Development aid careers in the United Nations system: What you need to know

The United Nations system offers an impressive variety of career opportunities for international development professionals — from the U.N. headquarters in New York to more than two dozen specialized agencies and programs around the world working on everything from global health to food security and the environment. While the U.N. Secretariat in New York, led by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, has considerable clout on foreign affairs, it is in fact less involved in providing technical assistance around the world than, for instance, the U.N. Development Program, UNICEF or the World Bank Group, a U.N. specialized agency that, with more than 10,000 employees, is the world’s largest multilateral donor. Seeking out U.N. job opportunities can be daunting, since each U.N. specialized agency and program has its own employment website and procedures – although the latter have been streamlined. Devex Jobs features all UNICEF jobs and many other vacancies across the U.N. system. To speed up the job search, familiarity with the U.N. system is key: For global health experts, the World Health Organization or U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS will be good starting points. Those interested in food issues may want to zero in on the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, or the World Food Program. UNOPS serves as one of the U.N.’s main procurement and financial managers, while UNESCO advises on many issues related to culture, science and technology. Entering the UN system U.N. agencies and programs are located in various cities around the world, with the main hubs being New York, Geneva and Rome. New York, aside from hosting the U.N. Secretariat, is also home to the UNICEF and UNDP headquarters. WHO, the World Trade Organization and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are located in Geneva, Switzerland, while food-related U.N. agencies are based in Rome. As diverse as the locations and types of opportunities available within the U.N. system is its staff mix. The United Nations uses a quota system for permanent staffing to ensure that all its 193 member states are well represented. The quota is based on each member state’s financial contributions to the U.N. budget, which in turn is determined based on a country’s gross domestic product. Top U.N. contributors, in 2013, are the United States, Japan, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. There is a concerted effort by U.N. agencies and programs to boost their workforce from underrepresented member countries. FAO, for instance, encourages applications from Indonesia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and the United States, as well as from Cambodia, India, Panama, Turkey and Timor Leste. In addition to geographic diversity, the U.N. system also emphasizes gender equality. Lately, many U.N. agencies and programs have ramped up efforts to hire more women to meet the 50:50 gender balance goal set by the U.N. General Assembly. Job classifications and skills The U.N. offers three types of job opportunities. Full-time staff positions constitute the bulk of the U.N. global workforce, while temporary appointments of no more than 24 months tend to go to technical experts and experienced consultants. Internships with the U.N. Secretariat and key programs and agencies like UNICEF, UNDP and the U.N. Refugee Agency are for students currently enrolled in master’s or doctoral programs who are interested in a first-hand impression of day-to-day U.N. operations. Full-time positions across the U.N. system fall into six categories: D stands for director-level positions, P for professional staff, FS for field service, N for national professional officers and G for general service. The sixth category, senior appointments, includes the highest positions in the U.N. system that are not usually advertised. Jobs in the D and P categories are for people with advanced university degrees and high-level analytical and communication skills. Vacancies occur frequently in the areas of management and operations support; economic and social development; political, peace and security cooperation; information systems and communication technology; legal issues; public information and external relations; conference management; and safety and security. The FS category refers to internationally recruited positions in U.N. field missions around the world. National professional officers – job category N – also tend to work in field missions around the world, but they are recruited locally by U.N. country missions and their functions usually require local knowledge and experience. Examples are humanitarian affairs workers and human rights officers. Staff positions in the G category rarely involve international travel and are also mostly recruited locally. For instance, the U.N. Secretariat office in New York hires its general service staff in the United States, but it may hire non-U.S. citizens for jobs with special requirements, such as high-level foreign language skills. The New York office has additional staff classifications: T/C stands for trades and crafts, S for security, PIA for public information assistants, and LT for language teachers. PIA positions are available only in New York, while LT jobs are found only in New York and Geneva. Aside from these full-time positions, the United Nations offers temporary positions to meet specific short-term requirements and seasonal or peak workloads. These positions are typically less than one year long but may be extended to no more than 24 months. These positions are advertised as they become necessary. Required skill sets vary greatly depending on the agency and position. Among the most sought-after skills across the U.N. system, however, are project design and implementation, management, and evaluation. People with backgrounds in women empowerment and gender equality, the environment and economic development are also in demand, as are experts in international law and other legal matters. Salaries and perks U.N. salaries are fairly standard across the system, with differences only depending on the staff category. Staff in the D and P categories in all U.N. agencies and programs, except the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, are entitled to the same base salaries and allowances. These are based on the highest-paying national civil service, which is currently the U.S. federal civil service. In 2014, the base salaries for P-1 staff with no dependent spouse or child range from $37,273 to $47,643. In addition, the United Nations provides post adjustment, a form of payment that varies depending on the cost of living in the area where the staff is stationed. The salary structure for staff in the FS category is similar to that for the P and D categories, and is applicable to the entire U.N. system. There are seven salary levels based on the U.S. federal civil service, and staff are entitled to post-adjustment payment. The starting base salary for FS-1 staff with no dependent spouse or child is $30,858. Locally recruited general service staff, meantime, are paid according to prevailing local wages. They enjoy a number of the benefits and perks given to internationally recruited staff, including tax exemptions, family allowances for children in school, holidays and leaves depending on the staff’s contract, health insurance and retirement pensions. NPOs are paid based on the best prevailing salary in their duty stations. They receive the same benefits and allowances as general service staff but are not entitled to overtime pay. For temporary positions, compensation is based on the consultant or technical expert’s background and on whether he or she is an international or local hire. Payments for consultants also vary depending on an assignment’s length and complexity. Internship positions at the U.N. Secretariat, UNICEF, UNDP and most other agencies and programs are unpaid. How to apply Each U.N. agency and program tends to advertise its vacancies on their own recruitment websites. Openings for international positions at the U.N. Secretariat are posted on the U.N. careers website, while most U.N. programs and agencies advertise and process international professional positions through their own employment websites. Many of these positions are featured as well on the Devex website, which hosts the world’s most comprehensive international development jobs board. Application procedures for U.N. jobs are fairly standard across the board as well. For instance, most job seekers are asked to register and submit their applications online. These are carefully screened and evaluated based on experience, skills and education; promising candidates are short-listed and contacted for written exams, simulation exercises or similar assessment tests, as well as interviews. This process can take several months, given the U.N.’s high recruitment standards. Locally recruited general service and national staff vacancies are usually advertised domestically, so job seekers who want to apply for these positions should best check with local U.N. offices. Looking to make a career move? Visit our career center for expert advice on how to navigate your job search - all you need is a Devex Career Account to get started.