Devex Career Hub: How to properly navigate the UN career path

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s U.N. General Assembly season for many in the global development world, and certainly here at Devex. As careers editor, I can’t help but have the United Nations on my mind this time of year, which ultimately leads to conversations with U.N. professionals, and content to help those of you interested in employment with the mega multilateral juggernaut. In this edition of Career Hub, I’m sharing an excerpt from our recently published downloadable guide to working for the U.N., career advice from an HR pro at UN Women, and who the top global development employers are in New York (other than U.N. agencies). Plus, new job postings from the World Bank, Democracy International, and much more. + Devex Jobs Alert on LinkedIn: For many more of the top job opportunities in the social impact space from global development's largest job board, check out the weekly Devex Jobs Alert newsletter on LinkedIn. Top jobs this week 1. Individual Consultant: Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist World Bank Group Ghana 2. Deputy Director, Business Development - United States Democracy International United States 3. Head of Emergency Response Human Appeal United Kingdom (Remote) 4. Coordinator - Community Development Canadian Red Cross Society Canada (Remote) + See the full list A UN career path starts here “We’re looking for people who are demonstrating genuine interest and commitment to working on our mandate, and volunteering work is a very strong way of doing that.” --— Victoria Fernandes, head of change management, U.N. Development Programme The U.N. typically looks for candidates who have work experience relevant to the position; for mid-career and senior-level positions, this should involve some level of progressive responsibility. Here are some key areas to focus on when assessing your strength as a candidate. Language skills. One basic requirement for any job with the U.N. is an excellent knowledge of English or French — the two working languages. Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish are also official U.N. languages, and knowledge of one is beneficial. Volunteering. If you are interested in a particular U.N. agency, make sure you get volunteering experience relevant to the work the agency is doing. This is particularly critical for professionals looking to make a change and transition into the development sector. Consulting experience. Many staffers who end up working for the U.N. started out by doing consulting in some capacity. U.N. agencies are often interested in people who have experience working within the U.N. system and those who understand how to navigate the bureaucracy there. Read: What you can do now to prepare for a career with the UN (Career) Career Account members can also download our guide to working for the United Nations for much more on careers at the U.N., including how to know if it’s the right path for you, how to network within the U.N. system, tips for landing consulting roles and much more. + If you're not a Devex Career Account member yet, we’re currently offering 50% off on annual membership. Members can access all career advice events and articles, our complete job board, and much more. Who else is hiring in New York? The U.N.’s presence in New York is undeniable, and indeed, U.N. agencies have, by far, post the most New York-based jobs on the Devex job board. But for development professionals who are keen for a stop in the Big Apple along their career path, there are many other employment opportunities worth considering. Based on data from the Devex job board, we’ve been able to identify the most active development organizations hiring in New York over the past 12 months that are not within the U.N. system. Here are the top 3, along with some current opportunities available. 1. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) EDF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people. It is currently advertising a remote position based in the United States. The deputy director, planned giving, will be responsible for cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding a portfolio of current and prospective legacy donors located throughout a defined territory. View all current job postings from EDF on Devex. 2. Helmsley Charitable Trust The Helmsley Charitable Trust is a global philanthropy investing in new ideas or research to help people live better lives. It is currently seeking a communications associate based in New York. The successful candidate will provide a range of digital communications to its programs and work closely with their program teams. View all current job postings from Helmsley Charitable Trust on Devex. 3. HIAS HIAS is a nonpartisan refugee protection organization that provides vital services to refugees and asylum-seekers around the world. It is currently seeking a donor and constituent care specialist based in New York, with some days workable remotely. The successful candidate will ensure the development, implementation and maintenance of an effective best practice risk management program and internal control environment. View all current job postings from HIAS on Devex. Read: The top global development employers hiring in New York (Career) Members-only jobs this week 1. Programme Officer (Organizational Excellence and Investment Promotion) Multilateral U.N. agency Switzerland 2. Assistant Director: Communications & Narrative Change International philanthropic organization United States 3. Investor Relations Specialist Agricultural social enterprise Kenya | Rwanda (Remote) 4. Human Resources Consultant U.N. agency United States + See the full list Origin story: A lawyer finds her true calling at UN Women Leading global development professionals reveal how they got started on their career paths and reflect on lessons learned. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Growing up, I wanted to be a lawyer. But there was just one problem — I hated reading. So, after my secondary school results were out, I took a leap and ventured into the world of hospitality management. It quickly dawned upon me during my first internship that while I enjoyed working with people, this wasn't my destined arena. Later, a family friend — an HR professional over at a factory called Mabati Rolling Mills — helped me land a four-month internship in their HR department. As my internship chapter drew to a close, it was time to go back to school to do my bachelor’s. By then my passion for HR had blossomed and I knew it was what I wanted to do. After my degree, I got my first job at a recruitment and placement company where I learned everything about HR and people relations. Back then I was still shy and didn’t have as much patience. As time went by I learned the art of relating with different types of people — both accommodating them and listening to what they were really saying, understanding how they felt about their job and the challenges they were facing. Read more: Career advice from a UN Women human resource assistant + Our in-house recruitment specialists are currently compiling talent pools based on specific global development skill sets, from chiefs of party to monitoring, evaluation and learning specialists. Candidates can update their Devex profiles to be considered, and employers can learn more here. Around the watercooler News and views from around global development worth knowing about. • “I don’t know of any other news organization with an in-house recruitment firm, but it really works,” wrote Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar, before announcing that Mariya Chetyrkina has been hired to be our Development Talent Service’s first managing director. She was previously a senior talent strategist with Accenture. • Candidates vying for the regional director position at the World Health Organization Western Pacific regional office are vowing to rebuild staff trust in the wake of the office’s former director being accused of using racist language toward staff and creating a “toxic” office culture. • During a recent Devex Pro event, Devex’s Margaret Richardson, spoke to fellow chiefs of staff about what the job entails, and what to think about if you’re interested in being one or hiring one. 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