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.