Download - United Nations Janos Tisovszky Director, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna
What/who is the UN?
Forum (Member States) Actor (Staff) Community - platform/umbrella (other
actors) Ideal (set of expectations)
UN Secretariat Carries out day-to-day work of the Organization
and services its principal organs Staffed by international civil servants Headquartered in New York, Geneva, Vienna,
Nairobi, with offices and field missions around the world
44,000 staff members
United Nations: Areas of Work
Development Peace and Security Human Rights Humanitarian Affairs International Law
Priorities and the way ahead Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has
outlined five imperatives:Five generational opportunities to shape the
world tomorrow by the decisions we make today
Five imperatives Sustainable development Prevention Building a safer and more secure world Supporting nations in transition Working for – and with – women and
young people
Who we are
We are international civil servants. Our work touches lives in every corner of the globe, is
complex and multifaceted, and extends directly and indirectly to our 193 Member States.
In the last decade, the United Nations has increased its field-based operations
Over 50 per cent of our 44,000 staff work in field locations all over the world
Over 100,000 personnel in 16 peacekeeping and 11 political missions
Being part of the UN
Member States Staff (including interns, associate
experts, consultants and volunteers) Civil society players (NGOs, private
sector, academia, creative community, etc.)
Career Options Staff categories Young professionals programme Language competitive examinations Associate expert programme Volunteer programme Internship programme Temporary jobs
Career Options: The different categories of staff at the United Nations
Professional and higher categories (P and D) General Service and related categories (G, TC,
S, PIA, LT) National Professional Officers (NO) Field Service (FS) Senior Appointments (SG, DSG, USG and ASG)
Professional Jobs Experience requirements after
obtaining your degree:
o P-2 = YPP or Language recruitment examination or 2 years without exam
o P-3 = 5 yearso P-4 = 7 yearso P-5 = 10 yearso D-1/D-2 = 15 years
Types of Jobs Administrators Aviation Cartography Audit Conference and Language Staff Drug Control & Crime Prevention Demographics Economic Affairs Electoral Affairs Engineering Information and Communications Technology Information Management Library Science
Logistics Procurement Medical Programme/Project Management Security Humanitarian Affairs Human Rights Legal Affairs Political Affairs Public Administration Public Information, Radio & TV Rule of Law Social Affairs Statistics
Expectations of UN staff For expectations of UN Staff, see:
Charter of the United NationsStaff Rules and Regulations
Values, Competencies, Mobility Core values:
Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity
Core competencies and managerial competencies
Mobility:Functional and geographic
Staff selection Positions advertised on
http://careers.un.org Open to external and internal candidates Exception: entry-level professional
positions (YPP)
YPP: the Process Application Convocation Written Exam Oral Examination Placement Assignment, Orientation and Development
YPP 2012 Job families:
Architecture Economic Affairs Information System and Technology Political Affairs Radio Producer (Portuguese + Kiswahili) Social Affairs
Member States Participating: 79
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Application Important: incomplete and/or late applications will
NOT be considered
Acknowledgement: applicants will receive by e-mail an acknowledge receipt of their application
Application number: Once convoked to the written exam, candidates will receive an application number.
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AdmissionFirst Screening- Eligibility
Nationality: Must hold the nationality of a participating member state at the time of application
Age: 32 years or younger (Date of birth: On or after 1 January 1979)
Education: First-level university degree acceptable for each job family
Language: Fluency in English or French Experience: No experience required
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AdmissionSecond Screening
If more than 40 qualified applicants from the same participating Member State in the same job family, a second round of screening will be conducted
Criteria for the second screening: Language: Fluency in additional official
languages of the United Nations Degree: Additional and/or higher-level
degrees acceptable for the job family Experience: Length of work experience
acceptable for the job family
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Convokees All candidates will receive notification regarding
their admission to the written examination
Applicants may check the listing of application numbers on the United Nations Careers Portal http://careers.un.org
Members States will be informed on the numbers of convokees by examination centre
Written Examination Wednesday, 5 December 2012 Overall time for the written examination: 4.5
hours Structure:
General paper Specialized paper
Examinees are fully responsible for any expenses related to their travel to the examination centre
General Paper
Summary and several questions in International Affairs,
To be answered in either English or French;
Eliminatory
Specialized Paper
Essays and short questions in the substantive area
To be answered in any of the UN official languages.
