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UNITED NATIONS - WHAT JOBS ARE AVAILABLE ?

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 and committed to maintaining international peace and security; developing friendly relations among nations; promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.

The UN family of organizations

The United Nations family of organizations consists of the United Nations Secretariat, the Funds and Programmes such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the specialized agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as other related organizations.

The United Nations Secretariat is on a constant lookout for competent and motivated persons with a strong belief in its purpose and mandates, willing to dedicate themselves to a rewarding international career in different locations around the world.  The United Nations provides an opportunity to serve in a dynamic, multicultural environment in a variety of jobs in the support of global causes.

Job Networks

The United Nations welcomes applications from nationals of all Member States and strongly encourages women to apply. Applicants with disabilities are considered by the United Nations for employment under all types of contracts in full compliance with the United Nations Charter. The United Nations offers a variety of ways to join its workforce. It also offers university students opportunities to serve as interns.  

Candidates for jobs in the General Service and related categories, including those in the trades and crafts, security and safety, secretarial and other support positions, are recruited locally.

The website: https://careers.un.org  gives information on job openings within the United Nations Secretariat only. For job openings in other UN family organizations, click on the link given on the main page of the above link: - Links to other UN system employment pages, some of which are listed below

• United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
• International Trade Centre (ITC)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Job openings within the United Nations Secretariat

 Job networks have been established to promote greater career opportunities. Each network is a flexible grouping of departments and offices whose mandates, programmes of work and interests are closely linked to each other. 

An eligible candidate can join one or more networks based on her or his background and career interests: 

Economic and Social Development

• Economic Affairs
• Environment Affairs
• Population Affairs
• Statistics
• Social Sciences
• Public Administration
• Programme Management
• Science and Technology
• Drug Control and Crime Prevention

Job opportunities in this field are mostly found in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs in New York as well as in the United Nations’ five regional economic commissions headquartered in Addis Ababa - Ethiopia, Bangkok - Thailand, Beirut - Lebanon, Geneva – Switzerland and Santiago – Chile. Overall, staff members in this network contribute to the promotion of socio-economic development.

Education:

        Sociology, Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Demography, Public Administration, Governance, Political Science, Business Administration, Law, Public Finance, and other social sciences or related fields.

  
Management and Operations Support

• Administration
• Audit
• Finance
• Procurement
• Human Resource
• Medical
• Production, Service & Transport
• Investment Management
• Management & Programme Analysis
• Ethics
• Engineering
• Pension Management
• Logistic

Jobs in this network cover diverse aspects of facilities management, engineering, travel, etc. At a higher level, the work of the staff in this department has an impact on the strategic direction of United Nations management practices, policies, accountability & related issues, including key decisions concerning the deployment of resources & budgets.

Education:
            Business or Public administration, Finance, Accounting, Management, Economics, Nursing, Medicine, Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Commerce, Engineering, Law, Transportation, Aviation, Engineering, Safety Management, Air Traffic Control, Military Flight/Air Traffic Control Training or related fields. 

Political, Peace and Security

• Political Affairs
• Humanitarian Affairs
• Human Rights
• Civil Affairs
• Electoral Affairs
• Rule of Law

Jobs in this field cover political analysis, and preparation of reports for the General Assembly, the Security Council and their subsidiary organs and committees. Also, the work may involve participating in the organization and preparation of studies on political, humanitarian and emergency relief issues. This network also covers jobs in peacekeeping, peacebuilding, conflict resolution, human rights, humanitarian affairs, electoral processes, disarmament, counterterrorism and other related areas. Jobs are located in offices across the global Secretariat.

Education:

            Political Science, Law, International Relations, Public Administration, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Engineering, Economics or related fields. 

 Information Systems and Communication Technology

• Information Systems and Technology
• Information Management

This department plays a vital role in the implementation of technology within the United Nations. Specifically, jobs include information and communication technology research, policy formulation and compliance, development, and the establishment of infrastructure to support the Organization’s information and communication technology systems which include computing; telecommunications; office automation; software and hardware support; internet operations; and enterprise-wide applications.

Education:

             Computer Science, Information Systems, Mathematics, Statistics, Electronic, Technical or Communication Engineering, Technical Science, Computer Technology, Archival, Information Science, Social Sciences or related fields. 

Legal

• Jurists
• Legal Affairs
• Ombudsman

This department seeks to provide a unified legal service for the Secretariat and other organs of the United Nations. Jobs include the provision of legal advice and services to the Organization; advice on constitutional and other legal questions, including the admission of Member States; the credentials of representatives; relations with the host country; the rights, privileges and immunities of staff; the provision of interpretation of and draft amendments to the Organization's rules of procedure for organs, conferences and other bodies, as well as staff regulations and rules. The Network also represents the Organization in judicial proceedings, drafting and interpretation of international conventions, treaties and other instruments as well as resolutions, negotiations or other procedures for the conclusion of agreements or the settlement of disputes; examining and drafting legal documents, including contracts, deeds, insurance and other agreements; undertaking investigations and preparing reports on special legal problems.

