent peer education and support approach in both schools and adolescent communities. The key component of the project is the development of a “peer educators” system to empower adolescents in providing adolescent-friendly, self-directed, easily-accessible, and systematic mental health support to their peers.

Another important area of work is on climate change for UNICEF China. Climate change poses a serious threat to the lives and futures of children and young people. While they contribute the least to climate change, they will be the ones facing the most devastating impacts. We should take action to recognize the many links between a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment and children’s rights to be heard and participate. To better support the Chinese government in amplifying the rights and voices of youth on climate change strategically, UNICEF is proposing to work with the government in crafting a technical guideline on youth engagement in climate change, starting with the establishment of a technical working group and a consultation workshop with youth. Youth from several youth organizations and universities will be invited to share their insights and contribute to the strategies.

[1] China Adolescent Mental Health Research Group. China adolescent mental health report, China Science and Technology Press, 2013. Data was collected using a scale of depression for self-assessment, but scored by the staff with professional qualifications

[2] National Project on Mental Health (2002-2010), China Department for Disease Control and Prevention, Ministry of Health, 2002. In: China Health Information Profile. World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific, 2010.

How can you make a difference?

You will report directly to Adolescent Development Officer. You are expected to support the following duties and assignments:

1) Peer support/peer leaders training programme on mental, in working with the Adolescent Development Officer

• Participate in discussions with partners on peer support programme
• Review and contribute insights on the newly developed materials, from youth perspective
• Support putting together resources documents for developing training, delivery framework, and monitoring

2) Development of technical guidelines on youth engagement in climate change, in working with the Adolescent Development Officer

• Support collection of inputs from youth organizations for the development of technical guidelines on youth engagement
• Support logistics of a workshop with youth organizations
• Support compiling inputs into documents and reports, translation of the draft report from English to Chinese, for government partners’ review

Besides, the intern will also provide support to other work related to adolescent development and youth engagement.

To qualify as an UNICEF intern, or a champion for every child, you will…

• Be enrolled in an undergraduate (third or fourth year), graduate, or Ph.D. degree programme in public health, nutrition, bio-statistics, medicine, or public policy;
• Have strong academic performance as demonstrated by recent university or institution records, or, if not available, a reference letter from an academic supervisor;
• Have no immediate relatives working in any UNICEF offices;
• Fluency in English and Mandarin is required;
• Have strong attention to detail and proven ability to prioritize and handle multiple tasks;
• Must have strong written and verbal communication skills;
• Be confident and enthusiastic when sharing ideas internally;
• Have proficient computer skills, including Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel)
• Be able to work individually and as part of a team.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are... (1) Builds and maintains partnerships(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness(3)Drive to achieve results for impact(4)Innovates and embraces change(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity(6)Thinks and acts strategically(7)Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and on any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to selected candidates who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts.