The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to, and facilitate the development of, life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders, to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.

To date, MPP has signed agreements with 13 patent holders for 13 HIV antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, three hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals, a tuberculosis treatment, two long-acting technologies, two experimental oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and a COVID-19 serological antibody diagnostic test. In 2020, MPP’s mandate was temporarily expanded to include COVID-19 treatments. In 2021 it was expanded further to include the licensing of technology with an initial focus on COVID-19 vaccines and pandemic preparedness.

MPP was founded by Unitaid, which continues to be MPP’s main funder. MPP’s work on access to essential medicines is also funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). MPP’s activities in COVID-19 are undertaken with the financial support of the Japanese Government, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and SDC.

For more information, please see our website, https://medicinespatentpool.org/

Position Overview/Context

Working closely with the Strategy, Policy, and Market Access Team under the leadership of the Head of Policy, Strategy and Market Access, the intern will provide support to MPP’s policy and advocacy work. The scope of this internship will be across all disease areas prioritized by MPP (such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, as well as health emergencies, maternal health, non-communicable diseases like cancer and diabetes, and paediatrics), including the work on the implementation of the new strategy and engagement with civil society, community organizations, and governments across diverse regions (such as Western and Central - francophone - Africa) This internship is an opportunity to gain a vast experience performing various tasks in the access to medicines field across a large variety of disease, technical and policy areas (including high-level processes such as G7, G20, UNGA, WHA, WHO EB, UNAIDS PCB engagement).

Main Duties

• Contribute to the annual reporting cycle of MPP’s Strategy, Policy and Market Access Team by collecting and synthesizing information, conducting literature reviews, drafting, and editing parts of the reports
• Support the strategy implementation plan by tracking and informing on progress against policy related key performance indicators, targets and deliverables
• Support engagement with a wide range of external partners, including civil society, community and patient groups (including through MPP’s Community Advisory Panel), governments, UN agencies, and coalitions (such as GAP-f, ATOM and the LA PrEP Coalition)
• Provide administrative support for events and engagement activities, including tracking the engagement calendar, handling logistics and preparing materials
• Attend meetings and conferences that are relevant to the work of MPP, take accurate minutes, capturing important discussions, decisions, and action items
• Perform various other duties as assigned by colleagues in the Strategy, Policy and Market Access Team and the Head of Policy, Strategy and Market Access in support of their priority areas.

Requirements

Knowledge/Professional experience:

The Policy and Advocacy Intern must have:

• Strong interest in access to medicines and public health issues in low- and middle-income countries
• Understanding of intellectual property rights and their interface with public health, innovation, and access to medicines
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritize and meet deadlines
• Experience in conducting policy-related research, synthetizing information, and presenting findings
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy in data entry and proofreading
• Previous experience in advocacy or communications a plus
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively across different teams and departments.

Education and special training: 

• Minimum a bachelor’s degree in a field related to public or global health, public policy, international affairs or another relevant field.
• Internship as a requirement to pursue further education/ certification programme attested by a training institute preferred.

Use of Languages:

• Full fluency in professional English is required.
• Fluency in one or more other official UN languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Chinese) is a strong asset.

MPP’s richness lies in its staff: a small dynamic and multicultural team. To join our team, you must recognise yourself in our values: Respect, Courage, Generosity and Commitment and demonstrate the following personal attributes:

• Sensitivity to different cultures and work styles
• Positive attitude and flexibility
• Curiosity and open-mindedness

MPP respects all individuals regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. All qualified applications are welcome.

If you recognise yourself in this description and wish to support the MPP in its mission to expand access to public health, please send a cover letter and C.V. to recruitment@medicinespatentpool.org including “Policy and Advocacy Intern” as reference in the subject line. Candidates will be assessed on a rolling basis. Rolling review will start on June 30^th.