Conference Intern

Founded in 1988, the International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's largest association of HIV professionals, with members from more than 180 countries. IAS members work on all fronts of the global response to AIDS, and include researchers, clinicians, policy and programme planners and public health and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic.

The IAS organizes the world’s two most prestigious HIV conferences, each convened biennially in alternating years. The International AIDS Conference is the largest conference on any global health or development issue, and provides a unique forum for the intersection of science and advocacy. The IAS Conference on HIV Science brings together a broad cross section of HIV professionals and features the latest HIV science, with a focus on implementation – moving scientific advances into practice.

In addition, the IAS advocates for urgent action to reduce the global impact of HIV, including increased investment in HIV cure research; optimizing treatment and care for infants, children and adolescents with HIV in resource-limited settings; preventing and treating HIV-related co-infections; and expanding access to prevention, treatment and care for key populations at higher risk for HIV – such as men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers and transgender individuals – including protecting their human rights by combatting punitive laws and discriminatory policies.

More information on IAS can be found at www.iasociety.org.

Details of Internship:

The intern will be based at the IAS Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland and report to the Acting Conference Programme Manager and the Acting Congress & Exhibition Manager. The internship is full-time and will last 5 months from 6 March 2017 to 4 August 2017.

Purpose of the Internship:

The Conference Intern will mainly be responsible for assisting the Conference teams in the preparation of the IAS 2017 Conference.

Main Responsibilities:

Conference Programme Department

Marathon Meeting preparations

• Prepare meeting binder and supporting documents.

Session development support

• Prepare and issue invitations to chairs, speakers and point people for conference sessions (abstract and invited speaker sessions);
• Compile and track replies to invitations, inviting back-ups,
• Draft and prepare relevant communications to committee members and session participants (emails, key documents, session links etc…);
• Data entry into and updating of the session planner (session database).

Abstract support

• Assist with late breaker fraud hunt process, identifying potentially plagiarized submissions.

Poster Exhibition

• Plan and coordinate the conference poster exhibition under the supervision of the responsible Project Manager;
• Develop and proof Poster Exhibitor Guidelines;
• Develop relevant maps, signs and training material for hostesses and volunteers
• Support software and IT tools development.

Congress & Exhibition Department

Venue management

• Assist with venue build up, signage, cleaning & waste, medical services;
• Prepare catering templates and collect internal catering needs;
• Supervise the catering project onsite and make sure that all catering orders are delivered as requested.

Delegate bags

• Assist with the overall coordination and delivery of the delegate bags.

Delegate name badges and lanyards

• Assist with the overall coordination and delivery of the name badge paper;
• Assist with the overall coordination and delivery of the lanyards.

Volunteers

• Assist with the volunteer programme and volunteer scheduling.

General

Administrative tasks

• Updating documents/templates, organizing online archives;
• Manage conference related inboxes and respond to inquiries;
• Help with data analysis.

Perform additional tasks as requested by the Acting Conference Programme Manager and the Acting Congress & Exhibition Manager.

Academic Qualifications:

• Currently studying or recently graduated in social science, public health, development, international relations, business, events or hospitality management or a related field is favourable.

Experience: (previous internships)

• Experience helping organize conferences, seminars, workshops, meetings, or other events;
• Experience working in an international context.

Skills/Competencies:

• Strong attention to detail
• Understanding of project management
• Ability to work independently and take initiative
• Ability to multi-task and handle multiple projects simultaneously
• Ability to cope with stress and meet tight deadlines
• Strong computer skills in the Windows environment;
• Strong sense of diplomacy and discretion.

Languages:

• Excellent written and oral English language communication skills. Knowledge of French is an asset.

Benefits from this internship:

The intern can expect to gain skills and experience in the following areas:

• Event and project management
• Programme development
• International relations and communication
• Public health and HIV

Stipend: 2’000.- CHF/month gross (full time).

HOW TO APPLY:

This internship is ideally suited to a qualified, motivated and eager-to-learn graduate willing to prepare his/her professional life in challenging and dynamic settings, with high international exposure.

Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV and a cover letter, in English and by email only, to recruitment@iasociety.org by Monday 13 February 2017. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Only candidates from Switzerland, from an EU/EFTA country or candidates already having a valid Swiss working permit will be considered.

The IAS is committed to recruiting and sustaining a skilled, effective, diverse and gender-balanced secretariat, and to the greater involvement of people living with HIV (GIPA) in all aspects of its work. People living with HIV are strongly encouraged to apply.