3 things that may surprise you about UN consulting roles

If you’re looking to break into global development as a consultant, you may have certain expectations of what it takes to land a role with a prestigious United Nations agency. But if you speak to those who have consulted for various U.N. agencies, in many ways, they’re not much different than many other NGOs. “There might be a few more box-ticking exercises that U.N. agencies do in terms of having requirements to post something publicly,” Loksan Harley, a veteran consultant who has done extensive work with the International Organization for Migration, or IOM, and the co-founder of the Impact Consulting Hub, said during a recent Devex digital careers event. But generally speaking, “I don't think there's anything exceptional about how U.N. agencies recruit consultants and work with consultants,” he said. In fact, the recruitment process can be curiously informal compared to what candidates applying for full-time staff jobs with a U.N. agency experience, and “it's still very much through networks” that roles are ultimately obtained, said Harley. He was joined by Nicole Hosein, who has completed several U.N. consulting projects for UN Women and other agencies, in offering insider tips to Devex Career Account members. Here are a few key takeaways from the discussion that may come as a surprise to aspiring U.N. consultants. An odd mix of informality and bureaucracy One clear takeaway from the discussion was just how vital networking is to land the kinds of U.N. consulting roles that Harley and Hosein have. “Networking is so incredibly important in consulting, whether it's for the U.N. or other NGOs. You're just much more likely to be [hired] because of how the work is structured [and] because of how long recruitment processes can take for some U.N. agencies,” Hosein said. “Direct hire is often much more the modality they will go with, especially for short-term contracts.” Networking is also key because getting referrals can lead to a “snowball” effect, Harley said, as he explained the “very random way” he landed his first U.N. consulting role. “It was also quite informal in the way that I was recruited into this first role, which will probably be a running theme through some of my answers on this,” he said. The aspects of U.N. consulting work that are probably less surprising are the bureaucratic elements that follow what can be a casual start to the recruitment process. “There is that bureaucratic element to U.N. consulting, just in the amount of paperwork you have to do when being contracted,” Harley said. Networking can actually be enjoyable and effective When discussing the kinds of networking efforts that are effective in landing U.N. consulting roles, Harley encouraged our audience not to think of “the typical image that comes to one's mind, [which] is running around a conference hall, furiously distributing business cards.” Harley explained networking in terms of “scalable business development activities versus unscalable ones.” “An unscalable or non-scalable business development activity would be messaging someone on Linkedin because you can only do it one by one, [it] takes a lot of time, [and] you might not get a high response rate if you're doing it cold,” said Harley, who later elaborated on the point that LinkedIn messages that are framed just “for the sake of connecting” are typically not effective. On the other hand, Harley used the Migration Diaspora Podcast, which he produces and hosts, as “a scalable way to reach people and to demonstrate my expertise to people, and also I enjoy doing it.” It also improves his speaking skills, he said, and “it's an excuse to contact people.” “You're kind of already starting some sort of collaboration with them, [and] that's how relationships — good relationships, are built. It's through those lower-stakes interactions,” Harley added. You don’t have to start your own podcast to build these kinds of relationships. The point is there are ways to make connections while doing creative activities and honing new skills. For some ideas on how to do this on LinkedIn, see our event with development careers expert Simone Anzböck from last July. Contracts can be fickle things Hosein spoke of “contract modalities in the U.N.” and how “you can start off one way and go another way, and a lot of it has to do with funding issues and priorities,” she said. You can even end up as a consultant without it being your initial intention. Hosein explained how she once “started off as a U.N. volunteer” at a United Nations Development Programme, or UNDP, regional office but ended up on a consulting contract due to the agency reorganizing operations, which led to her particular office closing. Still, she “was doing the same work [and] still operating the same way.” When it comes to deliverables, vague contract language can lead to more work than initially envisaged. But there are ways to navigate this, even if “you feel like you don't have the power to negotiate or to push back, especially if you're starting out and you want to develop a reputation,” Hosein said. She suggested that before signing a contract, it’s important to ask, “Is there room to add more days should the deliverables change?” This option may be more palatable for an agency, as “there's a lot of pushback when it is when it comes to adding more days to a [initial] contract because it means more budget,” she said. Another approach is to insist that certain terms be included in the contract agreement that ensures you will be compensated for the work you complete. “Before every contract, I will send some standard terms and conditions of mine to the client, and one of those terms and conditions is if the scope of work changes, the contract changes,” Harley said. Harley and Hosein shared insights into many more aspects of consulting for the U.N., including how to set and negotiate rates, and answered a range of questions from our audience. Ready to stand out from the crowd and get noticed by the recruiters who matter most? 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