The essay part of this paper is eliminatory
The Examination: Oral Part
Competency-based interview and possibly an oral presentation.
UN Secretariat will cover the travel expenses of examinees invited to the oral examination
Core values and competencies Core values:
Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity
Core competencies:Communication, Teamwork, Planning and
Organizing, Accountability, Creativity, Client Orientation, Commitment to Continuous Learning, Technological Awareness
Competency-based interviews
“Past, demonstrated behavior is the best indicator of future performance”
Questions ask about past professional experiences that can demonstrate that the applicant is competent
Successful Candidates Placement
To be placed in positions at the P-1 or P-2 level in any Secretariat duty station or peacekeeping operation.
Reserve List Only those who cannot be placed will be
kept on a reserve list, from which future vacancies will be filled.
The reserve list has a lifespan of two years after the conclusion of the examination.
Candidates who refuse one invitation to interview or one official offer of employment will be removed from the reserve list.
Assignment, Orientation & Development
Initial assignment: Two years Second assignment: In a different duty station Two-week orientation programme prior to first
assignment Dedicated training budget to ensure
professional development
Lessons learned and tips(from participants in the YPP 2011)
Written Exam
Time-keeping is extremely important(4.5 hours seems long, but it is a lot of writing. There is a lot to write- you tend to spend too much time with the topic you are familiar with or where you know a lot.)
Practice hand writing ahead of time. Practice time keeping.(Do a full 4.5 hour written exam with all four parts to check how much time you need for each, and to get a feeling for it. this helps to practice handwriting as well.)
Concentrate on the general part and try to do it really well (It is eliminatory!)
Lessons learned and tips(from participants in the YPP 2011)
Written Exam Summarizing of texts is tricky
(not because of the content but because of the hand writing - normally you use Word and word count on the PC so with handwriting you do not really know how much you have written)
For summary writing, practice summarizing UN documents and time yourself
Read and check the UN/NY website on a daily basis.
Judge the value of each question and distribute your time accordingly.
Answer every question, even if you don’t know or are not sure. (Take an educated guess. If you don’t write anything you automatically get 0 points, but there are no minus points for wrong answers.)
Lessons learned and tips(from participants in the YPP 2011)
Oral Exam
know the UN Core Competencies as detailed as possible
Application Process Search for job
openings Understand the
position and location Create a profile and
draft application Apply to a job opening
Evaluation of the application
Assessment exercise Competency-based
interview Background checks Selection notification
Personal History Profile (PHP)
Description of Duties Duties:
o What you did in your job
Describe your responsibilities with careful attention to the vacancy for which you are applying
Useo Current job: present tenseo Past job(s): past tense
Summary of Achievements Achievements:
o How well did you do in your job
Provide specific examples where you made an impact/contribution in the positions you have held
Cover Letter Describe how your experience, qualifications and competencies match the
specific position
You can distinguish yourself from other candidates by highlighting what makes you a good match for the position
Structure
o Open with a statement of interesto Summarize your qualifications, experience and competencies relating to
the specific positionso Close with a brief recapitulation
Make it impressive and customize it
Additional Tips The UN will first get to know you through your
application/PHP Be truthful, accurate and specific Make your words count Prepare application/PHP offline using a word
processor application (e.g. MS Word) Print application/PHP on screen or paper to
proofread and review Save your applications
The International Working Environment (1)
Realization that challenges are truly global
and interdependent (nexus approach)
Need for engaging all possible actors
Need for predictable/permanent mechanisms
Need for certain principles to be in place for legitimacy.
The International Working Environment (2)
UN has a comparative advantage in all
UN role and necessity is less questioned
Increase in operational tasks
The issue is to prove its effectiveness (not vis-à-vis other actors but as regards getting the job done)
UN Working Environment: Demand on Results
Results orientation means need for:
more capable organization better operating structures better management and ultimately more capable staff more accountability – down to the level of the
individual
How will those changes impact on your work and possible career (1)?
More operational → more stress on delivering Mobility Flexibility Versatility Integrity Accountability
How will those changes impact on your work and possible career (2)?
At times also dangerous with more operational tasks (as UN has become a target for terrorists and insurgents)
Frustration (bureaucracy + want to do results + judged against ideals/expectations)
BUT: also offers more variety – more interesting things to do – a real chance to make a difference – also be part of a unique community