Education:

            Law, Business Administration, Economics, International Relations, Political Science, Statistics, Public Administration, Pharmacology, Pharmacy or related fields. 

Public Information and External Relations

• Public Information
• Protocol

This department promotes global awareness and greater understanding of the work of the Organization using various communication tools including radio, television, print, the internet, videoconferencing and other new information technologies. Jobs typically involve planning, managing and evaluating public communication campaigns, building and facilitating strategic contact, and forming partnerships to ensure effective public communication.

Education:

            Communication, Journalism, International Relations, Political Science, Social Sciences, Humanitarian Affairs, Public Administration or other related fields.  


Conference Management 

• ·         Conference Services
• Language

This department plays a central role in managing the annual sessions of the General Assembly and in the on-going sessions of its various bodies and organs at United Nations Headquarters in New York. In this network, typical language-related jobs include editors, verbatim reports, translators, interpreters, precis-writers, revisers, terminologists, reference assistants, copy-preparers, proof-readers, text processors, as well as printing and distribution officers. All official United Nations meetings and events are covered in the six official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).

Education:

             Business Administration, Management or related fields. Language-related jobs require a perfect command of the main required language (normally a mother tongue) and excellent knowledge of two other official languages of the United Nations. One of the key requirements for entry level language staff is the United Nations competitive language exam.

Safety and Security

• Security
• Safety

This department is centrally responsible for the coordination of security policies and the management of security personnel. Responsibilities include planning, developing and administering programmes designed to ensure the physical safety and security of the Organization's staff and premises. Members of this network may be called upon to deal with disturbances, respond to emergencies or crisis situations, or manage more complex issues on the safety and security of United Nations staff and premises.

Education:

            Military service or experience in national police or both is a requirement for many security positions, such as Security Officers and Security Guards. For senior positions, prior security management experience and a university degree in Political or Social science, International Relations, Law Enforcement, Business Administration or related fields are requirements. In addition, positions for Security Guards and Security Officers require a special physical test as well as prior experience with defensive weapons.

                            

APPLICATION PROCESS:

United Nations Secretariat is transitioning to a new online recruitment system. During the transition period, both the previous and the new system run in parallel. All job openings in the UN Secretariat are published on this website. When applying for a job, one is automatically directed to the appropriate system.

       I.            Searching for job openings: Jobs can be searched by using the search engine on this website. The jobs are of two types namely, Generic Jobs which are used to create rosters, i.e. pools, of candidates available for immediate selection across the organization and also openings for a specific position in a particular office & duty station.

    II.            Creating a profile and preparing an application: A job application consists of a profile section & an application form that includes a cover letter, all of which should be prepared online on this website.

 III.            Submitting a job application: Depending on the job you are applying to you may get a set of questions, which are yes/no, true/false or multiple choice questions. Similarly, depending on the position, you may be prompted with a list of skills and be asked to perform a self-assessment on these, giving an indication of your level of proficiency for each skill listed. Your responses will be used in the evaluation and assessment of your candidature.

 IV.            Evaluation of the application: Your application is evaluated in terms of experience, education and skills. Only if it is determined that you meet most or all of the requirements you will be contacted to undergo an assessment i.e. a knowledge-based test or another type of simulation exercise. Again, if you are found not to be eligible for the job or meet only some of the criteria’s for the job, you are notified at the appropriate time about it.

    V.            Assessment exercise: The assessment exercise could be either a written exam or any other type of simulation exercise or case study. These assessment exercises are conducted in strict confidence and you will be informed in advance of the time, type and length of the assessment. If, based on the result of the assessment, you are short-listed for a competency-based interview, you are informed accordingly. Again, if you are not selected then you are notified at the appropriate time.

 VI.            Competency-based interview: The competency-based interview can take place either via telephone, video conference or in person. You will be notified in advance of the time, duration and means and/or place of the interview as well as of the names of the interview panel members.

VII.            Selection notification: Based on all the findings of the various evaluation and assessment stages, a pool of qualified candidates is recommended for selection. Such a recommendation is reviewed by an independent review body, composed of staff and management representatives, which make sure that the applicable procedures were followed correctly and that all applicants were considered in a fair, transparent and objective manner.

                              PAY & BENEFITS

The United Nations offers you an attractive remuneration package with competitive pay and benefits. The level of pay for staff in the Professional and higher categories that is recruited internationally is set by reference to the highest paying national civil service. Staff members in categories that are locally recruited are compensated in accordance with the best prevailing conditions of service locally.

SOURCE: https://careers.un.org

Best Of Luck

Poonam Khairnar

Counselor

Edugroomers