Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lino Sciarra
Sciarra, United Nations Dialogue with the Global South Fellow
Tuesday 28 October 2008
Disclaimer
This presentation is given in a personal capacity.
These are my personal view of working at the UN as well as
starting a career at the UN. I am not representing the
UN Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), or any other
office/agency that is potentially recruiting for the organization
Aim
To offer
ff an overview on some off the ways to begin a career in the
United Nations System
Paradigm shift
a major
j changeg in a certain thought-pattern,
g p ,
a radical change in personal beliefs, complex systems or
organizations, replacing the former way of thinking or
organizing with a radically different way
Stands by decisions that are in the Organization’s interest, even if they are
unpopular
Bangladesh Army
Liberia
October 2007
UN Core Values
Professionalism
Shows pride in work and in achievements
Demonstrates p
professional competence
p and mastery
y of subject
j matter
I motivated
Is ti t d by
b professional
f i l rather
th ththan personall concerns
Nepal Army
Democratic Republic of Congo
2007
UN Core Values
Respect for Diversity
Works effectively with people from all backgrounds
Lena
Civil Affairs Regional Coordinator
Liberia Lino
June 2008 Civil Affairs County Coordinator
UN Competencies
Core Competencies
Communication
C
Teamwork
Planning & Organizing
Accountability
Creativity
Client Orientation
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Technological Awareness
Managerial Competencies
Leadershipp
Vision
Empowering Others
Building Trust
M
Managing
i P Performance
f
Judgment / Decision-making
The difference between the work in the
field and at the Headquarters
Fishtown Panoramic View
Julyy 2005 – February
y 2007
Myy Accommodation
UN Compound
www.jobs.un.org
Galaxy
Internship
Deadline 18 January
UN Core Values
Core Competencies
Internship Programme – Eligibility
• Education
– Be enrolled in a degree programme in a graduate school at the time of
application and during the internship
– Or, if pursuing studies in countries where higher education is not
di id d iinto
divided t undergraduate
d d t and d graduate
d t stages,
t
must have completed four years of full-time studies
• Work Experience
– professional
f i l work
k experience
i nott required.
i d
However, work experience in relevant areas is an asset
• Languages
– English and French are the working languages of the United Nations
Secretariat.
Fluency in spoken and written English and/or French is required
– Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an asset.
English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish are the
official languages of the United Nations
Before sending your application,
you should consider y
y your ability
y to:
• This IInternship
Thi t hi P
Programme iis ffor th
the U
United
it d N
Nations
ti
Headquarters in New York only. Other UN Offices, Funds and
Programmes have separate internship arrangements. Students
interested in these should contact the respective offices directly
for further information.
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/internships.htm
www.jobs.un.org
Galaxy
Political Appointments
Similar
Si il to
t other
th international
i t ti l institutions,
i tit ti th
the hi
highest
h t positions
iti iinside
id
the Secretariat are by political appointment. These include:
• Secretary-General-
Secretary General appointed by the General Assembly
Assembly, on the
recommendation of the Security Council, for a period of five years
• Under Secretary General (USG) – Department Head
• Assistant Secretary General (ASG) – Head of Office
Professional and Higher Categories
Normally at the top of the career line are the two D-positions:
• D-2 Director – Division Head
• D-1 General Administrator – Service Head
Below there are the five professional levels, from P-1 to P-5, where one,
with an advanced university degree, progresses through merit and
y
seniority.
As the amount of experience increases, so does the professional level:
• P-5 13 – 17 years of relevant experience are required
• P-4 8 – 12 years of experience
• P-3 4 – 8 years of experience
• P-2 Examination or if external recruitment 2 – 3 yyears of experience
p
• P-1 Recent graduates or UN General Service employees, that have
passed internal qualification examinations
Professional and Higher Categories – Remuneration
• Th
The level
l l off salaries
l i forf Professional
P f i l staff
t ff is
i determined
d t i d on the
th
basis of the Noblemaire Principle which states that the
international civil service should be able to recruit staff from from
its Member States,
States including the highest
highest-paid
paid
• The federal civil service of the United States of America has to
date been taken as the highest paid national civil service
• The post adjustment is one of two main elements (base salary
and post adjustment) comprising the salary of staff in the
Professional and higher categories
• The cost-of-living varies significantly between duty stations.
The post adjustment is designed to compensate the differences
in living costs, thereby providing the staff with the same
purchasing power at all duty stations
General Service
• The General
Th G lSService
i sectort iis maded up off various
i groups, allll
occupied with clerical, secretarial and administrative work
• There are seven levels, indicated as G-1 to G-7. From these
it is possible to continue to the professional category by internal
examinations
• Staff in these categories are paid on a local basis. The level of
salaries is established in accordance with Flemming Principle
which provides that the conditions of service for locally recruited
staff should reflect the best prevailing local conditions
Field Service
• Staff
St ff iin thi
this category,
t employed
l d in
i peace-keeping
k i missions
i i are
internationally recruited and entitled to a range of international
benefits
http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/examin/exam.htm
National Competitive Examination – Eligibility
Each year examinations are organized for citizens of countries that are
inadequately represented among the staff of the Secretariat.
The examinations are administered in a number of occupational
groups This year in: administration,
groups. administration economics
economics, finance
finance, information
technology, public information, security, social affairs, statistics.
This is for junior professionals: P1/P2 positions.
Requirements:
• National of a participating country for the year
(Singapore not included in 2009)
• Possess a first level university degree
• Be 32 years of age or younger at the time of the application
• Fluency either in English or French
National Competitive Examination 2009
Afghanistan Kuwait Palau
Andorra Laos Republic of Korea
Angola Lesotho Samoa
Antigua and Barbuda Libya San Marino
Bangladesh Liechtenstein Saudi Arabia
Botswana Lithuania Sierra Leone
Brunei Darussalam Marshall Islands Solomon Islands
Cambodia Mexico Swaziland
Comoros Micronesia Tajikistan
Congo
g Moldova Tonga
g
Denmark Monaco Tuvalu
Gabon Montenegro United Kingdom
Iran Namibia United States of America
Ireland Norway Yemen
Japan Oman, Sultanate of
Remuneration
• For a staff
F t ff member
b without
ith t dependents,
d d t theth annuall starting
t ti nett
salary will be between US$43,662 and 55,924
• In addition, staff members are entitled to a post adjustment, which
varies according to the cost of living of each duty station
(for example, between US$26,983 and 34,561
per year in New York)
• Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria, internationally-recruited
staff members may also receive other entitlements, such as
dependency allowances, travel and shipping expenses, and so on
United Nations
Associate Experts Programme
http://esa.un.org/techcoop/associate
p g p _experts.asp
p p
Associate Expert Programme
http://www.jposc.org/
JPO – Eligibility
• U
Usually
ll bbe under
d 32 years off age
• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a development-related
discipline
• Minimum of one to two years of working experience in a
developing country is highly desirable
• Written
W itt and
d spoken
k proficiency
fi i iin att lleastt ttwo off the
th three
th working
ki
languages used by UNDP: English, French and Spanish
– Fluency in Arabic, Russian or Portuguese is an asset
• A strong commitment to development; an interest in adapting to
varied physical and professional environments; and a desire to
work with people with different language, national and cultural
backgrounds combined with gender sensitivity
United Nations Volunteers (UNV)
http://www.unvolunteers.org
UNV – Eligibility
• At least age 25 (no maximum age limit)
• A university degree or higher technical diplomas
• Several years of relevant working experience
– preferably a minimum of five years
– Prior volunteering and/or working experience in a developing country
is an asset
• Good working knowledge in at least one of the three working UN
languages: English, French, and Spanish
– Arabic,, Portuguese,
g , or Russian are an asset and might
g be requested
q
• Valid driving license
• Ability to adjust in difficult living conditions
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment
Remuneration
• International NGOs
• Military service
• Private sector
• Academia
Other relevant websites
• ReliefWeb
R li fW b
http://www.reliefweb.int/Vacancies
Email: sppv70@nus.edu.sg
Credits
• Slides 3 to 6 sources:
– "That
That Photograph“
Photograph , Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Corporation, 1999
http://www.abc.net.au/science/moon/earthrise.htm
– "Paradigm shift", Wikipedia, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm_shift
R f
Reference material
t i l mostly
tl from
f quoted
t d websites.
b it